FCC Bristol’s Mission Outreach and
Sanctuary Restoration Campaign
Join us in building community in Bristol
2030 marks the 350th Anniversary of the founding of First Congregational Church in Bristol (FCC). In early 2024, the members of FCC gathered to discuss our dreams for the future. We are committed to increased mission work in the wider community, including the restoration of our sanctuary as a place for public use.
In response, we have launched The 350 FUND, which seeks to join the hands-on work of expanding mission efforts together with repairing and preserving our historic sanctuary to serve as a gathering place that benefits the entire community. We believe these two components of the 350 FUND will work together to achieve more than either could achieve separately. We want to build relationships with and serve the wider Bristol community as partners.
Whether you are a member of FCC Bristol or of the wider community, whether you are a child, teen, adult or senior, we invite you to join with us in carrying out many new and exciting projects. We also invite you to make a donation of any size to jump start these projects as well as the restoration of the sanctuary.
FCC Bristol was gathered in 1680 as the first and “founding church” that enabled the establishment of the Town of Bristol. These first members worked to understand God’s plans for the congregation. Today, FCC’s members are making this same effort. We seek to learn more about the current needs of the wider community, to understand our current capabilities, to grow our human and physical assets, and to devote these assets to new projects that will better meet the community’s needs.
A decade ago, FCC Bristol made huge investments to save our threatened historic buildings. We restored most of our campus so that it could be better used by the community. This supported such projects as the Stone Church Coffee House and provided space for programs such as Looking Upwards. With your help, we can tackle the remaining restoration project facing us: the repair and preservation of our sanctuary. Currently, cracked plaster, flaking and dirty paint, and worn-out carpeting limit its usefulness to the congregation and larger community.
A donation of any size is welcome to help these efforts. Donations by check, stocks or other assets or bequests will be gratefully accepted. Every donation directed to restoration, large or small, will be memorialized on a permanent plaque mounted in the sanctuary.
Help us put your entire donation to work by
mailing a check to the FCC office at:
First Congregational Church
The 350 FUND
281 High Street, Bristol, Rhode Island 02809
If you choose to make an on-line donation to the 350 FUND, use the PayPal button below:
An Inspiration For FCC
This 10 minute video by Partners for Sacred Places inspired our church members to reach higher and dream bigger. We invite you to hear how Christ Church in Reading, PA, a church with challenges similar to those of Bristol’s houses of worship, successfully expanded their mission outreach and revitalized their old stone church.