Center Church, formally known as The First Church of Christ in Hartford, is a United Church of Christ congregation in downtown Hartford. It is known for two places to gather for worship, the Church House at 60 Gold Street and the Historic Meetinghouse at 675 Main Street, and for a life that reaches beyond Sunday worship through music, learning, human-rights work and service. The congregation also identifies as Open and Affirming.
Two Places for Sunday Worship
From the week after Memorial Day through the week after Labor Day, Sunday worship begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Church House, 60 Gold Street. During the rest of the year, it begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Historic Meetinghouse, 675 Main Street. Both services welcome people in person and are streamed at the same time through Facebook Live, where the congregation appears as The First Church of Christ in Hartford. Some special services are also available through YouTube.
Center Church's welcome is direct: "Come as you are, come comfortable." Free on-street parking is available for those attending services. Meetings and events are hybrid, with some held in person and some exclusively online.
Traditional Music and the Annual Messiah Sing
Music is woven through worship at Center Church. The Center Church Choir, the organ and other instruments, the Music and the Arts season, and videos of hymns of faith and instrumental pieces are all part of the church's musical life. The congregation has also hosted an annual Hartford Messiah Sing, with recordings of multiple editions available through YouTube. These offerings bring worship, performance and community participation together.
Learning for Children, Youth and Adults
Center Church's learning life includes Children's Ministry, Guest Church School, youth ministry, adult discipleship classes, a confirmation class and Camp Asto Wahmah. A church library is also available. Together, these ministries place learning alongside worship, music and service.
Faith, Civics and Human Rights
The Fred and Elizabeth Boyajian Lecture Series, "Lest We Forget," and the Thomas Hooker Lectureship focus on the intersectionality of faith, civics and human rights. Center Church's Open and Affirming ministry has a documented history of public education on homosexuality, civil liberties and LGBTQ inclusion.
Center Church partners with the Official Royal House of Sori and the Root Nine Foundation and Institute to honor and preserve the life, legacy and spiritual journey of Prince Abdulrahman Ibrahima ibn Sori, an African prince who was enslaved in the United States and later gained his freedom with help from Center Church members. Its downtown Hartford history also places it on the Connecticut Freedom Trail.
Meals, Relief and Service in Hartford
Social service includes Sunday Community Meals, volunteer opportunities and a Jubilee Fund that offers financial assistance for medical debt. The church's wider service work includes partnerships connected with homelessness outreach, health care, anti-trafficking and interfaith action. Associated organizations include Hands on Hartford, the Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance and regional groups focused on health care, homelessness and anti-trafficking. These efforts place practical support alongside the congregation's public discussions of faith, rights and responsibility.
At Center Church, Sunday worship remains tied to a broad public life: hymns and organ music, learning for several generations, lectures on faith, civics and human rights, meals and relief, and an enduring connection to Hartford's abolition and civil-rights history.