We are a Presbyterian Church, and our worship follows a Reformed pattern of liturgy. Basically, it’s split into three parts. In the first part, we set aside the worries, stress, and guilt that have accumulated over the week. In the second part, we encounter the Word of God in scripture and sermon. We believe God’s Word comes to us in new and fresh ways every time we seek it. Third, we offer back our gifts and our blessings to the church and the world. We share our prayer requests with one another and bless each other in parting.

Though we follow a traditional outline for worship, we are quite sure that you have never experienced worship quite like we do it at First Church. We believe worship should reflect the worshiping community. We come from a wide variety of backgrounds with diverse identities, and we make sure that diversity is represented in worship. We sing Gospel Hymns, Spirituals from Black worshiping traditions, traditional Cameroonian hymns, Taizé, and European traditional hymnodies. We welcome dancers and artists of every imaginable genre.

We know how alienating “traditional” rituals can be, especially the ones that churches have inherited from ancient euro-centric traditions. But rituals can also bring us closer to one another, bring us into communion with our ancestors and saints, and bring us into harmony with the presence of God with us.

Whoever you are, wherever you are from, you are welcome to join us in worship.