We believe that God is still speaking, and continues to reveal new truths if we will listen.
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We invite you to join us for worship and fellowship †

We Value:

​​Diversity of backgrounds
and beliefs.

​Outreach to our community
​and world.

​Strong Christian education for all
​ages, with lively and engaging programs.

​A vibrant and varied music, art,
​and theater ministry.

​Stimulating, challenging, and
​inspiring sermons.

An extravagant
welcome to all!

Our Denomination

​We are a member of the United Church of Christ, an inclusive and diverse community of Christians connected by faith that calls us to build a just world for all. Our denominational ministries advocate at a national and global level, but the roots of the UCC are planted firmly in local churches and communities like ours.

Through the United Church of Christ, we are in covenant connection with other faith communities throughout the nation and the world. Locally, we are a member of the Santa Clara Association, which is a part of the  Northern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ, which includes six associations, about 120 local churches and more than 300 authorized ministers from Fresno in the south to the California-Oregon border in the north, from the Pacific Ocean in the west to Winnemucca, Nevada, in the east. 
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Stillspeaking. It's the shorter form of "God is still speaking," a campaign by the United Church of Christ to remind us that God still has more to say. Stillspeaking has worked with thousands of UCC churches and individuals across the country to make our fatih relevant again and to extend an extravagant welcome to all--because no matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here.

 

Open and Affirming Congregation

​We’re Open. You’re welcome!              openandaffirming.org

 “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you’re welcome here.”

In 2007, First Congregational Church of Palo Alto became an Open & Affirming Congregation, extending our extravagant welcome to intentionally welcome LGBTQ+ persons and their families. As new understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity has emerged, we have actively engaged in expanding our welcome to include the whole spectrum of gender expression -- including genderqueer, gender nonconforming, and gender nonidentifying folks.
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The United Church of Christ, through our neighboring Golden Gate Association of the Northern California Nevada Conference in 1972, ordained the first openly gay man to Christian ministry in modern times (William Johnson). And then, in 1982, the first openly lesbian woman ordained to Christian ministry was ordained by the Shenandoah Valley Association of the Central Atlantic Conference. 

Since the 1970s, the UCC has been at the forefront proclaiming Christian witness for the embrace of all God’s children as beloved creations. At our General Synod in 2005, we became the first Christian denomination in the United States to call for marriage equality nationwide -- and when the Supreme Court decision finally made that equality the law of the land in 2014, it was while our General Synod was meeting in Cleveland, and was celebrated by a sustained standing ovation throughout the convention hall.

Our formal Statement of Welcome, posted as you enter the Sanctuary, reads:
As we, the members of the First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, seek to embody God’s extravagant welcome to all, we declare ourselves to be an open and affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ, welcoming into the full life and ministry of our church all who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

​But that’s simply a long way of saying: We’re open. You’re welcome. Just as you are -- you, your whole self, and all those you love and embrace are welcomed, affirmed, and celebrated here.