Join Us for Lent
Lent at First Congregational Church in Winchester is a season of reflection, prayer, and ritual that deepens our journey along Jesus’ way and renews our commitment to God’s work in the world. We encourage various spiritual disciplines during the six weeks of Lent, offer opportunities for study and prayer together, and celebrate with joy the resurrection of Christ and the analogous rebirth of Spring that comes on Easter morning.
March 5, 7:30 PM, Ripley Chapel
Live in-person ONLY from the stunning Ripley Chapel at First Congregational Church, Winchester. First Congregational Church offers a poignant and meditative Ash Wednesday service, featuring the ecumenical prayers and music of France’s Taizé community. All denominations are welcome…read more
Join us in Ripley Chapel for Ash Wednesday.
Tuesdays with Jesus
Lenten Series: Death and Dying Well
Tuesdays March 11th through April 15th
6:30-8:00pm – Tucker/Palmer Rooms
Lent is a season of humble reflection on our mortality in general and specifically the passion and death of Jesus Christ and how that speaks to our own lives and deaths. We begin Lent on Ash Wednesday with the words: “from dust you have come to dust you shall return” and 6 weeks later Lent closes with a remembrance of the removal of Christ’s lifeless body from the cross on Good Friday. The church is a unique place in our culture where death and dying is not avoided, denied, or even seen necessarily as a tragedy but held within community, ritual, and promise….read more
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Build-a-Bed Project
Sunday, March 16th
11 am-1 pm in Chidley Hall
Join us for fun, fellowship, snacks, and service at our annual Build-A-Bed event after service Sunday, March 16 from 11 A.M. to 1 P.M. in Chidley Hall — with a lunch break (pizza, fruits, and drinks) at noon! We are looking for 30-40 volunteers to work together and build ten beds for children in need. Invite your friends and family, and sign up now!
Organ Extravaganza
Friday, March 21, 2025 7:30 PM
To celebrate two important historical events, please join us on Friday evening, March 21 for an organ extravaganza, featuring four of Winchester’s best organists: Jeffrey Mead, First Congregational Church; Jeremy Bruns, Parish of the Epiphany; John Kramer, Winchester Unitarian Society; Jane O’Keefe, Retired, St. Mary’s Parish. The town of Winchester celebrates 175 years of incorporation as Johann Sebastian Bach turns 340 years old!..read more about the performers and ISA
Bringing Faith Home
Saturday, April 5 from 9-11 AM
Ripley Chapel
Bringing Faith Home workshop is designed to help families of all ages integrate faith and spirituality within the home. Through hands-on activities, meaningful discussions, and creative ideas, participants will learn how to incorporate simple yet meaningful faith rituals and traditions into their daily life, nurturing children’s spiritual growth and deepening family connections. Free childcare will be provided.RSVP Today!
Celebration of the Palms
April 13, 9:40 AM, Town Common
To mark the beginning of Holy Week, we will gather on the Town Common to experience our own version of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Our jazz trio, Jane Potter, keyboards; Lenny Bradford, bass; Rick Forzese, drums will offer “prelude” jazz music beginning at 9:15 am. At @ 9:30, we will assemble to bless the palms, to read the scripture, to sing, and to march joyfully up the stairs to the Sanctuary for our 10:00 am Palm Sunday worship service.
Palm Sunday Worship Service
April 13, 10:00 AM, Sanctuary and Online
Remembering Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem for his final week and his passion, our worship opens the gate to Holy Week and prepares us for the coming Friday and eventually Easter Sunday. Palm leaves are distributed, songs of praise lifted and a foreshadowing of what is to come draws us prayerfully toward the heart of our faith. We will worship live and in-person; and the service will also be live streamed.
Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service
April 17, 7:30 PM, Sanctuary
Gather with us in person or through live stream as we share in the Last Supper that Jesus had with his disciples before his death and then listen to the story of the Passion according to the Gospel of John as candles are extinguished and we gradually descend into the darkness with Him. At the end of the service, we’ll depart in silence as the 15 hour overnight vigil begins.
Good Friday Overnight Prayer Vigil
April 17, 9:00 PM – April 18, 12:00 PM, Sanctuary
From the close of the Maundy Thursday evening service through Good Friday at noon, we keep watch in the sanctuary before the single candle lit at the end of the Tenebrae service. This reproduces for us the experience the disciples being asked to watch and pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He was Crucified. Beginning at 9:00 PM the Sanctuary will be open for vigil. Two individuals or pods are needed as anchors for each hour – sign up here to be an anchor to ensure that we have coverage throughout the night. All others are free to come at any time and stay as long as you would like. No sign up necessary.
Sign up for here for the Maundy Thursday Vigil
Good Friday Overnight Vigil Closing Service
April 18, 12:00 PM, Sanctuary
After almost 17 hours of prayer from Maundy Thursday through the wee hours of Good Friday. We come to a simple and quite moment where we read of Jesus’ death, share reflections from our Vigil experience, and offer prayers of thanksgiving and hope. Whether you followed the Vigil or not, you are invited to join us in the sanctuary at noon as we close the Vigil Service. There is no live stream for this service.
Easter Lily Memorials & Distribution
You are invited to donate a chancel Easter lily as a memorial or as a gift. Plants will be distributed to our members at home and in assisted living centers on Easter Sunday. The cost of plants is $25.00 each. All orders are due by Palm Sunday, April 13. Paper forms and envelopes are available in the church office lobby and at the back of the Sanctuary. Or you can pay and order using this JotForm.
Want to celebrate the Easter season with members of our church community? Consider signing up for lilies deliveries! Bring your family and loved ones, give back, and make someone’s day.
Annual Easter Egg Hunt
Saturday, April 19
at 10 AM, Church Lawn
Hop on over for some family fun! Meet the Easter Bunny, win prizes & help the EnKA Food Pantry stock their shelves! Please bring a box of cereal to donate.
Easter Sunday, April 20
Wright Locke Farm
5:15 AM Yoga in the Barn; 5:45 AM Worship Outside
As the women gathered around Jesus’ tomb in the very early hours of the Sunday after He had been buried, we will gather for a joyful and celebratory service. When we greet the sunrise we know that there is also the eternal Son Rise of our Savior. A spiritual and inclusive half hour of Yoga will prepare us for welcoming Jesus’ resurrection.
10:00 AM Easter Morning Worship Service, Sanctuary and Online
Easter is the most sacred and the most meaningful of all the Christian Holidays. We will hold a traditional and joyful Easter service. Our hymns are familiar yet each year they proclaim Christ’s Resurrection with new enthusiasm. The Sanctuary will be fragrant and beautiful from the Easter flowers. This family service will include a Time for the Young and will end with our usual singing of the Hallelujah Chorus. Join us in-person in the Sanctuary or on our livestream.
