At the corner of Garden and Mason streets, just across from the historic Cambridge Common and a half-block from the Harvard T station, First Church in Cambridge has stood as a witness to four centuries of New England history. The current building, a Sanctuary and its surrounding spaces at 11 Garden Street, is a working church and a working civic institution: a place of Sunday worship and Sunday-night chant, of infant baptisms and Saturday-morning AA meetings, of a 14-bed men's shelter in the basement and a weekly Friday Café that feeds hundreds of neighbors, and of one of the oldest musical and justice traditions in greater Boston.
An Ancient Congregation in Harvard Square
First Church in Cambridge traces its story back to 1633, when the original gathering that would become this congregation first met on what was then the edge of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 2033 the congregation will mark the 400th anniversary of that original gathering. Today, four centuries on, the church still stands just outside Harvard Square, next door to the Sheraton Commander Hotel. The building has been through several transformations and a sweeping 2018 renovation of its common spaces, but the address has been a constant: 11 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
First Church is a member congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), the denomination formed in 1957 by the merger of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. The UCC's roots, however, run deeper still: First Church is proud to claim a place in the Congregational tradition going back to 1636, the year the Massachusetts General Court established Congregationalism as the public church of the colony. That makes First Church one of the oldest continuously gathered congregations in New England and a part of a denomination the UCC likes to call "the church of firsts."
The congregation describes itself in a line that captures its character well: "We are ancient and new, contemplative and active, spiritual and religious - a historic congregational church in the heart of Harvard Square." Its three stated commitments are to be grounded in God, the church's hope and healing; to be growing in community, with Jesus at the center; and to be acting in love, made bold by the Spirit.
Sunday Mornings in the Sanctuary
Sunday is the centerpiece of the week at First Church, and it begins with worship in the Sanctuary. From September through June, the Morning Worship service begins at 11:00 a.m. ET. In July and August, the hour slides forward to 10:00 a.m. ET, so worshipers finish in time for Lemonade on the Lawn - an outdoor coffee hour on the church lawn with lemonade, cookies, and coffee. The service itself lasts about an hour and fifteen minutes.
Members of all ages - including children - take part in leading worship alongside the ministers. The pattern, or "order of worship," is described by the church as "welcoming, thoughtful, and grounding." A typical service includes inspiring choral and organ music, congregational singing of hymns old and new, a time of confession and assurance of God's forgiveness, a time to greet one another and share Christ's peace, Bible readings that ground the gathered community in the story of God's love, a sermon connecting the readings to daily life, prayers for the world, the church, and the individuals present, an invitation to give of time, talent, and resources, and a closing blessing. On the first Sunday of every month (and on certain other special Sundays) the bread and cup of holy communion are shared openly. "Young and old, saints and sinners - all are welcome at Christ's table."
Worshipers joining from home are encouraged to set a piece of bread and a cup of juice or wine on a home altar before the service begins.
Night Song: Compline in a Darkened Sanctuary
On Sunday evenings from September through the end of May - with breaks around Christmas, New Year's, and Easter - First Church offers a second worship opportunity: Night Song, a contemplative service at 7:30 p.m. in person or via livestream.
Night Song is the church's contemporary name for the ancient monastic liturgy of Compline, the prayer traditionally said before retiring for the night. The Sanctuary is dimmed, the music is largely unaccompanied chant - ancient and modern, with some choral pieces - and the spoken word is spare. Latin is sometimes sung. The general themes are spiritual peace, deep silence, reflection over the day, rest, sleep, the comfort of darkness, trust, and protection. The congregation's own description is worth the space: "You'll leave breathing more deeply and recharged to engage with your world."
Night Song is also a church within a church for people of any faith background, with much of the music speaking to themes that travel beyond Christian tradition.
Hybrid Worship Since COVID
First Church has worshipped in a hybrid format since the pandemic. Both Morning Worship and Night Song are livestreamed, and the archived recordings of recent services are available on the sermons page and on the church's YouTube channel. Zoom links for adult formation programs are listed on the events calendar, and several committee meetings and small groups continue to gather online. Newcomers are invited to fill out a digital welcome card so that someone from the church can follow up.
For those joining from home, the church offers gentle advice: create a small home altar with whatever feels personal - cloth, flowers, shells, a candle. "Church is where the people are."
The Liturgical Year at First Church
First Church lives by two calendars: the secular calendar and the liturgical year of the Christian seasons. Advent begins the year, marked by the four Sundays before Christmas, candle-lighting, and songs of patient preparation; the color is purple or blue. Christmas is a short and white-robed celebration of the nativity and a word about a savior born into hunger and poverty. Epiphany extends the Christmas joy with the visit of the Magi and Jesus' baptism in the Jordan.
Ash Wednesday opens Lent, the forty-day season of wilderness, repentance, and conversion, again colored by purple. Easter, the most joyful season, runs from Resurrection Sunday through Pentecost, dressed in white or gold. Pentecost itself is marked with red, and the weeks that follow are known as Ordinary Time - a season that teaches the sacred character of ordinary lives, with green across the paraments.
Beyond the standard Christian calendar, First Church observes several traditions unique to its own community. Regathering Sunday on the second Sunday of September launches each new program year. Four Healing Sundays each year include a time for healing prayer with the laying on of hands and a touch of oil. The annual Blessing of the Animals opens the doors to cats, dogs, birds, and other creatures (with photographs or toys standing in for those who can't attend in person). A once-yearly Feeding Sunday commemorates the prevalence of hunger and produces bag meals for the Outdoor Church. A special Juneteenth service each June lifts up themes of freedom and liberation and includes a reading of the names of enslaved persons associated with the congregation.
The congregation also follows a parallel Peace and Justice calendar: September and October focus on Racial Justice and Equality; November and December on Immigration and Sanctuary; January and February on Housing and Homelessness; March and April on Climate Crisis and Creation Care; and May and June on LGBTQ and Gender Justice.
Music at First Church
Music is woven deeply into the life of First Church. The Sanctuary and the smaller Lindsay Chapel are home to a rotating roster of performing arts groups, including the Spectrum Singers, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Cantata Singers, and the Seraphim Singers, with smaller ensembles, students, and emerging groups using the chapel's intimate acoustics for performances.
For the congregation's own worship, music includes choral singing, organ music, congregational hymnody, and the unaccompanied chant of Night Song. The church holds a current One License (license #A-724672) for reprint, podcast, and streaming of the music used in services.
Children, Youth, and Family Programs
Children, youth, and families are described as a vibrant part of the First Church community, and the programs for them span from preschool through high school. The Nursery provides supervision for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers during the worship hour in Sage Hall (the basement playspace) or on the outdoor playground. It is open every Sunday of the year except for the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. The Sanctuary includes a Children's Book Corner, rocking chairs at the back, and Hastings Common, where caregivers can watch the service on a large screen while children who need to roam can move freely.
Programs for older children include Godly Play (a Montessori-inspired program of biblical storytelling and wondering, with GP1 for PreK through first grade and GP2 for second through fourth grade), The Middler Class (for fifth graders, exploring themes of difference, hospitality, justice, friendship, and forgiveness through middle-reader novels), Bible 101 (a two-year home-grown curriculum that revisits the Hebrew Bible in Year A and digs into the New Testament in Year B), Our Whole Lives (OWL) (the UCC and UU comprehensive sexuality education curriculum for seventh and eighth graders, with a faith component), Confirmation Class (a year-long class using the UCC's Affirming Faith resource, with students affirming their baptisms on or near Pentecost), and a Youth Group that meets monthly on Sunday afternoons with occasional Friday evening social events.
Sarah Higginbotham is the Director of Family Ministries and the staff contact for all of these programs. Family Night returns each fall on Tuesday evenings at 6:00 p.m. in Sage Hall, with pasta and red sauce provided and families bringing a side dish to share.
Adult Faith Formation and Faith & Life Groups
Faith formation at First Church is wide-ranging. Sunday morning adult formation gathers in the 10:00 a.m. hour (during the program year) for staff- and lay-led presentations and discussions on theological themes, books, current events, and the life of the church. A 2026 fall series called Sharing Our Soul Stories walks participants through four themes - Starting Points, Turning Points, Waypoints, and Vantage Points - using writing, drawing, meditation, and shared testimony.
Twice a year, in Advent and Lent, the congregation chooses a season-long theme to accompany it through worship and study. Recent Lenten themes have included "Making a Way Out of No Way," "The Truth That Sets Us Free," and "Finding Courage in Community."
Faith & Life Groups meet a few times a year - in fall, Lent, and spring - in short-term cohorts of one session to several weeks. Groups are led by First Church members and explore shared interests, spiritual practices, social issues, or significant life stages such as parenting, aging, and job transitions. A monthly Aging with Grace group, led by Martha Mueller Cook and Linda Ziebell, meets on the third Tuesdays of each month from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m. as a peer support and conversation circle for those exploring the spiritual journeys of aging.
Pastoral Care, Deacons, and Community Ministers
The Board of Deacons holds the spiritual heart of First Church. It guides decisions about worship life and provides pastoral care and nurturing to the congregation, with up to nine members who meet monthly and also serve on the Executive Council. Pastoral Care Teams of church members send cards in times of joy, sorrow, and transition, organize meals and rides, and accompany people through moments of need.
Several times a year, the Sunday morning service includes a time for healing prayer, with the laying on of hands and a touch of healing oil on the forehead if desired. Everything shared during healing prayer is kept confidential.
The congregation is also blessed with a deep bench of community ministers - clergy and seminary-trained members who preach, visit, mentor ministry students and interns, teach in Christian Formation, and lead small groups. The community ministers include Rev. Krysia Burnham, Rev. Brent Coffin, Rev. Henry Gates, Rev. Philip LaFollette, Rev. Beth Loomis, Rev. Mónica Maher, Rev. Kerry Maloney, Rev. Mary Robinson, Rev. Renate Rose, Rev. Henry Schoenfield, Rev. Heather Stanford, Rev. Alex Steinert-Evoy, Rev. Beth Spaulding, Rev. Jennifer Wilkes Stuart, Rev. Liz Williams, and Rev. Mary Martha Thiel.
First Church also walks with those who feel called to ordained ministry through the Discernment and Formation process, in partnership with the Metropolitan Boston Association of the UCC.
The First Church Shelter
In the church's basement, First Church operates a 14-bed men's shelter that runs 365 days a year. The shelter offers long-term support to its residents, working with them through a full spectrum of services as they seek stable housing. A Shelter Oversight Committee of congregants guides its work.
The shelter is one part of a wider Homeless Ministries program at First Church that has served unhoused neighbors for more than 35 years, offering shelter, meals, and other essential resources while advocating to address the root causes of homelessness in the city and the state. First Church also provides financial and volunteer support for Solutions at Work (an employment-counseling nonprofit) and the Harvard Square Meals Program. Volunteers are welcome, and donations of clothing and other items require prior approval through the inquiry form on the homeless ministries page.
The Friday Café
Each Friday from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m., First Church opens up its lower level - Margaret Jewett Hall, the McKenzie Library, Lindsay Chapel, the Kitchen, Hastings Common, and the Harter Room - to host the Friday Café, a community meal program that serves hundreds of individuals each month. Home-cooked food is prepared by neighbors in their own kitchens and served by volunteers. Guests also have access to clothing, hygiene supplies, and drop-in community.
Sign-ups for cooking or serving are available online. On Thursday evenings, volunteers drop off supplies for the next day's meal in the Tower Room. The Friday Café is the church's largest weekly outreach into the surrounding neighborhood.
Twelve-Step and Recovery Meetings
First Church has long hosted twelve-step recovery groups, and its building hums with these meetings across the week. On Saturday mornings: AA Early Does It at 8:00 a.m., AA Beginners at 10:00 a.m., AA Talk of the Town at 12:00 p.m., and a 12-step group at 1:00 p.m., all in Margaret Jewett Hall. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 7:00 a.m.: the Morning Glories Women's AA Meeting in the Harter Room. On the first Saturday of each month, an Overeaters Anonymous (OA) meeting is held in the morning as well.
Affinity Groups and Retreats
The church's young adult community gathers a few times a month on a rotating basis for Faith On Tap meet-ups, ice-cream strolls, and at-home gatherings. A BIPOC listening group meets periodically on Zoom for active listening, healing, and community building. A Women's Community Book Group meets monthly around novels and nonfiction texts; recent titles have included Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Roxana Robinson's Leaving, Anne Lamott's Somehow: Thoughts on Love, Lynda Rutledge's West with Giraffes, Ann Patchett's These Precious Days, James McBride's The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, Kathryn Schulz's Lost and Found, and Tiya Miles's Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and The Faith Dreams of a Free People. Twice a year, in Advent and Lent, women from all walks and seasons of life come together for community gatherings.
Women gather once a year, usually the first weekend of Lent, for a daylong retreat of silence, creative expression, and a nourishing lunch. Men meet monthly for a hearty breakfast and even heartier conversation about how faith connects to life and the world, and once a year for a weekend of outdoor recreation in scenic New England.
The annual All-Church Retreat takes place in late September at the Craigville Retreat Center on Cape Cod, a weekend of community-building for all ages in fellowship, formation, and fun.
Open and Affirming: A Pioneering Welcome
First Church voted in 1991 to become an Open and Affirming (ONA) congregation of the UCC, formally welcoming lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people into the full life and ministry of the church. The congregation strongly supports the civil right of all free and consenting adults to marry and offers its sanctuary and ministers to all who wish to be married there. Each year, a strong delegation of First Church members carries the church's rainbow flag in the Boston Pride parade.
In 2024 the church introduced a trans- and nonbinary-affirming Blessing of Names liturgy, inviting members to be re-welcomed into the church using the names that best reflect who they are. Members of a Faith & Life Group have continued this work alongside a cohort of Southern New England UCC churches working toward becoming trans- and nonbinary-affirming congregations. The congregation's LGBTQ+ ministry also advocates for transgender rights in Massachusetts and hosts regular learning sessions on making the community safer and more welcoming for people of every gender.
Justice, Sanctuary, and Faithful Resistance
First Church's commitment to justice is wide-ranging and concrete. Roughly ten percent of the congregation's annual income is tithed to missions and social justice through a yearly Missions and Social Justice Committee budget of about $90,000, with grants going to UCC-related organizations and a long list of local and national partners. These include the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries, the Hispanic Ministry of MACUCC, Solutions at Work, Medicine Wheel, the Social Impact Center of the Roxbury Presbyterian Church, Kids 4 Peace, Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light, Massachusetts Peace Action, the Cambridge Interfaith Sanctuary Coalition, the Massachusetts Bible Society, the Outdoor Church, the Gaza Mental Health Foundation, and Black Lives Matter Boston. The committee also partners with the UCC's Our Church's Wider Mission and the Metropolitan Boston Association and collects at least two annual UCC offerings: One Great Hour of Sharing and Neighbors in Need.
The church is a longstanding partner of City Mission Boston, the oldest multi-service agency in New England. First Church members participate in City Mission's MLK Days of Service, the City Mission Christmas Shop, and the annual Coat Drive.
In 2017, First Church joined the Cambridge Interfaith Sanctuary Coalition (CISC), a coalition of congregations committed to accompanying undocumented people seeking sanctuary. About two dozen First Church members served as trained CISC volunteers, walking alongside a sanctuary guest and her family through March 2022, when the family transitioned to safe and permanent housing.
The church's Faithful Resistance movement organizes postcards (including a Sunday-morning Coffee Hour on the Lawn postcarding table for the Black-led Center for Common Ground), weekly standouts at the Burlington ICE office, the Statehouse, Hanscom Field, and the Newton Resist Standout, and partnerships with organizations like the Boston Immigration Justice Acceleration Network (BIJAN). A Faithful Resistance Resource List collects local and national organizations with active advocacy, actions, trainings, and volunteer opportunities.
The congregation voted in 1983 to become a Just Peace Church, a tradition of non-violent witness that continues to this day, supported by a 1990 covenant that calls members to love God with all that they are, to seek peace with justice and equity for all people, to engage in non-violent resistance to evil, to respect and preserve God's earth, and to foster community across every barrier and division.
Earth Stewardship
First Church's response to the climate crisis has been both physical and financial. The church has adopted a Sustainable Investment Policy, installed 86 solar panels on the Sanctuary roof, replaced four boilers with high-efficiency models, swapped in 124 LED light bulbs in the Sanctuary, and joined the City of Cambridge Electricity Aggregation Program for renewable energy. It has composted coffee-hour lunches, partnered with Rockville Market Farm to deliver local produce shares to the parsonage, and led an annual Lenten Carbon Fast with daily tips for reducing individual energy use. Past members of the congregation have also served in MA Interfaith Power and Light.
The Building at Garden and Mason Streets
The 2018 renovation of First Church's common spaces transformed what had been an enclosed parlor into a wide-open, welcoming center. The project added a commercial-grade kitchen, four accessible gender-neutral bathrooms, energy-efficiency upgrades, free guest Wi-Fi, and AV improvements. The Sanctuary and the Lindsay Chapel are wheelchair accessible, and two accessible parking spaces on Garden Street in front of the church are reserved for vehicles displaying a disability plate or placard. On Sunday mornings, large-print service bulletins and assistive listening devices are always available.
The building is open from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. almost every day, and the office is staffed Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the program year (closed on Fridays in the summer). The Director of Operations, Kirsten Manville, assists with church business and building arrangements.
The building is also home to Newtowne School, a preschool that meets in the building during the week and holds parent orientations in Margaret Jewett Hall in early September.
Weddings, Baptisms, and Memorial Services
First Church celebrates weddings, baptisms, and memorial services for members and non-members alike. The congregation believes that God blesses all couples who seek to join together in faithful covenant - "Gay or straight, interracial, interfaith, or all of the above" - and walks with couples from premarital counseling through the ceremony itself. Wedding receptions can be held in the Sanctuary and the reception hall.
Baptisms are celebrated in the midst of the worshiping community, with the support and commitment of the people of God. Infants, children, and adults are all welcomed, and the church encourages parents who cannot fully embrace baptism to consider a blessing or dedication as an alternative. Memorial services may follow a funeral by weeks or even months, and the pastoral care team supports families through grief counseling, planning, and the service itself.
The Sanctuary as a Stage
Beyond its own worship, First Church is home to a remarkable roster of performing arts groups, with concerts in the Sanctuary and the chapel throughout the year. The Spectrum Singers, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Cantata Singers, the Seraphim Singers, and many smaller ensembles call First Church their performing home. The Sanctuary's acoustics and visual beauty draw performing organizations from across greater Boston. Rentals of the Sanctuary, chapel, and reception hall are available for concerts, weddings, meetings, and other events.
Visiting First Church
First Church is a half-block from the Harvard T station, at the corner of Garden and Mason streets, directly across from Cambridge Common. Those coming on foot simply exit the station into the heart of Harvard Square, cross Massachusetts Avenue, and walk along Garden Street to the church.
Parking is limited. On Sundays, parking is permitted on the residential streets near the church without a permit, and the no-parking areas in front of and across from the church are open during morning worship - but the church asks that those spaces be left open for families with children and older parishioners.
There is no dress code. "Heels and ties are definitely optional. We hope that you come as you are to worship or any programming that we offer." Newcomers are welcome to fill out a welcome card from a pew on Sunday morning or to submit one online.
If a member of the church community has an urgent pastoral need, the church's 24/7 pastoral line at 617-547-2724 ext. 222 reaches a pastor at any hour.
Clergy and Program Directors
The Interim Senior Minister of First Church is the Rev. J. Michael Solberg, who observes his Sabbath on Mondays. The Rev. Kate Layzer is the Minister who frequently preaches and oversees the Friday Café. The Rev. Karen McArthur is the Minister of Stewardship and Finance and is the contact for stock gifts. Sarah Higginbotham is the Director of Family Ministries and oversees all programs for children, youth, and families. Noël Grisanti directs music and frequently preaches during the summer series.