The First Congregational Church of Darien occupies a corner lot at 14 Brookside Road in the heart of Darien, Connecticut, where the Meetinghouse's white clapboard and brick Greek Revival facade has stood since 1837. It is one of the oldest continuous institutions in town, founded in 1737 when its Puritan forebears broke away from Stamford Parish, and it is among the more distinctive in its denomination: a congregation that describes its Sunday gathering as filled with cradle Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, people who identify as more spiritual than religious, Catholics, and Jews from interfaith families, all together in the pews. It is also an Open and Affirming church of the United Church of Christ, publicly committed to welcoming LGBTQ people and their families.
That breadth shows up in Sunday worship, which is offered at 8:30 and 10:00 AM, and in the rhythm of the week around it. The Rev. Anthony T. Weisman, a Princeton Theological Seminary graduate who previously served at Marble Collegiate Church in New York City and the Old South Church in Boston, is the senior minister. The building, the staff, and the people in the pews read as a single, deliberately integrated ministry.
A Church That Helped Found the Town (in 1737)
The congregation dates to 1737, when its founders broke away from Stamford Parish to form what would become the parish of Middlesex. From the start, it was a civic as well as a religious force. During the Revolutionary War, the meetinghouse was the site of a famous confrontation: in 1781, Tories surrounded the building during a Sunday service, kidnapped the minister, the Rev. Moses Mather, and forty-seven other parishioners, and carried them off to a British garrison on Long Island. The Museum of Darien and a Heritage Day Committee marked the town's bicentennial in 2021 with a reenactment of the Tory raid, and the church remains a stop on the area's Revolutionary Road Tour.
The congregation's conscience has not gone quiet since. In the nineteenth century, the church was active in the anti-slavery cause, and it became a documented stop on the Underground Railroad, a fact that still shapes its identity. The church runs an "Underground Food Drive" inspired by that heritage, now redirected toward immigrant neighbors who are afraid to leave their homes to visit a traditional food bank. In the 1940s, members helped resettle European refugees displaced by World War II. In the 1970s, the church helped establish "A Better Chance of Darien," a program that brought academically talented young women of color to live in Darien and attend Darien High School.
Today, the church supports nearly a dozen local nonprofits with financial contributions and hands-on mission work. Ten percent of all paid pledges walk out the door in the form of grants, and in 2023 alone, members donated more than $55,000 to organizations in five outreach areas: basic needs (shelter, homelessness, food, and housing), health and wellness (mental health, addiction, disability, domestic violence, and sexual assault), elderly services, youth services and events, and refugees and immigration services.
Sundays at 8:30 and 10:00
Worship is at the center of the church's life, and the church is unusually direct about what to expect. There are two Sunday services, both held in the Meetinghouse, and both designed to feel like an extended family gathering rather than a performance.
The 8:30 service runs forty to forty-five minutes. It is short and sweet, an intimate, laid-back gathering with a particular spirit of peace. There is no children's programming at this hour.
The 10:00 service runs fifty to sixty minutes and is warmly traditional, with a twist. A choir leads the singing. The order includes scripture, prayer, and hymns, but the tone is informal and joy-filled. There is a lot of laughter, and a lot of tender, funny off-script moments. People are invited to share what is going on in their lives and to ask for prayer. The children's sermon is a regular feature, and kids are known to shout out all kinds of things during it.
Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of every month. The invitation is simple: at Christ's table, all you have to be is hungry. Visitors and members of any tradition are welcome at the table.
Services are also livestreamed and archived. Recent services are posted to the church's Vimeo channel and embedded on YouTube, so anyone who is traveling, sick, or simply curious can watch from home.
The Meetinghouse and the Walker Organ
The brick Greek Revival Meetinghouse in which the church worships dates to 1837. It has been renovated several times; the most ambitious overhaul came in the late 1990s, when a capital campaign called "Lift Every Voice" raised funds to enlarge the choir loft and pulpit, improve lighting, install new hardwood flooring, and enhance accessibility. A percentage of the campaign total was set aside as a significant addition to the church's Mission (Outreach) Endowment Fund, a permanent reminder that the building's renovation was tied to its work in the wider community.
The current organ is a J.W. Walker and Sons Opus 188, designed, built, and installed by the renowned firm in Brandon, Suffolk, England. The two-manual instrument has 1,641 pipes arranged in 22 stops, and was dedicated on Sunday, April 13, 1997, in a service of prayers, a celebrative concert, and joyful congregational singing. The polished tin facade pipes are fashioned from the Great Open Diapason 8 and the Pedal Principal 8.
The organ is supported in worship by a music staff and a flexible ensemble of additional instruments. On any given Sunday, the building might also ring with piano, violin, trumpet, oboe, guitar, a jazz combo, or the bell choir that performs at special services throughout the year. The Director of Music and Organist, John Morrow, is a regular presence at the 10:00 service, and the Associate Director of Music and Pianist, Max Pakhomov, rounds out the team.
The Pray-Ground, the Nursery, and Kidventures
The church's approach to children is, in a word, unembarrassed. "We believe that God put the wiggles and giggles in children," the church says. "So, they're welcome to fidget and fuss." Three overlapping options are available for kids and their parents on Sunday mornings during the 10:00 service.
The Pray-Ground is a special, kid-friendly space in the Meetinghouse's balcony, stocked with toys and books, where children who would rather stay close to their parents can roam and play freely while still remaining in the service. There is a separate cry room for parents who need a quieter space.
The Nursery, for infants through age three, is staffed by seasoned childcare professionals. It opens at 9:45 AM and is available throughout the duration of all Sunday programs. There is also a parents' lounge with sofas, service audio, toys, and snacks for nursing mothers or anyone whose little one needs a break.
Kidventures is the Sunday morning program for children in preschool through fifth grade, running September through June. The format is built around a summer-camp-themed experience of spiritual exploration: children sing songs around a "camp fire," learn stories from the Bible, pray, play, and make friends. The stated aim is to give children a faith they will not grow out of, and to encourage them to ask all the brave questions that come so naturally to kids. Children rejoin the congregation in time for communion on the first Sunday of the month and at other points during the service.
On midweek, no-school days in Darien, the church offers a free, single-day morning Vacation Bible School from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM for children in preschool (age three and up) through fifth grade.
For longer arcs of faith formation, the church runs a Milestone Ministry that gathers parents and children at every major developmental moment: baptism (infants or any age), raising a healthy, happy preschooler (ages two to four), first communion (third grade), reading the Bible (fifth grade), confirmation (eighth grade), and graduation (twelfth grade). Each milestone comes with a gathering for learning and discussion, and concrete takeaways, simple faith practices to ground the family as the child grows. There is also an annual Blessing of the Backpacks in September, when students bring their school bags to worship for a special blessing.
Outside of Sunday mornings, the children's program offers family ice-skating parties, movie nights, picnics, Christmas pageants, and intergenerational service projects. The Director of Children and Youth Ministries, Amber Scovell, oversees the whole portfolio.
Youth Group, Confirmation, and the Mission Trip
Middle and high school students have their own programs, designed as a deliberate counterweight to the high-stress, hyper-competitive culture of school and sports and college prep. The aim is to give teenagers a place to chill and to be themselves, and a community of peers who practice Christian love by accepting one another and supporting one another through whatever life throws at them.
There are two youth groups, one for middle schoolers and one for high schoolers, both meeting on Sunday evenings. The vibe is laid-back; the agenda is sharing, goofing around, eating junk food, figuring stuff out, figuring faith out, all while hanging with friends who will be there no matter what.
Confirmation, for eighth graders, is a year-long program in which students wrestle with the big ideas and questions of the Christian faith, visit other religious communities to gain an appreciation for the many ways God is named and known, complete community service hours caring for "the least of these," and write their own personal creeds. The summer youth mission trip is another pillar of the program: it is designed to spark a lasting, lifelong love of service and outreach.
The church is currently in a period of transition for its youth and family ministry. The church will be welcoming two seminarians from Yale Divinity School, Justine Gelner and Maddie Legro, to its staff for the coming year.
Music: Hymns, Choir, and the Show Up and Sing Sundays
Music is treated as a form of prayer. The church sings the great, old hymns, from Amazing Grace to It Is Well with My Soul to A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, along with newer hymns that give voice to twenty-first-century faith. On a typical Sunday, the choir leads the 10:00 service from a loft that can hold a substantial ensemble, and the organ shakes the building.
The choir rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7:30 PM and is always happy to welcome in new singers. The commitment is flexible; life can get a little crazy, and members can sing whenever it works. For those who cannot swing a weeknight rehearsal, the church has also developed a "Show Up and Sing" option: just arrive a little early to learn an easy song for that day's service, no audition or prior experience required. Children learn fun and silly songs during Kidventures and share them with the congregation during worship.
The church also has a bell choir that performs at special services throughout the year, and the music staff organizes seasonal concerts that are open to the wider community.
Adult Learning: Bible Studies, Book Groups, and the Care Circle
Two regular Bible study groups anchor the adult learning program.
On Wednesdays from 12:00 to 1:00 PM, Rev. Weisman leads a read-through of the New Testament Book of Acts in the Conference Room. Participants are invited to bring their lunch; no prior knowledge of the Bible is required, and the church specifically welcomes people who have questions they have been afraid to ask elsewhere. Drop-ins are welcome; there is no expectation of weekly attendance.
On Thursdays from 9:30 to 10:30 AM, a lay-led group meets on Zoom to debrief and discuss the scripture and sermon from the previous Sunday. Login information is available from the church office.
Beyond these two anchor groups, the church runs an extensive small-group ministry for people who want to meet others and make connections. The list, as the church describes it, is vibrant and newcomer-friendly: a Saturday morning men's group, a gardening group, women's fellowship nights, a knitting group, a classics book group, the choirs, and the Care Circle, a pastoral-care team that supports members in seasons of distress or need. For more information on meeting times, the church office is the point of contact.
Pastoral Care, Prayer, and the Memorial Garden
Pastoral care is treated as a shared ministry. The Care Circle, a team of lay caregivers, supports the clergy in caring for church members in seasons of distress or need, through supportive conversation, meals during a time of difficulty, or an occasional check-in. The Care Circle is always happy to train and welcome new caregivers.
The church's Memorial Garden, established more than twenty years ago with a major gift from Robert and Jean Croll and their family, is a beautifully landscaped haven outside the Morehouse Room. It provides a final resting place for the earthly remains of church members and their loved ones, and the Memorial Garden Committee, chaired by Wyn Lydecker, oversees its care through all seasons. The Committee works with the church's landscaping company and other professionals using proceeds from the Memorial Garden Endowment Fund. Families interested in reserving a space, arranging for the interment of ashes, purchasing a commemorative brick, or making a gift to the Memorial Garden Fund can contact the church office at 203-655-0491.
Service and Outreach
Service is built into the rhythm of the church. There is a particular effort to make the work intergenerational and accessible to busy people with limited time.
The "SNUI Supermarket Sweep" partners with Stamford Norwalk Immigration United: two families shop and donate groceries each week for local immigrant families facing food insecurity. The Underground Food Drive takes its name from the church's Underground Railroad history and now supports immigrant neighbors who are afraid to leave their homes to access a traditional food bank. Once a month, members of the church prepare and serve dinner at the Pacific House emergency shelter in Stamford.
The church is also a sustained partner of Person-to-Person (P2P), the area's largest social services agency. Members volunteer at P2P's clothing center, food pantry, and mobile pantry; deliver food to homebound clients; staff the food warehouse in Stamford; drive vans to pick up donations; and serve as reception and office volunteers.
Another long-standing partnership is with the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI), which resettles refugees (most recently, arrivals from Afghanistan) in Fairfield County and beyond. The church runs a furniture drive, collecting dressers, dining tables, end tables, bedside tables, armchairs, loveseats, ottomans, rugs, wall art, mirrors, lamps, cribs, changing tables, and highchairs, and coordinates volunteers to help on moving days, when families are settled into new apartments. The work ranges from heavy lifting to light cleaning and arranging. K.C. Simon coordinates the church's involvement.
All Are Welcome (Really!)
The church is explicit about its welcome. "We believe, as the scriptures teach, that 'God is love. And that those who live in love, live in God.' God is love. Love is love. Period."
The church is an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ, which means it belongs to a coalition of UCC churches that hold one another accountable for practicing what they preach and for expressing their commitment to the LGBTQ+ community in concrete acts of care, support, and advocacy. The church celebrates its same-sex families, its teenagers who are just coming out, parents and relatives and friends with LGBTQ+ loved ones, and all of its straight but not narrow allies.
The welcome extends to families of every shape. The church happily baptizes children from interfaith families: "We don't believe that there are Protestant children or Catholic children or Jewish children or Muslim children. Just God's children." It celebrates same-sex marriages, performs baptisms, and joins families in marking the milestones of life.
What the Church Believes
The church's beliefs, in its own words, center on three movements of Christian faith.
First, that God is greater and more mysterious than we could ever fully know, "farther from us than the most distant star, and yet nearer to us than our next breath." The opposite of faith in God is not doubt, but certainty. Asking questions can be a form of prayer, and wonder and awe belong at the heart of the Christian life.
Second, that Jesus Christ showed us what it means to make the mystery of God's love a part of our lives. As he took children into his arms, healed the sick, fed the hungry, served the poor, and proclaimed God's dream of justice, so too should we. Following his teachings and his example makes us more human, and the story of his life, death, and resurrection is a story which each of us must enter into, explore, and experience for ourselves.
Third, that the Holy Spirit is with us and within us, at the baptismal font and at the communion table, when we bow our heads in prayer, as we work to make a difference in the world, at home and at school and at the office, in our joy and in our sorrow. The Spirit guides and grows us, emboldens us, comforts us, frees us, changes us, and calls us to be compassionate, generous, forgiving, hopeful, and to love and live with abandon.
Staff and Leadership
The senior minister is the Rev. Anthony T. Weisman. A Princeton Theological Seminary graduate, he previously served at Marble Collegiate Church in New York City, the Old South Church in Boston, and, through a Lilly Endowment fellowship, at Plymouth Congregational Church in Des Moines, Iowa, one of the largest congregations in the United Church of Christ.
The Director of Children and Youth Ministries is Amber Scovell, who also preaches regularly. The Director of Music and Organist is John Morrow. The Associate Director of Music and Pianist is Max Pakhomov. The Nursery School Director is Krista Guarini.
Members in good standing make the congregation's final decisions, in the Congregationalist tradition, through an annual meeting and at specially called congregational meetings.
Visiting: What to Know
The church is at 14 Brookside Road, at the corner of Brookside Road and Post Road/Route 1, in lower Fairfield County, Connecticut, about 40 miles from New York City. The Meetinghouse is half a mile from either the Darien Metro-North Train Station or I-95 (Exit 12 or 13), with plenty of parking next to the Meetinghouse and in a lower lot in front of the church.
Greeters welcome visitors at the door and hand out a bulletin, which serves as a cheat sheet for the service, with cues for when to sit and stand. Visitors who need directions to the nursery, the pray-ground, or a restroom with a changing table can ask at the door. Kids are welcome to stay with parents in the service.
There is no dress code. "Clothes. Wear clothes," the church says, with a wink. Some people do business casual; others show up in yoga pants, shorts, or kids in uniforms. Princess dresses are also acceptable.
Coffee, juice, and snacks are served after the 10:00 service, and visitors are encouraged to stick around to meet people and learn more about the church.
For questions about membership, baptisms, weddings, or special-needs or handicapped access, the church office is the first point of contact (203-655-0491 or office@uccdarien.org). First-time visitors can find more detail here. New members are received at several special services throughout the year, and the path to membership typically begins with a one-on-one conversation with Rev. Weisman. Giving can be done online.