On Center Street Since 1712
First Church in Pembroke has stood on Center Street in the heart of Pembroke, Massachusetts for more than three hundred years. The congregation was established in 1712. Its roots reach back even earlier, to the first English settlers of old Pembroke, who began meeting for worship in 1708 in private homes before the gathered body formally organized itself four years later. A 1908 history by H. W. Litchfield, First Church In Pembroke History 1708 to 1908, traces those two founding centuries and is still shared with anyone curious about the church's origins.
Today the meetinghouse sits at 105 Center Street. Its steeple is lit week by week in memory of loved ones, its bell is rung in familiar rhythms, and its footprint includes a sanctuary, classrooms, a Fellowship Hall, a small thrift shop, and space for the church's kindergarten program. The mailing address is P.O. Box 576, Pembroke, MA 02359. Visitors and members alike tend to call it simply "First Church," or, in newsletters, FCIP.
Sunday Worship at Ten
Sunday worship begins at 10:00 AM and is the steady rhythm of the church. The weekly "Happenings" newsletter opens with the same invitation, week after week: "Be thoughtful, be silent, and be reverent for this house of the Lord. Before the Service, speak to God. During the Service, let God speak to you. After the Service, speak to one another." Members know the cadence. Newcomers are welcomed into it.
The service follows a printed Order of Worship that includes a Call to Worship, congregational hymns, scripture readings, a sermon, prayers of the people, an offertory, and a benediction. The first Sunday of the month is set aside as Communion Sunday. Children's Sunday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Pentecost, Easter, Palm Sunday, Advent Sundays, and Christmas Eve each shape the church calendar through the year.
Just before the service, at 9:50 AM, members gather in the sanctuary for a half hour of prayer, and all are welcome to join. The order of prayer has become one of the defining rhythms of the church under Pastor Joy Matos, who set a goal in her first year of making First Church "A House of Prayer for All Nations."
Services are livestreamed on YouTube at the church's channel, FCP1712, so that anyone unable to attend in person can still worship with the congregation. A sermon archive is available online, with weekly videos posted each Sunday and continuing back through prior years.
Rev. Joy Matos and the Pulpit Today
Reverend Joy Matos is the installed pastor of First Church in Pembroke. The congregation formally called her as settled pastor in 2025, and she continues to lead the church through her preaching, her pastoral care, and her work with the Diaconate, Trustees, and Missions committees. Pastor Joy graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary and earned a Doctor of Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Before coming to Pembroke, she served United Congregational Church in Norwood and held pastoral positions in Arizona and Texas.
In Pembroke her ministry has been marked by long preaching series, often working through books of the Bible chapter by chapter. Pastor Joy has taught through the Gospel of John, the Book of Joshua, and the early chapters of Acts. Sermon titles drawn from Acts include "Stephen: Full of the Spirit," "Two Conversion Stories," "Paul: Full of the Spirit," "The Expanding Gospel Mission," "One in Christ," "God's Purpose Prevails," "Standing on Christ Jesus, the Church's Strong Foundation," and "When There's Disagreement." Each sermon is followed by a brief written summary that the congregation shares online alongside the video.
Pastor Joy publishes regular letters to the congregation. In one at the start of a new church year she wrote, "I love this church, and I believe God has great things in store. As members of the body of Christ, we need to be moving forward in the same direction, together." She teaches the Wednesday community prayer meeting and welcomes the congregation's visits and phone calls at the church office.
A wide circle of guest preachers also fills the pulpit through the year. On a typical Sunday one may hear Rev. Merrily Harris, a licensed psychotherapist and longtime missionary whose preaching focuses on hearing the voice of the Shepherd. Minister David Greene has preached on suffering and the meaning of Christmas. Rev. Thomas "TC" Coronite, a former air traffic controller now in his second career of ministry, brings sermons grounded in the centrality of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the early church pattern of teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. The church has also hosted Rev. Lauren Curtiss, Rev. Wayne Earl, Rev. Patty Files, Rev. Doug Gray, Rev. Dr. Mary Louise Gifford, Rev. Eric Greer, Rev. Alex Killian, Rev. Rosemary MacKay, Rev. Terry Martinson, Rev. Bob Naylor, and Rev. Miriam Theodore, among others.
The settled pastors before Pastor Joy include Rev. Richard Giragosian (March 2002 to August 2016), Dr. Matt Jackson (2016 to 2021 with a brief pastoral vacancy in 2019 filled by an interim), and Rev. Miriam Theodore (August 2023 to August 2024). Rev. Fred Mead continues to support the church as a friend and occasional preacher. Rev. Doug Gray, who served as the pastor of First Church of Squantum, preached at First Church in Pembroke as part of the 2022 Mayflower Ministry Pulpit Exchange, a long-standing cross-pulpit visit between the two sister Congregational churches on the South Shore.
The Congregational Way
First Church belongs to a family of churches sometimes called "the Church of the Pilgrims." Congregationalism traces its roots to small groups of English dissenters in the early 1600s who came to the New World in pursuit of religious freedom. From them, Pembroke's congregation inherited a tradition built on seven convictions that the congregation names itself:
- Christ alone is the head of the church.
- All church members are spiritually equal and called to the work of ministry.
- Every local church is autonomous and complete.
- Each local church is called into wider associations of fellowship.
- Believers are bound to one another in voluntary covenant.
- Every Christian possesses full liberty of conscience in interpreting the Gospel.
- The Bible is fully sufficient as the guide in matters of faith and practice and will inspire individuals and direct the church with fresh light and truth for every generation.
First Church in Pembroke is a member congregation of the National Association of Congregational Churches and the Massachusetts Association of Congregational Christian Churches. The associations offer resources for worship, lay leadership, and polity, including the booklet The Art and Practice of the Congregational Way, used in new member and confirmation classes. The Massachusetts Association also gathers the state's Congregational churches for an annual picnic each summer at a state park.
Inside the church, leadership runs through elected boards and committees. The congregation votes on a Moderator, Treasurer, Clerk, Council, Diaconate, Trustees, Christian Education, Missions, Stewardship, Endowment, Nominating, Event Planning, and Information Technology committees. Each board reports at the annual meeting in the spring. New members are formally welcomed at a service following their request to join.
Prayer Through the Week
Prayer is central at First Church, and three steady weekly times anchor the practice. On Sundays, members gather in the sanctuary at 9:50 AM for a half hour of pre-service prayer. On Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:00 PM, the church hosts a Community Prayer Meeting in the Fellowship Hall, open to anyone in the area.
An email prayer team also receives prayer requests and prays for them throughout the week. Anyone can write to the team through the church office, and requests are held in confidence. Pastor Joy often names the prayer ministry as one of the defining marks of the church's life.
Alpha: Mondays at 6:30
Twice a year, First Church hosts Alpha, a series of conversations exploring the basics of the Christian faith. The gatherings take place on Mondays at 6:30 PM in Fellowship Hall. Each evening starts with refreshments, followed by a 29-minute talk from Alpha pioneer Nicky Gumbel, filmed at Holy Trinity Brompton in London, where Alpha began. The talk is followed by small-group discussion where anyone can ask questions, share doubts, or explore what faith means in everyday life.
Alpha is free and open to anyone, regardless of background or belief. Pastor Joy and members of the congregation host the small groups and serve dinner. The program is a low-pressure place for newcomers to ask the questions they have been carrying for a long time. Alpha typically starts a new group in the fall and again in the spring.
Children and the Children's Moment
Children are welcome in Sunday worship. After the scripture readings, the children come forward for a Children's Moment, a brief message geared to younger members of the congregation. Gail Horsefield leads the Children's Moment on many Sundays, and Pastor Joy and guest pastors often weave children's messages into the larger service. One Sunday each year is set aside as Children's Sunday, when younger members lead parts of the service.
After the Children's Moment, children are invited to Sunday School classes held in classrooms along the main hallway of the church. A nursery is also available for the youngest children during the service. The Christian Education and Diaconate committees support the teachers and coordinate curriculum.
The Thrift Shop, the Pancake Breakfast, and the Yard Sale
The life of First Church in Pembroke stretches well beyond Sunday morning. Three community traditions have become local favorites.
The Pancake Breakfast. On the first Saturday of most months, the church opens its Fellowship Hall from 8:00 to 10:00 AM for an all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast. The price is modest, and the room fills with neighbors, scout troops, families, and friends. The Pancake Breakfast is a fundraiser for the church and is known to regulars as "The Best Pancakes on the South Shore."
The Community Yard Sale. Each summer the church hosts a "Blessings, Bargains, and Community Fun" yard sale on its grounds at 105 Center Street. Clothing, shoes, books, toys, household items, and children's gear are sold at low prices. Donations are collected in the weeks before the event, and proceeds support the church's missions and outreach work.
The Thrift Shop. A volunteer-run Thrift Shop raises funds for the church's outreach and mission work. Volunteers staff the shop, sort donations, and help customers find what they need.
The Missions Committee organizes several other community offerings: a Mother's Day card and blanket Sunday each May, a Father's Day Tool Sunday each June, a Military Basket collection for the Pembroke Military Support Group around Memorial Day, a Strawberry Shortcake table at the Pembroke Farmers Market in August, a Christmas potluck lunch in December, and an annual blood drive held in collaboration with a community partner. Bake sales are regular Sunday morning fundraisers, and the Music Committee hosts the Snug Harbor Community Chorus in the sanctuary each season.
Community Kindergarten
Community Kindergarten, or "CNK," has operated in and around First Church in Pembroke for many years and is an integral part of the church's mission to children and families in Pembroke. The school is run by a committee of the church and serves preschool and kindergarten-aged children from Pembroke and the surrounding towns. CNK meets in the church's lower-level classrooms and on the playground behind the church.
A Year Marked by the Church Calendar
The church calendar keeps the story of the Christian year in front of the congregation, and the seasons come around again each year.
- Advent and Christmas. Hanging of the Greens on the Saturday after Thanksgiving brings members and friends together for decorating and a potluck. Advent Sundays focus on hope, peace, joy, and love. Christmas Eve at 7:00 PM is a candlelit service with carols and the Christmas story.
- Epiphany. The first Sunday after New Year marks the visit of the Magi.
- Lent. Ash Wednesday at 7:00 PM and a Maundy Thursday Service of Lights and Darkness at 7:00 PM prepare the congregation for Holy Week. A guided prayer meeting structured around the Beatitudes is held midweek.
- Holy Week. Palm Sunday opens the week, and Easter Communion at 10:00 AM celebrates the resurrection. The Easter sermon opens with the story of the women at the empty tomb.
- Pentecost. On the Sunday of Pentecost the congregation remembers the coming of the Holy Spirit, and Pastor Joy often preaches on the work of the Spirit in the early church.
- Children's Sunday. One Sunday each June, children of the congregation lead parts of the service, including the Children's Moment and readings.
- Father's Day and Mother's Day. These Sundays include the special mission table collections for Father's Day tools and Mother's Day cards and blankets.
- Stewardship Season. Each fall, members are invited to dedicate their pledges during a sermon series on giving and generosity.
Stewardship also takes visible form in the steeple light. Each week the church steeple is lit in memory of a loved one, and arrangements can be made through the church office to dedicate a week of light to someone being remembered.
1708 to 1908, and Beyond
The H. W. Litchfield history of the church from 1708 to 1908 is shared in several forms: a printable PDF and an audio recording that can be listened to online, a study guide with discussion questions, a time line of major events, and excerpts that walk readers through key chapters.
From those early years forward the church has continued to gather each Sunday. The archives include photographs of celebrations of life, weddings, baptisms, the steeple light dedication, and the long procession of pastors and members who have served Pembroke through the centuries. Celebrations of life are a regular ministry of the church, with reception and refreshments following in Fellowship Hall. Each service is open to the wider community.
Joining and Giving
Anyone interested in becoming a member of First Church in Pembroke is welcome to speak with Pastor Joy after a Sunday service, attend a new member class, or write to the church office. Members of the congregation sign the Covenant, which calls them to walk together in faith and service. New members are formally welcomed at a Sunday service.
Online giving is available through a secure giving page, and memorial gifts and dedications can be arranged through the church office. Prayer requests may be sent any time to the prayer email address.
The church office can be reached at 781-293-2584 or by email at firstchurchpembroke@gmail.com. Pastor Joy can be reached at pastorjoy.fcip@gmail.com. The church's Facebook page and YouTube channel carry the latest news, weekly bulletins, and sermon videos.