First Congregational Church of Braintree
United Church of Christ
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Alive in faith, welcoming to all!
Contact Us:
(781) 843-3616
office@firstchurchbraintree.com
12 Elm Street, Braintree, MA 02184
Office Hours Mon-Fri 9-1
Church Calendar
There's a lot going on at 12 Elm Street!
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The First Congregational Church of Braintree is an Open & Affirming Congregation working in partnership with all churches of the United Church of Christ. We welcome all God’s children into Christian faith regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, political stance or theological perspective, national origin, mental health status, physical and cognitive abilities, and the many diverse forms of family configurations. We proclaim and affirm that full and equal participation in the life and leadership of our church is open to all. We seek to continue learning and growing together as the inclusive Body of Christ. We are committed to spreading the light and love of Christ into the world through worship and service.
Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.
Sunday, October 4 2026
World Communion Sunday
Worship & Communion @ 9:30 am
In the Sanctuary
and Streaming Live on YouTube
Rev. Karen E. Gale preaching
This six-foot banner at the Presbyterian denominational offices in Louisville was created to illustrate the Peacemaking Offering for World Communion Sunday on October 5, 1997. This design was originally drawn in oil pastels by Dorothea B. Kennedy and was translated into fabric by Gloiela Yau Dolak. As the mountains and hills rejoice, the thirsty of all nations are invited to come to the water; the hungry are invited to come to the table. Everyone is welcome.
World Communion Sunday
World Communion Sunday began with Dr. Hugh Thompson Kerr, pastor at Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1933 and the work of the Stewardship Committee at Shadyside. They dreamed of bringing churches together in a service of Christian unity to lift up the global Church and to remember that by virtue of our baptism, we are connected to a worldwide community. One congregation is connected to every other congregation, united in “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). Worshipping with the world in mind along with collecting a missions offering on that day spread to other Presbyterian churches and was finally adopted and promoted by the National Council of Churches in 1940. (shadysidepres.org)
Dr. Kerr’s son, the Rev. Dr. Donald Craig Kerr, shares that “the concept spread very slowly at the start. People did not give it a whole lot of thought. It was during the Second World War that the Spirit caught hold because we were trying to hold the world together. World Wide Communion Sunday symbolized the effort to hold things together in a spiritual sense." (cantonsvillepres.org)
We still seek to hold the world together in a spiritual sense. We still celebrate our Christian neighbors nearby and across the globe. We still marvel at the power of the bread and cup to bring about wholeness, peace and love.
Come let us worship and celebrate our risen Lord, our common table, our faith made real in sharing communion together here and everywhere.
WELCOME
Welcome, and thank you for visiting First Congregational Church of Braintree, UCC online. We hope that our website highlights the wide variety of worship, fellowship and service opportunities available. Please feel free to read more about our church on this site, or come in for a visit. We would love to meet you!
United Church of Christ
God is still speaking...
First Congregational Church of Braintree is a member of the United Church of Christ. Drawn together by the Holy Spirit, UCC members are a distinct and diverse community of Christians that come together as one church, joining faith and action.
