Worship Services

Join us for worship at 10 a.m. on Sunday

Worship in-person or via livestream on YouTube

Click here to watch on First Congregational UCC Eugene’s YouTube Channel

July’s 4-part series

Spiritual Oxygen: Finding Breath When Life Takes Your Breath Away

Life has a way of taking our breath away. Sometimes through grief, anxiety, outrage, uncertainty, or exhaustion. Sometimes through beauty, wonder, love, or moments of unexpected grace. In a world that can feel overwhelming, many of us are hungry for the kind of breath that reaches deeper than the lungs.

In this four-part worship series, Dr. Eric Elnes opens four places where he — and so many of us — keep finding that deeper breath. Each Sunday begins in the early morning quiet of a daily contemplative practice, and then moves outward into a story where breath was lost and then, somehow, returned: a small plane fighting for altitude above the Bering Sea; a congregation gathering around a gravely ill child; a labyrinth walked in the hardest hours of a parent’s life; and a latrine in an Indian ashram where, of all places, the sacred turned out to be waiting.

Four stories and four kinds of breath. There is the breath that floods back in when we are grateful — even at the edge of loss. There is the breath we spend on one another, the exhale of love that goes toward someone in need. There is the breath of honest asking, when we finally name to God, and to each other, what we most deeply need. And there is the still turn of the breath, where we rest — and discover we were never as alone as we feared. (Those who have walked a contemplative practice with Dr. Elnes before will recognize an old friend breathing underneath it all.)

Come for a series about finding breath, recovering wonder, and discovering that the One who first breathed life into us is breathing still.

Recordings are available to watch at any time after worship has ended, just click subscribe (It’s free).

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A Blessing by Rev. Eric Elnes

May the Spirit – the Holy Spirit of the Living God made known to the world by many different names and forms and to Christians most fully in Jesus Christ our Lord:

Go before you to show you the way;

Go above you to watch over you;

Go behind you to push you into places you would not necessarily go yourself;

Go beneath you to uphold and uplift you;

Go beside you to be your strong and constant companion;

And dwell within you to remind you that you are surely not alone on life’s journey, and you are loved – loved beyond your wildest imagination!

And may the fire of God’s blessing burn brightly upon you, within you, and through you now and always. Amen

SUNDAY MORNING

First Congregational Church is one church family that meets together to worship and hear God’s call to mission in the world. We are a diverse congregation of all ages, backgrounds, and tastes. Hence, we will provide a style of Sunday service known as blended worship.

The form and mix of worship elements will be determined by the selected reading and by taking into consideration the wide range of needs in the congregation. The end result will be worship that speaks in a blended way to the spiritual needs we all share. Each Sunday service, though built on a recognizable framework, may be varied in order to illumine the scripture in interesting ways, making worship inclusive and spiritually vibrant.

A blended worship style also considers how space and movement, art and symbol, silence and sound, are used to create a variety of moods. For it is recognized that worshipers come to the sanctuary with a wide range of emotions and spiritual needs.

Worshipers may be feeling meditative, hopeful, joyful, grateful, and celebratory. Others are dealing with sorrow, loss, disappointment, even fear. In our worship we seek to recognize and minister to the many spiritual facets within each of us.

Our worship design and practice will continue our commitment to the inclusion of children and the use of inclusive language. We value an intergenerational worship and strive to maintain a single Sunday service.

Our purposeful blend of worship styles aspires to enhance our church’s heritage while expanding our ways of worshipping God, creating opportunities for surprise and awe.

Worship at 10:00 a.m.

Childcare is available for infants through kindergarten upstairs in the blue room. We welcome children 1st grade and up to join their parents in the worship service.

There are worship bags and clipboards with helpful materials for children available in the Narthex (area in the rear of the sanctuary). Please feel free to utilize them and know that we love to have all ages in worship.

There are blue “Welcome” cards in the pew rack. Please fill it out to help us know of your presence. This is of course optional but you might find it helpful to receive our weekly emails and monthly newsletters.

At all of our services we maintain the ancient Christian practice of receiving an offering to support the church’s ministries. We welcome your gifts and encourage everyone to live a life marked by generosity. If you are unable to give financially, please consider an offering of time or talent to the church, another organization, or a neighbor in need.

Sanctuary Grief and Healing Altar

We have a grief and healing altar at the front of the sanctuary at the end of the right aisle. All are welcome to light a candle at any time during the service.

Wheeler Room Available during Worship

Please note that if you or a child needs to leave the sanctuary during worship, there are speakers available in the Wheeler Room so you may still hear the service.

Communion

Our communion table is open to everyone—baptized or not. The Sacrament of Communion is usually offered during the first Sunday of the month and special services like Maundy Thursday.

Sharing communion with each other, children, and visitors is a special, sacred, shared event. We offer bread, a gluten-free option, and grape juice for the elements which are shared in a variety of ways: By walking to the front of the sanctuary to pick up your elements, or staying seated as they are passed down the pews on plates for the congregation to serve themselves.

Education Hour at 9:00 a.m. during the school year.

We offer classes for all ages at 9 a.m. during the school year. Adult classes change periodically and can be found on Adult Education and on the kiosk in the upstairs lobby.

Sunday school for children are held in the classrooms upstairs each week.

Fellowship Hour at 11:00 a.m.

Fellowship Hour is an intergenerational social gathering after worship for coffee, cookies and conversation (or juice, crackers, and playtime). All are welcome! Come meet your church community!