A Congregation Older Than the Republic
First Congregational Church has stood on DeForest Street in Watertown, Connecticut since 1739, making it one of the older continuous Congregational congregations in the state. The story begins not in the town itself but in a stretch of farmland that settlers Jonathon Scott and Ebenzer Richason cleared in 1720 in what was then the northwest corner of Waterbury. They called the area Wooster Swamp, later Westbury, and walked nine miles each Sunday to reach the nearest meetinghouse. In October 1739 a Hartford-appointed committee drove a stake with stones into the southwest corner of Eleazer Scott's barn lot, paid him three acres of land or fifty schillings, and laid out a meetinghouse. Rev. John Trumbull began the ministry that same year and baptized a baby girl named Rebecca Prindle, who lived to be 99.
The congregation took shape slowly. Its registry filled with names that still mark the region, Garnsy, Scott, Scoville, Hickox, Judd, Peck, Buckingham, Seymour, Fenn, Dayton, drawn from a population of 338. The first eighty-one years were served by just two pastors who watched Westbury grow, watched a new country form, and watched the state's relationship with its churches change. The 1818 state constitution separated church and state in Connecticut, ending public support for congregations. By 1838 the society had outgrown its second building and voted to build a third. In June 1839 the present meetinghouse was raised, and Rev. Philo Hurd dedicated it in January 1840.
The church's conscience moved early on the question of slavery. In 1847 Rev. Hurd proposed that the society write to Hartford condemning the institution as a sin against God and an injustice to man. The letter, dated January 25, 1847, passed by the congregation, was one of the first such resolves from a Connecticut body. The following year, 1848, slavery was officially abolished in the state.
Open and Affirming, and Proud of It
First Congregational Church publicly identifies as an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ, a designation it has chosen deliberately rather than assumed. The covenant is spelled out in plain language on its public statement: the church welcomes everyone regardless of race, culture, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical, cognitive or emotional ability, marital standing, family structure, socio-economic status, education or spiritual and religious background. All are invited to participate in the leadership, ministry, fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities, blessings and joys of the church. The statement closes with a line drawn straight from UCC tradition: God is still speaking.
The congregation joined the United Church of Christ in 1961, when members voted to become part of the new denomination formed by the national merger of the Congregational Christian churches with the Evangelical and Reformed churches. The choice reshaped the church's identity but not its continuity. Today it stands as a self-described Open and Affirming UCC church, an unusual pairing of historic New England Congregationalism with a progressive welcome.
Sunday Worship at Ten
Worship at First Church happens every Sunday at 10:00 a.m., both in person at the meetinghouse on DeForest Street and online for the congregation's eFam and eGuests. Senior Minister Rev. Dr. Cynthia J. Carr leads the service, which combines a children's message with a sermon and a full music program. After worship the community gathers for a social hour with drinks and snacks in the fellowship area.
Visitors who arrive a little anxious about walking into a new church are told three things. They will be welcomed at the door by a greeter. They can sit through the service without being asked to raise a hand or fill out a form. After the service they are invited, optionally, to refreshments and conversation. No one will press for a commitment. The newcomer page makes the offer explicit: speak with a pastor, deacon, greeter, or the person in the next pew, and let someone know if there is anything that would make the visit more comfortable.
Online worship is published weekly and remains available afterward on the church's Facebook page and online archive, where services from late 2022 forward are still listed. Giving accompanies that offering through an eGiving portal that lets members set up recurring electronic gifts.
A Music Program Led by a Concert Pianist
The Music & Choir program at First Church is run by Eric Trudel, Director of Music Ministries, whose own career is unusually deep. A native of Quebec, Trudel graduated with top honors from the Quebec Conservatory of Music, won the Prix d'Europe, and went on to study with pianists Garrick Ohlsson, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Marc Durand and Louis Lortie. He has performed at Weil Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall and the 92nd Street Y, and worked in association with the Metropolitan Opera, the Yale Institute for Musical Theater, the Yale School of Drama, the Montreal International Piano Festival, the Banff Centre, the Connecticut Grand Opera and others. He has been on the faculty of the Banff Centre, the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec, the Université du Québec à Montréal, Yale's School of Music, Western Connecticut State University, the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, and Southern Connecticut State University. Classical Singer Magazine named him Vocal Coach of the Year in 2008.
That pedigree shows up in a parish music program built around three ensembles: an adult choir, a youth choir, and a bell choir. The choirs meet regularly, and new adults, youth, and children are always welcome. The church's own description of Trudel's work is that he inspires through his music, educates the audience, and truly fulfills the soul with it.
Church School, Nursery and Vacation Bible School
First Church takes its work with children seriously. Church School runs from the Sunday after Labor Day through the second Sunday in June. Children begin in worship with their families at 10:00 a.m., are dismissed after the children's message, and finish class at 11:15. Classes are grouped by age and grade: Pre-Kindergarten (age 4) and Kindergarten; Grades 1 and 2; Grades 3 and 4; Grades 5 and 6; and Grades 7 and 8. The curriculum follows the lectionary so that what children learn matches what adults hear in church. New students can join anytime during the year. Confirmation class is offered to 9th and 10th graders.
Throughout the year the Church School fills the calendar with programs designed for the whole family. There is a Christmas Pageant, a Church School Celebration, Pizza and BINGO Night, movie nights, Advent and Lenten family nights, a church picnic, potluck luncheons and suppers, a Cherub Choir for Pre-K through Grade 2, and a Stick Squad for Grades 5 through 8. Children participate in food drives, host a Church Social Hour, and serve in worship as readers, ushers and acolytes.
For the youngest, Kids Korner is a year-round nursery for children age three and under, available during the worship service and staffed by background-checked volunteers. It is located in Fellowship Hall and stocked with games, toys, building blocks and books. Parents and volunteers can follow the worship service on the room's sound system while little ones play.
Each August the church hosts a Vacation Bible School. The program runs one week, typically the first week of August, from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and welcomes children from Pre-K (age 4) through Grade 6. Teens can volunteer for community service hours. Parents and volunteers coordinate through the VBS coordinator.
Weddings, Baptisms and the Trumbull House
First Church welcomes couples who want to be married in a worship setting and families who wish to have a child baptized. The church's own framing of baptism is the public recognition that this person is God's adopted child, an initiation into the community of the faithful, a gift rather than an achievement. Baptisms are normally done at a regular worship service so the newly baptized can be welcomed by the whole congregation. Weddings at First Church are open to anyone who wants God's presence active in the ceremony and who is comfortable with a service that respects basic UCC teachings.
The Trumbull House sits across the street from the meetinghouse and is one of the most storied buildings in the parish's history. Rev. John Trumbull built it in 1772 as his family's parsonage. He and Sarah raised eight children there, including John Trumbull, the poet of the American Revolution, who wrote many of his most inflammatory poems from this house during the war. After Sarah's death in 1794 the home passed to Edmund Lockwood, who turned it into a tavern and added a large ballroom. After the tavern era the ballroom was removed to form part of a neighboring house. First Church did not reacquire the Trumbull House until 1953, when Mrs. Buckingham traded it, along with a sum of money, for the church parsonage on North Street behind the church. In the fall of 1956 the church established its office in the Trumbull House, where it has effectively functioned as the parish's administrative home ever since.
The 250th and the 275th
The congregation marked its 250th anniversary in 1989 with special services, trips, dinners, a Homecoming Service, lunch and a recreation of an old-style annual meeting. A hand-crafted commemorative quilt made by several women of the church now hangs in Fellowship Hall. Twenty-five years later, in 2014, the church celebrated 275 years with a float in the Memorial Day parade themed "Serving God and Country for 275 years," and opened its doors to the Watertown Historical Society's Open House Tour. That anniversary was also a moment to remember that the parish has sent men and women to every major American conflict from the Revolution through Afghanistan.
What a Visitor Should Know
Sunday worship is at 10:00 a.m. at 40 DeForest Street, and online at the same hour for those who cannot attend in person. Greeters meet visitors at the door. The nursery is open year-round for children age three and under; Church School runs from September through June for Pre-K (age 4) through Grade 8. There is no pressure to identify oneself as a newcomer. After the service, drinks and snacks are served during social hour. Parking is on site at the DeForest Street lot. The dress is whatever makes a visitor comfortable.
Online giving is set up through a dedicated portal. Members of the eFam can worship with the congregation live each Sunday, and the church's Facebook page is the public hub for announcements, livestreams, and ongoing community conversation. Anyone interested in connecting directly with the Senior Minister can do so through her Facebook page or by emailing the church office at firstchurchwtn@gmail.com.