Since the early morning fire last Halloween, the Facilities Committee has overseen a massive amount of cleaning and rehabilitation throughout the church complex. Soot and smoke were professionally removed from all of the spaces including the entire Sunday School wing and the sanctuary. Then the DeWolf Room was painted, the sound baffles were cleaned, and new carpeting was installed. The Wardwell Room and vestibule were repaired and painted, and new tile floors were installed. In the area of greatest damage, the church kitchen which was completely destroyed, the first task was to empty the space of all the appliances and furnishings.
After stripping back all of the walls and ceiling to the studs, it was discovered that the roof of the kitchen space had been damaged by the fire and had to be replaced. Then the plumbing and electrics were replaced, insulation laid in, and dry wall began to be installed.
It won’t be long before FCC Bristol has an entirely new, professional kitchen. We’re looking forward making good use of it for many Fellowship events. There is nothing quite like cooking together and enjoying a good meal together to make friends and spread happiness.
One of the hymns we sang this Sunday was written by Isaac Watts. In preparation for the coming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Rei Battcher, Bristol historian and member of our church, took a few moments during worship to tell us a bit about Watts (1674-1748), an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. Watts was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”, “Joy to the World”, and “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”. Most particularly, Rei retold the story which I (a New Jersey girl) had heard all my youth: the story of “Give ‘Em Watts” that took place at the Battle of Springfield, NJ on June 23, 1780. The picture, above, shows Rei in one of his Revolutionary uniforms with the Rev. Nancy H. Soukup at last year’s July 4th Interfaith service. And below is a photo of the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, whose minister gathered up all of the church hymnals and gave them to the Revolutionary soldiers for them to use in their fight for American independence. You can see the video, below the church photo, of Rei’s story telling and find out how the soldiers used the hymnals. It’s a good one!
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First Congregational Church is grateful to all who were able to attend our Community Asset-Mapping Forum on April 15th. We had a full house of some 30 participants who shared their goodwill and expertise with our church members, other members of the Bristol community and our Partners for Sacred Places consultants, Dana Dabek and Caroline Lauber.
The Forum began with a greeting from our Settled Minister, the Rev. Dr. Nancy H. Soukup, who gave a special thank you to Steve Knapman, the representative from the Bristol Fire Department. It is due to the speedy response and the great skills of the professionals who responded to our fire alarm on October 31, 2025, that a kitchen fire starting in the wiring of an old appliance only destroyed the kitchen. The DeWolf Room, where the Forum was held, only suffered soot and smoke damage and was ready for our community event after a professional cleaning, painting, audio system restoration and new carpet.
Our Forum attendees came from all sectors of the Bristol community—the arts, education, houses of worship, health, human services, neighborhood nonprofits, philanthropy, business, government, and the media—bringing their particular knowledge of the East Bay, their understanding of all of the assets that could be tapped and brought together to meet the unmet needs of our community. We wish we could have stayed far longer to have those conversations with each of them about what needs their organizations are facing and how our church might partner with them to meet those needs. Following this forum, our FCC Asset-Mapping Task Force has reached out individually to each of the 65+ community leaders on our list to encourage them to take the next step. That would be to discuss some of the projects their organization has been dreaming of and explore how we might partner to accomplish them.
The afternoon started with a guided tour of the spaces within our church complex that might be of use for community events, meetings, worship , celebrations or other projects our attendee organizations would like to carry out. The tours were followed by a small group brainstorming session designed to spark ideas and grow relationships among Bristol’s leaders and our church.
Each small group was asked to identify as many of Bristol assets as they possibly could and to note each one down on a colorful post-it note. After that, each group brainstormed ideas for needed projects that could move forward through the coordination of these existing area assets. This process confirmed our common belief that all of the Bristol community will benefit when we work together, creating partnerships that share our assets to address projects these organizations have been hoping to pursue.
Our follow-up to the Asset-Mapping Forum is important to us. We are eager to move the process forward, both for those who attended the Forum and those who were not able to make it. As a result of this Forum, our hope is that all of us— coming from all sectors of Bristol’s nonprofit and for-profit sectors— came to a better understanding of the economic and social value that sacred places represent in communities when those assets are linked with assets outside the houses of worship. Together, we succeeded in identifying literally hundreds of assets, both within our church and within the community. Then we brainstormed and came up with new, exciting and needed initiatives that linked a constellation of assets from all over Bristol, some to space usage of the First Congregational Church.
We are eager to hear what ideas Bristol organizations have for partnering on new projects, creating connections among Bristol’s organizations, each with their own assets, to benefit our larger community. Moving forward for us is about hearing more about each organization’s vision, how they serve the Bristol community, and how our church can support their efforts through our buildings and our members.
You are invited to be part of a worship service that is truly one of the most powerful spiritual experiences in the whole liturgical calendar–Tenebrae on April 2, Maundy Thursday. Come and experience it for yourself. Bring a friend.
WHAT IS TENEBRAE?
You’ve been seeing a flyer about the Maundy Thursday service in recent weeks. I want to encourage you to attend this moving service that leads us into the solemnity of Good Friday.
At First Congregational Church, our Maundy Thursday practice includes the reading of the Tenebrae. What is Tenebrae, which is the Latin term for “shadows”? Our worship will be centered around this ancient ritual, which chronicles the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus. As we worship, this space will grow increasingly darker as the shadow of the cross falls upon each of us. Thus, the sanctuary is cast into darkness as the readers assemble and speak. The twelve candles on the table represent Jesus’s twelve disciples; the large candle is the Christ candle.
Throughout the service, there are readings, prayers, and most important sacred music for the occasion. We are fortunate to have Nikita Zabinski, our Music Director, who has prepared a powerful blend of works by J. S. Bach and Sergei Prokofiev, and contemporary choral music by Heather Sorenson and Ruth Elaine Schram.
Additionally, special musical offerings include vocal solos by Cara Massey, Sarah Albanese, and Katherine Harcourt, as well as a featured violin sonata performed by Alexi Shabalin, violinist with the Rhode Island Philharmonic.
The service is on April 2, at 7:00 p.m. in the church sanctuary. All are welcome.
First Congregational Churchin Bristol Welcomes You to Its Holy Week and Easter Services from April 2 to April 5, 2026.
Our historic congregation has been celebrating this religious tradition for 346 years, and we feel this continuity deeply as Bristol’s oldest church and organization. We hope you will join us for this year’s services. As we say at First Congregational Church in Bristol, whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.
Come join us for a time of new beginnings, new sources of comfort and grace, new friendships.
Join us for the Tenebrae service on Maundy Thursday, with a reenactment of the last supper and special music.
Join us for a Labyrinth Walk in the DeWolf Chapel on Good Friday, a time of quiet contemplation and spiritual support.
Join us for a joyful Easter worship service, either at the Mt. Hope Boat Ramp at the 6:30am Sunrise service or the regular 10:00am service at the church — or both.
Short Book — BIG message. We invite you to dip your toe into the exciting subject of Restorative Justice by attending 4 gatherings, either in person at Guiteras House or via ZOOM, on Monday, March 2 through March 30 at 6:30pm. We will explore a process defined by Howard Zehr, based on ancient practices designed to open up constructive dialogue between conflicting parties.
Wouldn’t you like to learn something new, something as important and pertinent as a way to help find understanding and perhaps even agreement for seemingly unresolvable conflicts?
Serving the justice needs of the world is a key mission of Christianity. Here is an opportunity to learn more about how we can all contribute to it. Join us on Monday, March 2 at 6:30, either at the Guiteras House or via ZOOM. If you think you would like to join the group via ZOOM, call the office and let Barbara know so that we can be sure to email you the link invitation to the meeting.
More than 30 of our church’s most seasoned members gathered on Friday, February 13 for the annual Senior Luncheon.
It is always a welcome time of fellowship, when we can sit over a plate of delicious food and enjoy hearing the latest news and future plans of our dear friends.
Caterers for the event were the Common Pub. Their food was absolutely delicious and their service was kind, thoughtful and prompt.
We were especially happy to see some members who have been following our services via Live Stream rather than brave the cold winter winds. It was great to see Michael, now 99 years old, and Pat, and Tom.
We are already looking forward to next Valentine’s Day, when we can again let all of our senior parishioners know how much they are appreciated.
The Mt. Hope High School gymnastics team won first place in the 2026 Rhode Island state championship on Saturday night, Feb. 14, at Rhode Island College. Two of the members of this outstanding team are our very own Kara Pisasale and Naty Quezada-Grant.
The Huskies were the unmatched best team throughout the winter season. They finished unbeaten in regular meets and continued their winning record last weekend with a team total of 140.225 to claim the school’s second state title.
The team earned their way into the 2026 New England Gymnastics Championships scheduled for Saturday, March 7, at Fitchburg (Mass.) High School.
Responding to the congratulations directed at her team, Kara Pisasale responded: “Thank you so much! We’re super excited!”
MHHS head coach Nicole Daniello said of Mt. Hope’s entry in the New England State Championships: “We finished No. 1 in the state, so the entire team is going. It’s super exciting.”
You can read the full article in the Phoenix HERE.
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