About

Ministries

First Congregational Church of Oakland is a lay–led community of spiritual seekers coming together under the collective commitment that Love is First. We deepen our relationships in ministry together, where we study, pray, provide mutual aid, and take action. Ministries include Breaking Bread, Deacons, Prophetic Public Witness (social justice action), and Spiritual Formation. To be connected with one of these ministries please contact info@firstoakland.org.

Vision

First Congregational Church of Oakland is the church where love is first.  We believe God is ready, willing and able to grace each and every one, no matter of what faith tradition or none, with freedom and acceptance, teaching us to love as Jesus did. We praise and worship God, allowing each other to experience abundant glory and grace freely without constraint.

To live into this path we seek to embody the Spirit through a radical inclusivity that welcomes people and families of all backgrounds and experiences into a faith-based community committed to love, justice, solidarity, intercultural fellowship, and spirit-led worship.

 

We are a community of broken people, perfect in our brokenness. We strive to walk in faith, surrendering to and being led by a power greater than ourselves. We embrace personal metamorphosis, striving to become our whole, best selves, learning to steward our personal and communal time, talent, treasures and other resources for the flourishing of all life. To this end we seek to nurture in each other and in ourselves generosity of spirit, integrity, faithfulness, and authenticity.

 

We grow spiritually through service within and outside of our church, through praise, worship and radical actions, to love first no matter what. Through fellowship with each other, our community, and the spirit of life, we seek to create genuine relationships and deepen existing ones, strengthening our connections to our souls, to the earth, and to the Creator.

 

We believe that human creativity mirrors the divine as Creator and value art as a medium for expressive worship, self-expression, prayer and self-reflection. We intend to minister to ourselves and others through cultivating the creative energies of our congregation and larger community.

 

We commit to act with courage in the face of injustice, using non-violent means to transform our communities, our planet, and ourselves, seeking a world free from inequity, prejudice, oppression, poverty, and war.

 

This is the vision we seek to live into each day.

Heal, Repair, and Transform

Seeking & Living into Love is First in a time of white supremacy & Christian hegemony is an ongoing journey for a church that seeks to be a thriving multiracial community. Read our Heal, Repair, and Transform commitment here, 2017

Oakland

2501 Harrison Street, Oakland, CA 94610

First Congregational Church of Oakland is located on unceded Ohlone Territory, and lifts up our acknowledgement and deep honoring of and gratitude for the Ohlone People who have been in relationship and stewardship with this place for time immemorial. We encourage us all to learn more, and make an offering of Shuumi, by visiting Sogorea Te Land Trust.