Celebrate with us on Sunday, June 8, as we honor the members of our wonderful music program at First Church Stratford. The Chancel Choir will sing its final anthems of the season before breaking for the summer. Don’t miss this special service!

The Women’s Service League will hold a Bake Sale at the Main Street Festival on Saturday, June 7. We need all the bakers we can find to help us bake. Baked items that sell well are cookies, brownies, muffins, breads and cakes without frosting (the frostings melt in the heat). This is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. It ultimately benefits our church by helping to fund our building improvement projects.

You can drop off the baked goods on Friday, June 6 at the church. A member of the Women’s Service League will be at the Church Street entrance to Lower Packard Hall from 3 PM until 6 PM to accept your donations. We will also be in front of the church at 9 AM Saturday morning setting up for the bake sale. If it is more convenient, you can drop them off then. Thank you for your help!

Stratford’s Main Street Festival is on Saturday, June 7, from 10 AM to 4 PM. First Church Stratford will have booths outside the front of the church during the Festival. Volunteers are needed to work in the kitchen, outside and on setup/cleanup duty. To sign up, please go to bit.ly/MainStFestivalVolunteers2025.

Food items and supplies are also needed for the Festival. Please go to bit.ly/MainStFestivalSupplies2025 to view the donation list and sign up. For more information, please contact Amy Elias at msamyelias@yahoo.com.

First Church Stratford holds a “Red Bag” food drive the first Sunday of each month. Our next collection is Sunday, June 1, from 11 AM to 12 PM in the church parking lot. Please bring non-perishable food items, toiletries and/or pet food. Local pantries are empty and in dire need of restocking. Thank you for your continued support of this important mission.

First Church Stratford will partner with Rise Against Hunger for a meal packaging event at our church on Saturday, May 17, from 9 AM to 12 PM. Volunteers will join together to package as many as 10,152 meals to help meet basic hunger needs in our local community. To learn more or sign up to participate, please visit bit.ly/RiseHunger2025.

Join us for a Youth Sunday service on Sunday, May 11. Our Sunday School students and their teachers will lead our 10 AM worship service. Please join us for a very special morning!

Team First Church Stratford is participating in the 2025 CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday, May 4. CROP Hunger Walks raise funds to support the global mission of Church World Service, a faith-based organization that works to end hunger and poverty. Twenty-five percent of the funds raised will support hunger relief organizations in the greater Bridgeport area.

All are welcome to walk! An adult must accompany children under 12. The regular walking route is 2.14 miles, but a 1.2 mile route is also available. On the day of the walk, participants are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items for nOURish Bridgeport.

To join or support Team First Church Stratford, please visit bit.ly/CROPWalk2025. Lynne Pert will also collect cash and check contributions through May 4. If donating by check, please include the PIN 840005322 on the memo line. Thank you for your support of this important mission.

First Church Stratford holds a “Red Bag” food drive the first Sunday of each month. Our next collection is Sunday, May 4, from 11 AM to 12 PM in the church parking lot. Please bring non-perishable food items, toiletries and/or pet food. Local pantries are empty and in dire need of restocking. Thank you for your continued support of this important mission.

Join us on Sunday, April 20 at 10 AM for our traditional Easter Sunday service. This joyous worship service includes scripture and festive music, concluding with the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. The service will also be available on Zoom (for those on our email list) and Facebook Live.

The Stratford Clergy Association’s Easter Sunrise Service is at 6:30 AM on Sunday, April 20. The service will be held at Boothe Park in Stratford. Join us for a beautiful start to your Easter worship!

Join us for an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 19. The event begins at 11 AM in the church parking lot and on the church grounds. The Easter Bunny will be making an appearance, so there should be plenty of chances for photos. Please bring a basket or bag to hold your eggs as you collect them!

Join us on Thursday, April 17 for our Maundy Thursday service. The service will be held in the sanctuary at 7:30 PM. Online worship will also take place at 7:30 PM on Zoom (for those on our email list) and Facebook Live.

The Women’s Service League will hold a Palm Sunday bake sale on Sunday, April 13. The sale will take place in Upper Packard Hall immediately following the church service. Requested baked goods are various kinds of fruit and nut breads, including banana bread, nut rolls or cranberry bread. Please wrap the bread in clear plastic wrap, attach a label describing the bread type and indicate whether or not it contains nuts. You can also bring the bread to the Women’s Service League meeting on Saturday, April 12 (10 AM to 12 PM), or drop it off before the church service on April 13.

Proceeds of the bake sale will help fund the WSL’s church improvement projects. Thank you for your contributions!

Join us on April 13 for our Palm Sunday service. During our 10 AM morning worship, our Chancel and Festival Choirs will present a Palm Sunday Cantata. The service will also include scripture and hymns, including the annual singing of “The Palms.” Please join us as we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

First Church Stratford will host Community Lenten Dinners on Fridays in Lent. The dinners will be held from 5 to 7 PM on the following Fridays: March 7, March 14, March 21, March 28, April 4 and April 11. The three course meal includes a choice of soup or salad; a main course of salmon, shrimp scampi, fish and chips, crab cakes, shrimp and mushroom with wild rice; and a dessert. A vegetarian option is also available. The cost is $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and $5 for kids. All are welcome!

Volunteers are needed to help with prep, baking, cooking, serving, setting up and cleaning up. Sign up here to volunteer. For questions, please contact Amy Elias at msamyelias@yahoo.com or (917) 557-0245.

First Church Stratford will host Community Lenten Dinners on Fridays in Lent. The dinners will be held from 5 to 7 PM on the following Fridays: March 7, March 14, March 21, March 28, April 4 and April 11. The three course meal includes a choice of soup or salad; a main course of salmon, shrimp scampi, fish and chips, crab cakes, shrimp and mushroom with wild rice; and a dessert. A vegetarian option is also available. The cost is $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and $5 for kids. All are welcome!

Volunteers are needed to help with prep, baking, cooking, serving, setting up and cleaning up. Sign up here to volunteer. For questions, please contact Amy Elias at msamyelias@yahoo.com or (917) 557-0245.

First Church Stratford will host Community Lenten Dinners on Fridays in Lent. The dinners will be held from 5 to 7 PM on the following Fridays: March 7, March 14, March 21, March 28, April 4 and April 11. The three course meal includes a choice of soup or salad; a main course of salmon, shrimp scampi, fish and chips, crab cakes, shrimp and mushroom with wild rice; and a dessert. A vegetarian option is also available. The cost is $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and $5 for kids. All are welcome!

Volunteers are needed to help with prep, baking, cooking, serving, setting up and cleaning up. Sign up here to volunteer. For questions, please contact Amy Elias at msamyelias@yahoo.com or (917) 557-0245.

First Church Stratford will host Community Lenten Dinners on Fridays in Lent. The dinners will be held from 5 to 7 PM on the following Fridays: March 7, March 14, March 21, March 28, April 4 and April 11. The three course meal includes a choice of soup or salad; a main course of salmon, shrimp scampi, fish and chips, crab cakes, shrimp and mushroom with wild rice; and a dessert. A vegetarian option is also available. The cost is $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and $5 for kids. All are welcome!

Volunteers are needed to help with prep, baking, cooking, serving, setting up and cleaning up. Sign up here to volunteer. For questions, please contact Amy Elias at msamyelias@yahoo.com or (917) 557-0245.

First Church Stratford's Board of Christian Education is selling corned beef sandwiches. The sandwiches are on rye bread and include mustard and sauerkraut on the side. The cost per sandwich is $8 for adults and $7 for seniors. Sandwiches will be ready for pickup in Upper Packard Hall after church on Sunday, March 16.

To place an order, please go to https://bit.ly/CornedBeef2025 or visit the BOCE table during Fellowship Coffee Hour on Sunday, March 9. For any questions, please contact Amy Elias at (917) 557-0246 or msamyelias@yahoo.com. If you would prefer to not sign up online, please call or email Amy. Orders must be received by Friday, March 14.

All proceeds will benefit the Silver Lake Scholarship Fund, which helps send church youth to summer camp at Silver Lake. Thank you for your support!

First Church Stratford will host Community Lenten Dinners on Fridays in Lent. The dinners will be held from 5 to 7 PM on the following Fridays: March 7, March 14, March 21, March 28, April 4 and April 11. The three course meal includes a choice of soup or salad; a main course of salmon, shrimp scampi, fish and chips, crab cakes, shrimp and mushroom with wild rice; and a dessert. A vegetarian option is also available. The cost is $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and $5 for kids. All are welcome!

Volunteers are needed to help with prep, baking, cooking, serving, setting up and cleaning up. Sign up here to volunteer. For questions, please contact Amy Elias at msamyelias@yahoo.com or (917) 557-0245.

First Church Stratford will present weekly mini Lenten concerts, featuring pianist and organist Dr. Joe Utterback. The concerts will be held in the church sanctuary, 2301 Main Street, Stratford. The first concert is at 3 PM on Wednesday, March 12. Additional concerts are at 3 PM on Wednesday, March 19 and 26, as well as April 2. There is no admission fee. Please join us!

Join us for Scout Sunday on March 9. During our 10 AM service, Boy Scouts from Troop 71 will lead our worship service. Current and former Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are especially encouraged to attend this annual celebration of scouting.

First Church Stratford will host Community Lenten Dinners on Fridays in Lent. The dinners will be held from 5 to 7 PM on the following Fridays: March 7, March 14, March 21, March 28, April 4 and April 11. The three course meal includes a choice of soup or salad; a main course of salmon, shrimp scampi, fish and chips, crab cakes, shrimp and mushroom with wild rice; and a dessert. A vegetarian option is also available. The cost is $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and $5 for kids. All are welcome!

Volunteers are needed to help with prep, baking, cooking, serving, setting up and cleaning up. Sign up here to volunteer. For questions, please contact Amy Elias at msamyelias@yahoo.com or (917) 557-0245.

First Church Stratford holds a “Red Bag” food drive the first Sunday of each month. Our next collection is Sunday, March 2, from 11 AM to 12 PM in the church parking lot. Please bring non-perishable food items, toiletries and/or pet food. Local pantries are empty and in dire need of restocking. Thank you for your continued support of this important mission.

Fat Sunday is back! Our New Orleans style jazz worship service returns on Sunday, March 2, at 10 AM. Fat Sunday is a variation on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), which is the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of the Lenten season. The service will feature festive music from the Vintage Brass Ensemble. The service will be held in the church sanctuary, 2301 Main Street, Stratford. All are welcome!

Our Contemporary Worship team will lead worship one Sunday each month! Join us on February 23 at 10 AM for an uplifting and powerful morning of music and scripture. The service will also be available on Zoom (for those on our email list) and Facebook Live.

Join us on February 16 as we celebrate our church’s 385th anniversary!

On this special Sunday, our congregation will take a trip back in time and explore the stories of 20 generations of our church family from 1639 to the present. In 2014, during the 375th celebration, we had seven members of the thousands, whose lives overlapped in what was titled “Six Degrees of Separation, Plus One.” They will tell their stories that reflected the times they lived and the issues that they experienced. Featured members include Moses Wheeler, the first ferryman in Stratford, who was born during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, and Ray Severance, who served during WWII and passed away just a few years ago. We will add a new representative, as a seventh, too. We will also be showing segments of that historical play. In addition, we will add ten more “links” to the historic chain that was created to symbolize our interconnectedness with our past, a chain that stretches about almost 200 feet and was used during the Stratford Parade in 2014. Our congregation will have a procession with the chain and we will add five new icons to it. There will be choral and instrumental music. There will be displays and a party after service in Upper Packard Hall, too! Hopefully, all our church family will participate!

The Music Department will hold a Valentine Potluck Dinner on Saturday, February 8, at 5:00 PM in Lower Packard Hall. The cost is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for children, with a maximum of $15 per family. Please bring either a main dish, a side dish or a dessert to share. All proceeds benefit the Special Music Fund.

If you would like to be a part of the musical entertainment, please contact Allison or Dr. Joe. A sheet for talent sign up will also be on the door of the Music Room. We hope to see you there!

First Church Stratford holds a “Red Bag” food drive the first Sunday of each month. Our next collection is Sunday, February 2, from 11 AM to 12 PM in the church parking lot. Please bring non-perishable food items, toiletries and/or pet food. Local pantries are empty and in dire need of restocking. Thank you for your continued support of this important mission.

The Annual Meeting of the First Congregational Church of Stratford, Connecticut, United Church of Christ, will be held on Sunday, January 26, 2025, following a worship service in the sanctuary. During the meeting, church members will review 2024 activities and annual reports; elect officers, board and committee members to new terms; adopt a 2025 budget; and transact any other business that may properly come before the meeting.