Vision statement

First Church Somerville lives to make God's expansive love and justice real through radically inclusive sanctuary, authentic connection, spiritual exploration, and transformative community engagement.

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Who We Are, What We Believe

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Folks at First Church believe many different things about God and about the person of Jesus Christ. Many believe Jesus Christ was the son of God, that his resurrection was a real event, and that it mystically “put Death to death” so that we could experience an expansion of our own lives—not just length of life (life after death) but breadth of life. Others are still exploring what Jesus and Christianity mean to them. All of us believe in fighting for justice and peace based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.

There is no “entrance exam” to be a part of our community.  Folks stuck on our church were raised Roman Catholic, UCC, fundamentalist evangelical, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Mormon, Unitarian, Jewish, atheist, agnostic, and the fastest-growing religious demographic in America, “none.”

Our congregation is over 50% LGBTQ. We are old, middle-aged, and mostly young. We are multiracial, mostly white, and actively working on creating a culture of anti-racism. Our families are one-parent, two-parent, polyamorous, adoptive, bio, queer, straight, family of choice, happily single, partnered with and without children, empty nesters, and many combinations thereof.

Our denomination

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First Church Somerville is part of the wider United Church of Christ.

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Open and Affirming

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We take our radical welcome seriously. Our congregants, pastors, and staff are made up of people having a variety of sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and relationship statuses. Learn more about our Open and Affirming commitment.

our staff