First Church of Christ in Longmeadow has gathered on the town green for more than three centuries. Its white-pillared meeting house, topped by a four-foot copper rooster and a Paul Revere bell that has rung for wars and memorial services alike, anchors the oldest congregation in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Today the church is known as an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ, deeply engaged in social and environmental justice, and home to a busy campus that, every week, serves far more non-members than members.
Three Centuries on the Longmeadow Green
The first gathering place of the congregation was a modest meeting house built in 1716 on the town green in Longmeadow, after forty years of debate with Springfield officials and final approval in the General Court of Boston. The 32-by-38-foot unpainted structure had a pyramidal roof and a central bell tower. There was no heat inside, and the first bell would not be installed for another twenty-seven years. In the interim, a man named Nathaniel Burt was paid ten shillings a year (about two dollars) to walk up and down the street beating a drum to announce services.
So many repairs were needed to that first building that in 1764 the congregation voted to construct a second meeting house, completed in 1767-68 just to the north of the original. The new sanctuary stood 56 feet at the base and rose 54 feet high. For 51 years it had no heat, and the minister preached through winter services in a heavy homespun overcoat and mittens.
In 1809 a larger bell was purchased from the Paul Revere Company of Boston for $526.20 and weighing 1,256 pounds. Six years later, during the victory celebration at the end of the War of 1812, the bell was rung so hard that it cracked and had to be recast. The same bell is still in use today. It was rung by townspeople at the close of the Vietnam Conflict, tolled each day at noon during the Iranian hostage crisis, and sounded at the end of the Persian Gulf War. In March 2010, after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the bell was rung in memory of seventeen people lost in a building that First Church donations had helped erect; the sound was transmitted by cell phone and was heard at the start of a memorial service there.
No one is quite sure when the weathervane was installed. The rooster was made in England and imported before 1800. Made of copper covered in gold leaf, it stands four feet high with green glass eyes, one of which was replaced in 1962.
The church was moved from the Green to its present location at 763 Longmeadow Street in 1874, was painted brown, and was dramatically remodeled with black walnut pews and a high chancel. In 1932 another remodeling added the white pillared front portico, fashioned after Boston's Arlington Street Church with its triune, three-doored entrance. The Parish House was built in 1948-49 to house church school classes. A mahogany and brass cross, designed by a Longmeadow architect and crafted in England, was installed above the altar in 1967, and a new organ built by the Schantz Organ Company followed in 1975. The 1997 Open ARMS campaign raised $1.3 million to make the church accessible and to restore the historic building, and in 1998 the Memorial Garden on the west side of the Parish House was completed for the interment of ashes of church members.
An Open and Affirming Congregation
On September 18, 2011, members of First Church voted to become an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ by adopting a welcome statement that has become a defining mark of the church's identity. The statement reads: "We, the First Church of Christ in Longmeadow, strive to live out our stated mission to seek love and justice in our world. We welcome persons of every age, race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, mental, physical, emotional, economic and social status, and circumstance of life into the full participation and ministry of our church."
The Open and Affirming Team sustains this commitment and shares in the life of an LGBTQ Support Group that meets monthly at the church and over Zoom. The group is open to members, friends, and family of all LGBTQ people age 18 and older and is described as a non-religious gathering. First Church is a member of the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ, a community of 615 churches across Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, and of the Hampden Association, a collection of local UCC churches and members who support one another in shared mission.
Sunday Morning at Ten
Worship is held every Sunday at 10:00 AM and is open to all. Services take place in person in the historic sanctuary and are simultaneously livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube, so those who cannot attend in person can still take part. The service begins with the congregation as a multi-generational community. Children in first grade through middle school are invited forward for a children's message before being dismissed to Church School or Confirmation class, while a dedicated classroom is available for pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten children.
Several Communion Sundays are scheduled through the year, and on those Sundays children in first grade and up remain in worship with their families to experience the sacrament. Children are welcome at Communion at the discretion of their parents. First-time visitors who arrive with children are encouraged to let a greeter or usher know they are new; they will be introduced to the Lead Teacher or Family Ministries Director.
Music at the Chancel
Music holds a central place in worship at First Church. The Chancel Choir and Bell Choir rehearse on Thursday evenings in the Choir Room and sing or ring during Sunday services. The Bell Choir gathers from 6:00 to 7:30 PM and the Chancel Choir from 7:30 to 9:00 PM. All are welcome, whether returning musicians or those trying choir for the first time.
The Music Director is Daniel Rose. The program also administers the Ruth Perry Music Award, established through member donations to honor Ruth Perry, who served as music director from 1931 to 1971. Each year the Music Team, Minister, and Director of Music may award grants from the fund to graduating high school seniors who have participated significantly in the musical life of the church, with first consideration given to those planning to pursue a career in music or a college major in music.
Children, Youth, and Confirmation
The Family Ministries program at First Church extends from the youngest nursery children through high school seniors. The Nursery and Pre-K room for children ages 0 to 5 is staffed with a lead teacher and assistant each Sunday during worship. Church School is offered for grades K-3 and 4-5, with weekly classes led by teachers including Elaine Booke. On the first Sunday of the month, children in these grades stay in church to receive their Church School instruction alongside their families.
Older youth are invited to COOP (Curious On Our Path) for grades 6 through 12, meeting September through June. After the sermon in each service, the youth leader leads a tailored lesson and Sermon Talk-Back. Confirmation classes for students in grade 7 and above meet on the first, third, and fifth Sundays from September through May and are led by Pastor Doug Bixby with Wanona Dobbs. After completing Confirmation, students are invited to become members of the church.
Family Ministries events span the year, including outings, dinner and movie nights, a Halloween double-feature and costume party, carol singing with cookies and hot cocoa on the first Sunday of Advent, Trash Talk, egg decorating, Family Game Night, and the Christmas Pageant.
The Family Ministries Director is Marilyn Paul-Lewis. The Pre-K and Nursery teacher is Alexandra Zolotor. Middle and high school youth also gather through a Youth Group whose mission is to make all teens feel welcome and able to explore their faith in a safe and open environment, growing in community and reaching out as the hands and feet of Christ. Youth are also welcomed into the broader ministries of the church, including the choirs, teaching Sunday School, greeting and ushering, and serving as a youth member of the Board of Deacons. The Youth Leader is Khaleigh Laicher.
Justice Work in the Congregation
Justice is central to the church's stated mission to "grow outward toward love and justice," and three organized teams carry much of this work forward.
The Social Justice Team is a group of Christian activists that has participated in vigils and marches against gun violence, stood out against racism and anti-Asian hate, sponsored book and film study and discussion, partnered with the Pioneer Valley Project and the Longmeadow Anti-Racist Coalition to study police reform, and collaborated with the Adult Education Team for a course on reparations sponsored by the Jewish Community of Amherst. In 2022 the team became the first faith-based organization to receive a Social Justice Award from the Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services of Springfield. Future plans include a book discussion on anti-Semitism and a series of programs examining the church's and town's history in relation to slavery; the congregation's first pastor, the Reverend Stephen Williams, owned enslaved people, as did other prominent Longmeadow citizens, and some of those enslaved persons were members of the church.
The Environmental Justice Team focuses on stewardship of God's creation through collective and personal advocacy. Current goals include co-sponsoring forums and speakers on climate anxiety with other faith communities, educating members about the Environmental Voters Project, encouraging socially responsible investing, investigating the dangers and uses of plastics, providing a weekly environmental column in the church e-blast, and continuing to "green" the church building and premises.
The Open and Affirming Team, beyond its welcome statement and support group, sustains the congregation's commitment to full inclusion of LGBTQ people.
The Women's Benevolent Society
Founded in 1803, the Women's Benevolent Society of First Church is believed to be the oldest continuously active women's group of its kind in the country. Over more than two centuries the Society has welcomed speakers on a wide variety of topics and has hosted beloved Christmas fairs since at least the 1930s. Today the annual Christmas on the Green Fair, held on the first Saturday in December, remains a joyful tradition for both the church and the wider Longmeadow community. All proceeds are donated to local community organizations. Membership is free and open to all.
Doors Wide Open: A Capital Campaign
First Church has launched the Doors Wide Open Capital Campaign to preserve its historic buildings, expand accessible spaces, and modernize the campus for worship, learning, and community programs. Campaign priorities include restoring historic architecture, improving accessibility so everyone can fully participate, enhancing community spaces, upgrading technology and sound, redesigning the kitchen to strengthen hospitality and outreach, and establishing a preservation fund. Significantly more non-members than members use the campus each week. First Church hosts support groups, educational programs, community events, recovery groups, public dialogue, youth programs, and the Longmeadow Montessori School. Online giving is available through Breeze and PayPal.
Senior Minister and Staff
The Senior Minister is the Reverend Doug Bixby. Raised within an ecumenical family that attended Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal, and UCC churches, he earned his Master of Divinity at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago and was attracted to the Covenant denomination's blend of personal faith and social action. He served as pastor of a small church in northwestern Connecticut for fifteen years, growing it from thirty-five to one hundred fifty members, and then as Senior Pastor of a 350-member Covenant church in Attleboro, Massachusetts, for another fifteen years. He has also consulted with the Southern New England Conference on simplifying leadership structures and supporting congregational decision-making in UCC churches experiencing conflict. He is the author of three books: "Navigating the Nonsense: Church Conflict and Triangulation," "The Honest to God Church," and "Challenging the Church Monster."