New Member Cohort May 2022

First Church is overjoyed to welcome three new members in our May Cohort–get to know them better here! Adrian Antonio (he/him) Adrian grew up in a mega church with some fundamentalist teachings, and is now in the process of healing.  Adrian is proud of his queer identity and has reconciled that aspect of his identity with his spiritual identity.  For …

June 5 Learning Hour: Queer Poetry & the Spirit with Christina Hutchins

Mystics have long used sexual imagery for the divine-human relationship. Poets, by drawing on the radiant play of multiple meanings and music in language, have long refused to separate sacred and daily experience. You might (or might not!) be surprised how many well known poets have been queer! Sappho lived 600 years before Jesus and founded the community of Lesbos, …

Mental Health Ministry Library

Members of First Church’s Mental Health Ministry maintain a beautiful library full of memoirs, explorations, and even children’s books dealing with mental health. The library is brought out monthly for members to borrow books, but books can also be requested via email. Here is the catalog of adult books: and here is the catalog of children’s books:

May 29 Learning Hour: Mental Health Ministry

Sun., May 29, 11:45 amLoper Chapel Join us for this Sunday’s Learning Hour with Charlotte Russell, Helen Walsh, and other leaders from our Mental Health Ministry as they share about our congregation’s resources for mental health.  Peruse the library, watch the recorded conversation between Rev. Molly and Sarah Lund, author of the new book Blessed Youth, focused on youth mental …

May 22 Learning Hour: The Interfaith Coalition for Justice in Our Jails

Sun., May 22, 11:45 amLoper Chapel Join us for this Sunday’s Learning Hour with Micky Duxbury, advocate for individuals, families, and communities, and project coordinator for The Welcome Home Project, and Myrna Schwartz, member of Kehilla Synagogue, grandparent, and retired psychologist. They’ll be sharing their stories about The Interfaith Coalition for Justice in Our Jails, its current campaigns, and upcoming …

Did You Know…?

…that Christina Hutchins is teaching a class at the Cobb Institute entitled “Using Poetry to Unfold Whitehead’s Mode of Becoming” Wednesday evenings, 5 to 6:30 pm, May 18 – June 8? Find out more here. …that the Motley Few meets on Zoom every Friday at 10:30 am for coffee and conversation? Join us any Friday — we may talk about …

Celebrating LGBTQI Preaching All June: Rev. Rhina Ramos Preaching June 5

Join us for worship every Sunday in June as we celebrate LGBTQI preaching all month. We’ll feature queer preachers as we celebrate queer bodies, queer love, and queer faith. We welcome Rev. Rhina Ramos as our guest preacher on Pentecost Sunday, June 5. Rev. Ramos is an ordained United Church of Christ (UCC) minister leading a Spanish speaking congregation open …

Legacy Circle Lunch a Success!

The Endowment Committee wishes to thank all those who attended the May 1, 2022 Legacy Circle luncheon. We had over 20 participants and it was a wonderful opportunity to share information about the First Church Endowment and to celebrate those in our congregation who have established a planned gift to First Church Berkeley. We are so grateful to our Legacy …