At First Church we understand that we truly are the body of Christ, and our outreach missions reflect our belief in showing kindness and compassion to all of God’s creation. There are countless ways to get involved in the outreach work of First Church — whether you want to serve hot meals to your neighbors or build houses for those who desperately need them, your hands are needed here! First Church Outreach is involved in helping people who struggle with food insecurity and homelessness, and we are particularly involved in working for equity and social justice.
Outreach Team
Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance (GHIAA)
A broad-based social justice initiative piloted by the Center for Leadership and Justice. GHIAA is comprised of over 40 churches, synagogues, mosques, and meeting houses, creating a diverse organization of lay leaders and clergy from across bounds of race, class, gender identity, religion, and geography. GHIAA builds relational power in local communities to address social justice issues. GHIAA’s current campaigns are focused on the areas of Criminal Justice Reform, Education, Gun Violence, Healthcare, and Housing.
Hello GHIAA Supporters,
Register for April 14, 400–5:30 p.m. Meeting
What should GHIAA work on next? The answer will come out of small-group meetings where people are invited to share a story about an experience that happened to them or someone close to them — something that made them think, “That’s not right!” or “There ought to be a law against that!” The more people who share stories, the better chance we have of zeroing in on the most important issues that need our attention. Click here to register for one of the upcoming meetings. First Church is hosting several small-group meetings at First Church on April 14, 4:00-5:30pm, along with our partners Congregation Beth Israel and Westminster Presbyterian Church. If you can’t make it on April 14, choose a session on another date, at another local GHIAA congregation.
If you have questions, contact (lbronstein@irisct.org) or Terry Schmitt (terryschmittwh@gmail.com) directly. Thank you!
Walk Against Hunger
Walk with or donate to the First Church West Hartford Striders in the annual Connecticut Foodshare Walk Against Hunger Saturday, May 4 at Dunkin Park, Hartford. Start by going here: ctfoodshare.org, click on “Register today!” at top of page and choose “Register” or “Donate Now” and enter “First Church West Hartford Striders”. Details to follow regarding carpooling, etc. Your donations will help Connecticut Foodshare raise awareness of the problem of hunger in the community.
Judy, Bob, Jeanne and Carol all smiles at the March 2024 Loaves and Fishes prep. Yes Bob has a couple of black eyes; they look worse than they are; he checked out fine, and he didn’t let that stop him from helping on this day.
Loaves and Fishes, a local soup kitchen, provides warm meals and a safe place to eat for Hartford residents. Once a month First Church volunteers work with Loaves and Fishes staff to serve a hot meal. First Church members and friends also regularly donate grocery items for Loaves and Fishes’ “meals-to-go” program.
Communications Team. The Communications team is a branch of the Outreach Ministry, and is charged with spotlighting what goes on here at First Church. We employ many avenues to communicate and market our mission and events to the community and to our membership. In addition to digital messaging we design banners, signs, flyers, newspapers and good old word of mouth!
As the world of social media and publicity evolves, we do our best to evolve with it! Church members who have an interest in marketing are invited to check out the Communications Team!