Holy Week at First Church Amherst

We offer several opportunities for walking the journey of Holy Week together as we further prepare ourselves for the new life of Easter.

ALL people are extravagantly welcomed to all services and activities. We would love to see you! Childcare is available.

On March 24 at 10:30 a.m., we’ll observe Palm/Passion Sunday with a moving service that takes us from the glory of Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem to a deeper awareness of the cost and companionship of having God With Us.

March 28 is Maundy Thursday, when we remember Jesus’ last supper with his disciples and how they deserted him in his hour of greatest need. We begin our time together with a simple supper of soup and bread at 6 o’clock in the Dining Room. At 7 o’clock we begin an intimate and beautiful service in the Chapel. Communion is shared.

Our Good Friday observance will be offered on Zoom.

And then, at last, Easter Sunday arrives! Easter Sunday at First Church is a celebration of joy, gratitude, and new life. The 10:30 a.m. service will feature soaring music, joyful times with children, and some of our own beloved traditions. After the service there’s a delightful egg hunt for children and a sumptuous coffee hour for adults.

We’d hope to see you!

Lent is Almost Here!

Lent 2024
Losing Our Burdens, Finding Our Way

Our faith is built on a paradox: that it is in losing the things we think life is about that we discover and experience what true life is. This is a hard concept to understand, and harder yet to live out. Unfortunately, what it most often looks like in institutional Christianity is a rubric of obligations, a set of “shoulds,” a list of do’s and don’ts.

Sadly, this structure of suffering and sacrifice is never seen more clearly than during Lent, which is meant to be a time of spiritual devotion and intentional communion with the Holy, a season of learning how it feels to live into what is real and true and life-giving.

Lent is also a great time to explore spiritual practices and all the ways they can connect us to the Holy and bring us new life, and that’s a big part of what we plan to do together this Lent. Reflecting on the scriptures, reading Barbara Brown Taylor’s An Altar in the World, and exploring it all in after-worship Lenten lunches, together we’ll embark upon a Lenten journey of losing, finding, keeping, and living with purpose and joy. See you on the way!

Ash Wednesday, February 14, 7 p.m.: Losing Guilt, Finding Grace

First Sunday, February 18: Losing Certainty, Finding Trust

Second Sunday, February 25: Losing Our Masks, Finding Our True Selves

Third Sunday, March 3: Losing Complacency, Finding Passion + Lenten Lunch

Fourth Sunday, March 10: Losing Belief, Finding Faith + Lenten Lunch

Fifth Sunday, March 17: Losing Direction, Finding Purpose + Lenten Lunch

Palm/Passion Sunday, March 24: Losing Control, Finding Freedom

Maundy Thursday, March 28: Simple Supper @6; @7: Losing Power, Finding Peace

Good Friday, March 29: to be announced

Easter Sunday, March 31: Losing What Was, Finding What Can Be + Egg Hunt

Advent and Christmas 2023

How does a weary world rejoice? How do we rejoice if we’re tired or discouraged or worse? These are important and life-giving questions—because the world is weary. Because wars, injustice, and the challenges of our own lives can wear us down.

But the Word became flesh and moved into our neighborhood, into our messy lives and our broken world. And because God’s Love is for us and chooses to be with us, we can experience what the old carol calls “the thrill of hope” and receive the gift of considering anew how to live—not only during Advent, but always.

During Advent we’ll also enjoy lots of story-telling, candle-lighting, carol-singing, and community-building. Advent is an invitation to be still, a divine summons to acknowledge the holy longings in our hearts, a gentle wake-up call to wonder and waiting, and holy permission to simply revel in God’s love for us and our world.

Advent is also a great time to come back to church, young ones in tow: to bask in the light, be fed by soaring music, hear the story as if for the first time, share the joy, and attend special events. We look forward to celebrating the season with you!

Friday, December 1, 5:30 + 6:30 Family Advent Party + Greening of the Sanctuary

December 3, First Sunday of Advent We Acknowledge Our Weariness

December 10, Second Sunday of Advent We Find Joy in Connection + Trimming the Tree

December 17, Third Sunday of Advent A Service of Lessons & Carols
We Allow Ourselves to Be Amazed

Thursday, December 21, 7 o’clock Longest Night Service + Bonfire

December 24, Fourth Sunday of Advent We Sing Stories of Hope & Make Room

Christmas Eve: 4 o’clock Pageant Service
9 o’clock Meditative service with Communion

Blessing of the Animals

We’d love to see you and your critters on the Amherst Common of Saturday, October 14 from 10a to noon.

We’ll be blessing four-leggeds, two-leggeds, and winged creatures–and their humans, too!

Hope to see you there!

Holy Week and Easter Schedule 2023

Click here for more information about Holy Week and Easter at First Church.

Advent and Christmas

It brings us great joy to celebrate the seasons of Advent and Christmas, and we’d love to share that joy with you! Here are some of the special events coming up:

December 4, Second Sunday of Advent God Meets Us in Our Fear + Trimming the Tree

December 11, Third Sunday of Advent We Can Choose a Better Way

December 18, Fourth Sunday of Advent We See God in Each Other + Lessons & Carols

December 21, 7 o’clock Longest Night Service

Christmas Eve: 4 o’clock Pageant Service
9 o’clock Meditative service with Communion

Christmas Day, 10:30 Short, joyful service on Zoom

Except for the late Christmas Eve and the Christmas morning services, all services are both in person and live-streaming on our YouTube channel. The late Christmas Eve service will be in person only, and the brief Christmas morning service will be offered only on YouTube.

Easter is Almost Here!

We are so excited to be celebrating Easter in person for the first time since 2019, and we would love to welcome you to this special service!

The service begins at 10:30, and will feature majestic organ pieces, two anthems sung by the First Church Choir (their first time singing in worship since 2019), Communion, a special children’s sermon, Sunday School and, at the end of the service, an outdoor egg hunt for children.

Masks are required, but we have found that continuing to wear masks for a while longer helps us all to feel Covid-safe and makes it possible for more vulnerable folks to worship with us in person.

The service will also be live-streamed on our YouTube channel, but we’d love to see your face!