Service & Justice

“Christ has no body but yours, no hands, feet on earth but yours.” –Teresa of Avila

The Christian faith demands that we bring all our resources to bear as we seek to walk in the way of Jesus: our hearts, our heads, and our hands. Our faith in a loving and compassionate God must ultimately find expression in the good, hard work of service and justice. People at the First Congregational Church take that calling seriously. This is one of the ways that we become the body of Christ.

Our local and global Christian service ministries are coordinated by the Board of Mission and Action. Ongoing ministries are described below, and you’ll find much more on the church events calendar, including seasonal service opportunities like the Construct Walk to Prevent Homelessness, our edible church garden, the Christmas Giving Tree, and the Walk Out of Darkness (suicide prevention).

Explore our Service & Justice Ministries

Pop-Up Pantry

The Board of Mission and Action is pleased to announce the opening of a Pop-up Pantry to assist those in our community who have been impacted by the pandemic. This project will provide emergency, short-term food supplies free of charge to anyone who needs them. Our new shed, located at the rear of the church by the back entrance, is ready to go! We will be stocking the shed for use 24/7 with pre packed bags of food for families and individuals.

We need volunteers to keep things moving along smoothly. You can help in many ways, with minimal time commitment:

Volunteers to work in the building to sort, fill and label bagged food
Volunteers to shop for food
FOOD DONATIONS (see list on the church website for shelf stable non-perishable items)
FINANCIAL donations

For a list of all food pantries in Berkshire County, click here.

People's Pantry

Each month on communion Sundays (first Sunday of the month), we respond with an active prayer of thanksgiving, processing offerings of food and money which feed hungry mouths through the People’s Pantry in Great Barrington. Members of the church also volunteer regularly at the Pantry.

For information about how to donate to the Pantry, go to their website. Donations of food and funds are much needed.

Open Table (on hiatus)

Fresh food, made locally with love. Our pay-what-you-can meal program is keeping mouths fed and a local restaurant engaged during the Covid-19 pandemic. Through a partnership with The Lost Lamb, weekly meals are made available for pickup or delivery at low to no cost. Program on hiatus.

Cathedral of the Beloved

Several times a year, volunteers from the church participate in “Cathedral of the Beloved,” an ecumenical, community meal held every week, rain or shine, in the front yard of St. Joseph’s Church in Pittsfield.

We prep food at the church and then serve a meal for 70-80 people. Volunteers are always welcome, whether chefs, transportation crew, or servers.

A woman crochets while another woman smiles

Service League

With faithful dedication, the Women’s Service League fashions handmade crafts which are sold twice a year (at the summer fair and Holly Fair), all while engaging in lively conversation over coffee, tea and snacks. Proceeds from the group’s work go to support the church, the community, and the wider world. The Service League is open to women from the church and the community at large, and generally meets once a week from 10AM to 1PM.

A green prayer shawl and a blue prayer shawl on a wooden table

Prayer Shawl Knitting Group

Our prayer shawl knitters engage monthly in a time of conversation and contemplation as they knit stitches of love, hope, and healing into prayer shawls which are given to people in times of trial or celebration. See the Events listing for dates and times.

Little Eden: An Edible Church Garden

Our edible church garden, tended by church volunteers, contributes fresh produce to Berkshire families in need, both individually and through The People’s Pantry in Great Barrington. The garden was developed through assistance from Greenagers, a Berkshires nonprofit that provides jobs for youth in farming, agriculture and conservation. With gratitude for what we have been given, we seek to share a portion of that bounty.

Image of hand painted cloth with the words "What's Possible" embroidered on.

Green Team

Using guidelines from the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ, our Green Team works toward making our church more ecologically sustainable. This is a faith-based, justice-driven means to examine our carbon footprint and consider what we can do to become better stewards of God’s creation.

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