With the launch of our Legacy Campaign came the meaningful decision to select a Mission and Social Justice Initiative (or initiatives) to be funded by 3% of the total funds raised.

Over the past few months, the Discernment Team has carefully followed a structured timeline to guide this process:

• Congregational Forum to dream and dialogue about possibilities 8/30

• Collecting community proposals by 10/18

• Engaging in deep discernment 10/18-11/1

• Presenting proposals at the community forum on 11/1

• Conducting further discernment and evaluation November 1-11

• Presenting a final recommendation to the Church Council on 11/11

On Sunday, November 15 at 11:40 a.m., this official recommendation will be presented to the congregation for a formal vote. Your voice and vote are vital as we shape the future of our mission and outreach. Please join us in the Sanctuary immediately following the service – we look forward to seeing you there!

Join us for our annual Sawyer Memorial Organ Concert, made possible by the generous gift of former Director of Music and organist Jane Sawyer. This year features Clarion, an organ and trumpet duo performing contemporary music, with acclaimed musicians Melody Turnquist-Steed and Keith Benjamin. Free and open to all! A reception in the Link follows the concert. Read more about Clarion and the Sawyer concert on our website.

How can we build meaningful relationships with Native people and act effectively in solidarity? Right Relationship Boulder is collaborating with Lyla June Johnson and the Re-Human School to offer this daylong training. Through video clips, small-group discussion, and conversation, participants will explore how to become more effective allies and accomplices with Native people in our community. Training cost is $60, but we ask you to contribute to your ability to pay. Bring your own lunch.

Our final Food Drive of 2026 is this week. Pick up a free grocery bag and shopping list after Worship to fill with groceries and household items to help our neighbors in need. Your contributions support pantries run by Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA) and Boulder County AIDS Project (BCAP). With 3,553 lbs. donated so for in 2026, we can reach our goal of two tons for the year! Bring your donations to the little red wagon in the Link or to your local neighborhood leader, listed on the shopping list.

Support Groups for grief and caregivers meet every month. These groups are always open to new participants, including first time visitors and those who haven’t attended in a while.

Grief in person meeting: Noon-1:30 p.m., Room 312.

Contact Bill Forbes or Jean Manifesto

Caregivers Zoom meeting: 2:30- 4:30 PM. Contact Bill Forbes

Fall Grace Gifts were assembled by the Board of Community Life and are ready for delivery! Grace Gifts Bags will be available to pick up in the Link this Sunday (11/8). Simply take a bag or two or three and then deliver them on Sunday or Monday. When you deliver them check in with the person(s) and share a little extra love this month. If you have questions, please contact Linda or text 615-485-6126. Thank you for delivering Summer Grace Gifts!

Join us in celebrating the life of Helen Connolly, mother of Karen Connolly and mother-in-law of Pam Archer. A lifelong musician, Helen shared her talents as a cellist, pianist, and church organist throughout a 65-year marriage to fellow musician Guy Connolly. Together, they performed with orchestras in communities across the country, most recently with the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra. The service will be followed by a luncheon in Plymouth Hall. All are welcome.

Join FCC’s Gun Violence Prevention and Mental Health Ministries for Louder Than Guns, a documentary by Old Crow Medicine Show founder Ketch Secor. After the screening, NPR host and filmmaker David Greene, filmmaker Doug Pray, and astronaut Scott Kelly, representing Giffords Gun Owners for Safety, will discuss gun violence as a public health issue and how music, listening, and honest dialogue can help us find common ground. This film is for gun owners and non-owners alike.

Join us for a discussion of Running with Lions, Pius Kamau’s powerful memoir of growing up in colonial Kenya, overcoming poverty and violence, and pursuing an education that led him to become a physician and surgeon. His remarkable journey explores resilience, courage, and the enduring struggle for freedom and equality. Tickets: $10 plus a $1.49 processing fee. Purchase tickets online. Boulder Bookstore will offer books for sale at the event at 20% off.

We have enjoyed Kristen Barrett’s beautiful violin playing in our worship services, and we invite you to join us in supporting her as she presents her doctoral recital at CU. The program features works by Bach, Prokofiev, Kenji Bunch, and Ernest Bloch, including Bloch’s Poème Mystique, which celebrates the goodness of God and the Creator. We hope you’ll join us for this special evening and help us celebrate Kristen’s musical gifts! Parking is available in the Euclid Garage or the lot across from the Music Building.

Cantabile Singers, a vocal ensemble in residence at First Congregational, opens its 2026–27 season, All of Us, with a concert celebrating inclusion, love, and belonging. Through music, “You Belong” explores our shared longing for home and community and invites us to help create a sense of belonging for everyone. Purchase tickets at cantabilesingers.org/concerts

Join Rhapsody Duo, pianists Marianna McLean and Jessica Kressin, our very own Chancel Choir accompanist, for an afternoon of beautiful music for piano. The delightful program features solo and four-hand works by some of the great composers of the Classical and Romantic traditions including Schubert, Beethoven, Granados, and more. Come enjoy an afternoon of music, artistry, and friendship as they share these beloved works! Everyone is invited!

Art has a way of helping us see the world with fresh eyes, stirring our imagination, and revealing beauty in unexpected places. Join us in celebrating the many talented artists in our church community! We’ll gather for a special breakfast on Sunday, November 15, and an evening reception on Friday, December 4, to enjoy food, fellowship, and the creativity and gifts our artists share through the Fall Member Art Show, on display in the church from early November through early January.

Our A2A/Mental Health ministry is sponsoring the Hope Coalition of Boulder’s HOPE Lights the Night, an Evening of Remembrance for those who have lost a loved one to suicide. This event provides a safe space for those who have lost a loved one to suicide to be able to grieve in community. There will be a few brief speakers, music, and a symbolic candle lighting. We invite you to join us.

We invite you to take the next step in your journey with First Congregational Church! Whether you are new to our congregation or have been worshiping with us for some time, we welcome you to make this community your spiritual home and share in its life and ministry.

We will receive new members during 10:30 a.m. worship on Sundays, November 22, and December 13. If you are interested, please contact Julie Griffitts or Chris Braudaway-Bauman.

Join us immediately after worship at the Museum of Boulder across the street as we celebrate the completion of our Legacy Campaign! Our story began in 1864 at Valmont Butte, before our congregation moved to Boulder and built the city’s first church in 1870. Together, we’ll give thanks for the generations who brought us here, celebrate the future we are shaping together, and enjoy the opportunity to explore the museum’s exhibit Valmont: Hidden in Plain Sight. All are welcome!

If you are ready to take a deep dive into Celtic Christian Spirituality, please join the Revs. Jane Anne Ferguson and Hal Chorpenning on a pilgrimage that includes ancient standing stones, an extended visit to Iona, a pilgrimage walk around St. Andrews with a renowned scholar from Scotland’s oldest university, two nights on Holy Island (Lindisfarne), and a visit to Edinburgh and Inchcolm, a monastic island in the Firth of Forth. Together, we’ll journey, worship, explore, and enjoy companionship along the way. Jane Anne and Hal have been longtime students of CelticChristian spirituality and have led pilgrimages in Ireland and Scotland. Registration extended to November 13.

All of the following are 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the Grace Gallery

November 8: Beaded Tapestries

November 15: First Aid Kits Service Project

November 22: Friendsgiving

November 29: JackBox Games Night

December 6: Advent Lights Service Project

December 13: Christmas Party



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