First Congregational United Church of Christ stands at 300 South Minnesota Avenue in downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where it has anchored the neighborhood since long before the present stone building went up. Organized in 1872 by a handful of settlers who first met for worship at the old Fort Dakota barracks, the congregation is now more than 150 years old, and its 1907 building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The church is known citywide for two things in particular: a tradition of warmly extravagant welcome, and a music program built around one of the region's finest pipe organs.
A Congregation Built on Welcome
First Congregational's front doors open onto the church's long-standing motto: "Whoever you are, wherever you are on life's journey, you are welcome here." In 2011 the congregation became an Open and Affirming church through the United Church of Christ, formally committing itself to the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ people, and in 2021 it unanimously reaffirmed that status. The members come from many backgrounds, and the church's stated welcome covers diversity in sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, color, ethnicity, age and ability. Couples of any gender are invited to meet with one of the pastors to arrange weddings in the sanctuary.
That ethic is also written into how members treat one another. A Behavioral Covenant, adopted by the congregation in 2023, asks members, friends, pastors, and staff to listen with an open mind, to speak from their own experience, to accept personal responsibility, and to choose the path of forgiveness. It also lays out a clear, step-by-step process for restoring relationships when conflict arises.
Worship on Sunday Mornings
During the program year, two worship services are held in the historic sanctuary: 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The 10:30 a.m. service is also livestreamed on YouTube. From late May through August the congregation gathers for one combined service at 9:30 a.m., also in person and online, and the chancel choir takes its summer break. The sanctuary is described as kid-friendly, and a supervised nursery is available during the morning services.
At the 10:30 a.m. service, children are invited forward for a Children's Message before they have the option of staying with their families or heading downstairs for crafts and play. On Sunday mornings during the program year, breakfast is served in Jones Hall at 9:15 a.m., with Sunday School for children in Pre-K through 6th grade following at 9:45 a.m. Worship bulletins are posted online so anyone can follow along, and recordings of services are available on the church's YouTube channel.
The Bedient Organ and the Music Program
Music has been central to this church since the beginning. Lottie Ledyard carried her small portable organ to the first worship service in 1872, and an organ has sat in the sanctuary ever since. The present instrument, the Bedient Organ Opus 81, was installed in late 2007 after a nearly two-year project that completed decades of earlier rebuilding. Built by Bedient Organ Company of Lincoln, Nebraska, it is now considered the crowning jewel of the renovated sanctuary, and it enlivens worship and congregational singing every Sunday.
Music ministry is organized around three ensembles. The Chancel Choir, directed by baritone Frederick Matthews, sings most weeks at the 10:30 a.m. service and rehearses on Wednesday evenings during the program year, with a Sunday morning warm-up beforehand. No audition is required; members are simply asked to bring a love of singing and a willingness to add their voice to the congregation's song. The Bell Choir rings periodically through the church year and welcomes adult and high school ringers. Children's Music brings together children from preschool through 6th grade, and anyone is welcome to sing, dance, shout, and make music together.
The organist, Del Hubers, has spent more than two decades serving congregations in the Sioux Falls area and also serves as artistic director of the Rainbow Chorus of Sioux Falls, an LGBTQ+ inclusive community chorus.
Faith Formation for Every Age
Bible study is a regular rhythm at First Congregational. The hybrid "Fumble Through Bible Study" meets every Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m., gathering in the Gerlinger Room and online via Zoom to walk through the lectionary Gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday. On the third Thursday of each month, the Circle Bible Study meets in the Gerlinger Room at 10:00 a.m. The church also points members to the daily devotional offered by the StillSpeaking Writers' Group of the UCC.
Children and youth have their own pathways. Sunday School for Pre-K through 6th grade runs during the program year, and a Confirmation Class and the Our Whole Lives (OWL) program walk older youth through the next stages of their faith. Naomi Buck serves as the church's Coordinator for Children and Families, supporting children's programming throughout the week.
Building Community in the City
Two social groups help keep members connected across generations. Out and About organizes periodic outings for adults 45 and up. No Strings Attached, also known as NSA, is a young adult group that meets on the third Saturday of each month. There is also a place for everyone who wants to pitch in: the congregation is organized into teams for InReach, Outreach, Trustees, and Stewardship, along with the Church Council, and newcomers are invited to sign up through a simple online form.
The church's commitment to its neighborhood is concrete. The building at 300 South Minnesota Avenue shares office space with two local nonprofits: South Dakota Voices for Peace, which works alongside immigrant, refugee, and Muslim communities, and the Naomi Project, a worker center building fairer models for workers in Sioux Falls. Outreach offerings include serving meals at the Banquet, providing resources for families in need, learning how to respond to systemic injustices, and participating in learning and immersion trips. Recent trips have taken members to the Arizona borderlands, St. Louis, and Nicaragua, with the goal of standing alongside communities rather than doing for them.
A Brief History of the Building
First Congregational's timeline stretches back to 1870, when Hattie Phillips and Mrs. G.C. Coates formed a Union Sunday School. The congregation was formally organized on July 7, 1872, and the first worship service, led by the Rev. Dr. J.E. Roy of the American Home Missionary Society, was held inside the old Fort Dakota barracks on July 28. By September 1879 the growing flock had moved into a plain brown clapboard building nicknamed "God's Barn." The cornerstone of the present sanctuary was laid in October 1907, using stone cut from the Rowena quarry. Over the decades the building survived a 1931 fire that badly damaged the roof and front of the sanctuary, a 1952 fire that destroyed the organ console, and a long debate in 1956 over whether to sell the property. The sanctuary was thoroughly renovated in 2007, the Bedient organ was installed the same year, and the Education Wing was re-clad in matching quartzite stone in the summer of 2008 to tie the whole campus together visually.
Beliefs and Affiliation
First Congregational is a congregation of the United Church of Christ, the 1957 union of Congregational, Christian, Evangelical and Reformed traditions that traces its roots back through the Protestant Reformation. The UCC is a covenantal church, meaning newcomers are not asked to subscribe to a formal creed but are welcomed into a covenant relationship. Locally, the church belongs to the Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota Conference.
The UCC Statement of Faith, read often in worship, gathers the congregation around core themes: a God who creates, seeks, and judges; a God made known in Jesus Christ, who shares the human lot and reconciles the world; a God who sends the Holy Spirit to bind together a church across every age, tongue, and race; and a God who calls the faithful into costly, joyful discipleship in service of the whole human family. Members are encouraged to find their own footing inside that wide embrace, and to live out the church's long-standing mission of being "God's hands at work from the heart of the city."
Getting Involved
The church office is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with Friday by appointment and Mondays closed. Anyone interested in joining the congregation can fill out a New Member form online, and visitors are encouraged to come as they are. Online giving is available through Tithe.ly, and Amazon wish lists support both the children's program and a hygiene-products effort. The church is led by Rev. Carol Hallman, with Rev. Kathryn J. Timpany serving as Pastor Emerita after her years as senior minister from 2005 to 2014. Together with staff, members, and partners in the building, First Congregational keeps working at the same calling it has carried since 1872: to be a beacon of hope, love, and acceptance in the heart of Sioux Falls.