Tag Archives: First Congregational Church

Announcements

ANNOUNCEMENT: Coronavirus precautions and updates

On behalf of our Pastor Daniel Ling and our Board Chairs:

In light of the recent spread of Coronavirus, here in New York State, we are making the following changes here at FCC:

  • Services will continue as scheduled until further notice. This includes all Sunday services and our Wednesday night Lenten services. As you enter the Sanctuary please feel free to spread out as much as you like.
  • Changes were made last week to our time of “Peace”. Those changes will continue and are as follows: no physical contact, rather greet with a smile, bow, peace sign or ankle “shake”.
  • All events and fellowships involving food and/or beverages will be cancelled or postponed. This includes our fellowship hour in the Parlor immediately following service and Wednesday night Lenten Soup Suppers. Our Fellowship Night scheduled for Friday, March 20th will be postponed to a later date. Also note, that the Deliberative Conversation on Race and Social Justice, hosted by Doug Garnar, and scheduled for Sunday, March 22nd has been cancelled.
  • Hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes and Lysol have been placed throughout the building. Please make use of these items while you are here.
  • The building has been and will continue to be disinfected on a regular basis and in between gatherings.

We thank you for your patience as we chart new waters and wade through these changing circumstances.

As verified information becomes available, we will advise you of any changes.

If you have any questions or concerns you may have, be directed to one of our Board Chairs (Toni Rorapaugh, Deacon Chair and Bernie Lewis, Trustee Chair) or call the church office and speak with Kari Hernandez, Church Administrator.

First Congregational Church

30 Main Street, Binghamton, NY 13905

(607)723-8981

Events

EVENTS: Face It! Theatre Presented: The Fertile River, by Vincent Terrell Durham, at F.C.C.

Just shy of 500 people attended the showings of The Fertile River in mid-September at First Congregational Church.

Vincent Terrell Durham. Photo courtesy of vtdisme.com.

The Fertile River is the work of playwright Vincent Terrell Durham, who was born and raised in Binghamton and graduated from BHS.

The play’s cast included Foster Daniels as Uncle Jesse, Joyann Kershaw as River, Qiana Watson as Mama Cora, Samuel Fraser as the boy Arthur, and Terri-Jo Ramia as Miss Sarah.

Face It! Theatre put on the production of the play, which was offered freely and open to the public.

“We think of ourselves as a social justice theatre,” FaceIt! Theatre‘s founder, Jim Michalec, told BU’s The Pipedream. “We think of ourselves as a social justice theatre. We look for issues that are either relevant, hot on the surface right now, or we look for things that are in the past that this country or this society has dealt with one way or another but not fully explored enough of and has relevance to today.”

The Fertile River at F.C.C., by Ariel Kachuro from B.U.’s The Pipedream.

The goal? To help raise awareness and encourage dialogue — part of Face It! Theatre’s inspired mission — check it out.

Learn more about Binghamton native, comedian, and playwright Vincent Terrell Durham’s life and work at his web site.

What other kinds of mission-aligned gatherings and activities happen at F.C.C.? Here are some examples…

 

General

Historic F.C.C.

We’ve been here on corner of Main and Front Streets for a long time and have come a long way — check out our history.

Here’s one vintage pic of F.C.C.

Photographer Gordon L. Morales was processing some old glass negatives and came across this one of the Court St. bridge, dated at the end of the 1800s/early 1900s, with the  First Congregational Church  in the background.

To see the original dimensions of the pic, click on the image below.

Court Street Bridge Binghamton circa 1900
Court Street Bridge Binghamton circa 1900