We are an Open and Affirming Congregation
Where no matter who we are or where we are on life's journey...we are welcome here.
Worship Services
We live stream our Sunday Worship.
SUNDAYS
Worship 10:00 AM
135 E Larch St, Rhinelander, WI 54501
FELLOWSHIP TIME
Enjoy coffee and conversation following worship.
At a time when religion is too often portrayed as narrow-minded and exclusive, we are raising our voices for alternative vision. One where God is all-loving and inclusive. Where the Church of Jesus Christ welcomes and accepts everyone as they are. Where your mind is nourished as much as your soul. Where Jesus the healer meets Jesus the revolutionary. Where together we grow a just and peaceful world.
Every visitor is also invited to share in the Sacrament of Holy Communion on the first Sunday of each month. We live stream our Sunday Worship to our Facebook page. You are welcome to join us on Facebook on Sunday or view it anytime during the week. Join us by clicking on the Facebook page above.
See you here!
Mark Your Calendar
Plan to join us on March 23 for worship led by Revs. Tim and Susie Grade. Our Search Committee has invited the Revs. Grade to assume a shared pastorate at First Congregational. Following this worship service, the congregation will vote on extending a pastoral call to Rev. Tim and Rev. Susie.
Next 7 Days of Events
Some of It Is Your Fault
While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long … my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. – Psalm 32:3-5 (NRSV)
There is so much wrong with the world, and some of it is your fault.
The earth is collapsing under the weight of so many of us using up everything we want as fast as we want, and you just drank a cup of coffee from a disposable cup. People are really actually starving right in your town, and you continue to buy groceries for your own family as if this were not happening. Governments are overtaken by thugs, and you are too busy or cynical to vote.
There is so much wrong, and some of it really is your fault.
The curse of being human is knowing this. The blessing of being human is having a choice about how to respond to this knowledge.
You can pull the covers over your head, groan softly and gradually waste away from the helpless, enervating guilt of it all. Or you can start here: Roll out of your bed and kneel beside it. Open your mouth not to groan, for once, but to speak out loud. Tell your fault to the Holy One so that it no longer weighs you down, no longer weakens your body and soul, no longer keeps you trapped in the prison of your own making. Remember that while some of it is your fault, not all of it is.
Then get up. There is so much wrong with the world, and you have work to do.
Prayer
O Most High, help me speak and then to move from confession to action.
About the AuthorRev. Jennifer Garrison (formerly Brownell) is a writer, spiritual director and pastor living in the Pacific Northwest. Her published work most recently appeared in the book The Words of Her Mouth: Psalms for the Struggle, available from The Pilgrim Press.
ABout UCC
A church of firsts and of extravagant welcome. A church where "they may all be one" (John 17:21).
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a distinct and diverse community of Christians who come together as one church to join faith and action. With over 5,000 churches and nearly one million members across the U.S., the UCC serves God in the co-creation of a just and sustainable world.
Since 1957, the United Church of Christ has been the church of firsts, weaving God’s message of hope and extravagant welcome with action for justice and peace. Together, we live out our faith in ways that effect change in our communities. Our church works to help make a difference in local, national and global communities.
