{"id":12846,"date":"2020-04-04T13:56:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-04T17:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/?page_id=12846"},"modified":"2026-03-30T07:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:51:11","slug":"welcome","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_three_fourth  avia-builder-el-first  \" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><h3>Welcome to First Congregational Church of Essex Junction, United Church of Christ<\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>No matter who you are or where you are on life&#8217;s journey, you are welcome in this place.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>First Congregational Church of Essex Junction is a vibrant and progressive community of faith. We are an open and affirming congregation, welcoming and serving all in the spirit of Christ.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_three_fourth  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_one_fourth  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><h3>Worship Schedule:<\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>~First Sunday of Each Month ~ One Service at 10am~<br \/>\n<\/strong>with Holy Communion and Sanctuary Choir ~ Spiritual Friends for PreK-5th<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>~Other Sundays Throughout the Month~<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>8:30 &#8211; <\/strong>In-person &#038; streamed via YouTube<br \/>\nMusic: Bethany Blake directs our Sanctuary Choir and provides accompaniment<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>10:15 &#8211; <\/strong>In-person\u2014Faith Formation for PreK &#8211; 8th<br \/>\nMusic: Finally @ First Praise Band ~ Streamed on the 3rd Sunday of each month<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.signupgenius.com\/go\/20F0545A8AB2FAAF58-50050750-fccej#\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> to sign up to greet or usher at In-Person worship<\/li>\n<li>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.signupgenius.com\/go\/20F0545A8AB2FAAF58-53196874-altar#\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> to sign up to donate Altar flowers<\/li>\n<li>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/category\/bulletins\/\">here<\/a> for this week&#8217;s worship bulletin<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Refer to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/calendar-news\/calendar\/\">calendar<\/a>\u00a0for information about connecting to other online events and meetings, including daily devotionals and fellowship time.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_fourth  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_three_fourth  el_before_av_one_full  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><p><div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-5  el_before_av_magazine  avia-builder-el-first  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Newsletters<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div  id=\"1\"  class='av-magazine   avia-builder-el-6  el_after_av_heading  avia-builder-el-last   ' ><div class='av-magazine-group sort_all'><article class='av-magazine-entry av-magazine-entry-id-18259 av-magazine-format-standard av-magazine-type-post av-magazine-entry-1 av-magazine-entry-small av-magazine-no-thumb'  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='av-magazine-content-wrap'><header class='entry-content-header'><time class='av-magazine-time updated'  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-03-31T08:09:08-04:00\" >March 31, 2026<\/time><h3 class='av-magazine-title entry-title '  itemprop=\"headline\" ><a href='https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/spirit-first-newsletter-april-2026\/' title='Link to: Spirit @ First Newsletter &#8211; April, 2026'>Spirit @ First Newsletter &#8211; April, 2026<\/a><\/h3><\/header><\/div><footer class='entry-footer'><\/footer><\/article><\/div><div class='av-masonry-pagination av-masonry-pagination-pagination'><nav class='pagination'><span class='pagination-meta'>Page 1 of 106<\/span><span class='current'>1<\/span><a href='https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12846\/?avia-element-paging=2' class='inactive next_page' >2<\/a><a href='https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12846\/?avia-element-paging=3' class='inactive' >3<\/a><a href='https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12846\/?avia-element-paging=2'>&rsaquo;<\/a><a href='https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12846\/?avia-element-paging=106'>&raquo;<\/a><\/nav>\n<\/div><\/div><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-7  el_after_av_one_fourth  el_before_av_slideshow_full  avia-builder-el-last  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-icon-grid-container    avia-builder-el-8  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '><ul id='avia-icongrid-69d0afa822153' class='clearfix avia-icongrid avia-icongrid-flipbox avia-icongrid-numrow-5 avia-icongrid-borders-none avia_animate_when_almost_visible' >\n<li><a href='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@FCCEJ\/streams' title='Watch Sunday Worship'  class='avia-icongrid-wrapper' ><article  class=\"article-icon-entry \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia-icongrid-front' style='background-color:#eaffe9; '><div class='avia-icongrid-inner'><div  class='avia-icongrid-icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='icongrid-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue921' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_icongrid_title icongrid_title  '  itemprop=\"headline\"  style='color:#000000; '>Watch Sunday Worship<\/h4><\/header><\/div><\/div><div class='avia-icongrid-content' style='background-color:#adadad; '><div class='avia-icongrid-inner' style='color:#000000; '><div class='avia-icongrid-text '  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>Watch live-stream and previously recorded worship services.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href='https:\/\/www.signupgenius.com\/go\/20F0545A8AB2FAAF58-61933778-pastor#\/' title='Pastor Search Cottage Meetings' target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class='avia-icongrid-wrapper'><article  class=\"article-icon-entry \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia-icongrid-front' style='background-color:#d6a9be; '><div class='avia-icongrid-inner'><div  class='avia-icongrid-icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='icongrid-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue83c' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_icongrid_title icongrid_title  '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Pastor Search Cottage Meetings<\/h4><h6 class='av_icongrid_subtitle icongrid_subtitle '  >Sign Up<\/h6><\/header><\/div><\/div><div class='avia-icongrid-content' style='background-color:#adadad; '><div class='avia-icongrid-inner' ><div class='avia-icongrid-text '  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>Click to sign up for one of the Cottage Meetings. We want to hear from you! Please come to a meeting and share your opinions.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href='https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/lent-2026\/' title='Lent &amp; Easter'  class='avia-icongrid-wrapper' ><article  class=\"article-icon-entry \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia-icongrid-front' style='background-color:#ffd935; '><div class='avia-icongrid-inner'><div  class='avia-icongrid-icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='icongrid-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue8d2' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_icongrid_title icongrid_title  '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Lent &amp; Easter<\/h4><\/header><\/div><\/div><div class='avia-icongrid-content' style='background-color:#eded38; '><div class='avia-icongrid-inner' ><div class='avia-icongrid-text '  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>See all the special events that are happening at FCCEJ during Lent and Easter.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href='https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/calendar-news\/concert-series\/' title='Community Concerts @ First'  class='avia-icongrid-wrapper' ><article  class=\"article-icon-entry \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia-icongrid-front' style='background-color:#fff1e6; '><div class='avia-icongrid-inner'><div  class='avia-icongrid-icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='icongrid-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue801' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_icongrid_title icongrid_title  '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Community Concerts @ First<\/h4><\/header><\/div><\/div><div class='avia-icongrid-content' style='background-color:#adadad; '><div class='avia-icongrid-inner' ><div class='avia-icongrid-text '  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>Join us for the amazing<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> jazz trumpeter Ray Vega with his Afro Caribbean ensemble on April 26th at 3pm!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href='https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/serving-others\/heavenly-food-pantry\/' title='Heavenly Food Pantry'  class='avia-icongrid-wrapper' ><article  class=\"article-icon-entry \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia-icongrid-front' style='background-color:#a2edeb; '><div class='avia-icongrid-inner'><div  class='avia-icongrid-icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='icongrid-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue859' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_icongrid_title icongrid_title  '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Heavenly Food Pantry<\/h4><\/header><\/div><\/div><div class='avia-icongrid-content' style='background-color:#adadad; '><div class='avia-icongrid-inner' ><div class='avia-icongrid-text '  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>Read about visiting, supporting and volunteering for the Heavenly Food Pantry.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='full_slider_1'  class='avia-fullwidth-slider main_color avia-shadow   avia-builder-el-9  el_after_av_one_full  avia-builder-el-last   slider-not-first container_wrap sidebar_right' style=' '  ><div   data-size='featured'  data-lightbox_size='large'  data-animation='slide'  data-conditional_play=''  data-ids='12835,12861,18206,12877,18143'  data-video_counter='0'  data-autoplay='true'  data-bg_slider='false'  data-slide_height=''  data-handle='av_slideshow_full'  data-interval='4'  data-class=' '  data-el_id=''  data-css_id=''  data-scroll_down=''  data-control_layout='av-control-default'  data-custom_markup=''  data-perma_caption=''  data-autoplay_stopper=''  data-image_attachment=''  data-min_height='0px'  data-lazy_loading='disabled'  data-src=''  data-position='top left'  data-repeat='no-repeat'  data-attach='scroll'  data-stretch=''  data-default-height='28.666666666667'  class='avia-slideshow avia-slideshow-1  av-control-default av-default-height-applied avia-slideshow-featured av_slideshow_full   avia-slide-slider '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><ul class='avia-slideshow-inner ' style='padding-bottom: 34%;' ><li  class=' slide-1 ' ><div data-rel='slideshow-1' class='avia-slide-wrap '   ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12835 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-12835\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/churchhoriz_cropped.jpg\" width=\"950\" height=\"323\" title='' alt=''  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/churchhoriz_cropped.jpg 950w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/churchhoriz_cropped-300x102.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/churchhoriz_cropped-768x261.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/churchhoriz_cropped-705x240.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 950px) 100vw, 950px\" \/><\/div><\/li><li  class=' slide-2 ' ><div data-rel='slideshow-1' class='avia-slide-wrap '   ><div class = \"caption_fullwidth av-slideshow-caption caption_bottom caption_bottom_framed caption_framed\"><div class = \"container caption_container\"><div class = \"slideshow_caption\"><div class = \"slideshow_inner_caption\"><div class = \"slideshow_align_caption\"><div class='avia-caption-content  '  itemprop=\"description\"  ><p>Serve<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12861 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-12861\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jamaica_mission_2019.jpg\" width=\"950\" height=\"323\" title='Jamaica_mission_2019' alt=''  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jamaica_mission_2019.jpg 950w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jamaica_mission_2019-300x102.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jamaica_mission_2019-768x261.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jamaica_mission_2019-705x240.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 950px) 100vw, 950px\" \/><\/div><\/li><li  class=' slide-3 ' ><div data-rel='slideshow-1' class='avia-slide-wrap '   ><div class = \"caption_fullwidth av-slideshow-caption caption_bottom\"><div class = \"container caption_container\"><div class = \"slideshow_caption\"><div class = \"slideshow_inner_caption\"><div class = \"slideshow_align_caption\"><div class='avia-caption-content  '  itemprop=\"description\"  ><p>Grow<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18206 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-18206\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Childrens_message_3-8-2026.jpg\" width=\"950\" height=\"323\" title='Childrens_message_3-8-2026' alt=''  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Childrens_message_3-8-2026.jpg 950w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Childrens_message_3-8-2026-300x102.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Childrens_message_3-8-2026-768x261.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Childrens_message_3-8-2026-705x240.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 950px) 100vw, 950px\" \/><\/div><\/li><li  class=' slide-4 ' ><div data-rel='slideshow-1' class='avia-slide-wrap '   ><div class = \"caption_fullwidth av-slideshow-caption caption_bottom caption_bottom_framed caption_framed\"><div class = \"container caption_container\"><div class = \"slideshow_caption\"><div class = \"slideshow_inner_caption\"><div class = \"slideshow_align_caption\"><div class='avia-caption-content  '  itemprop=\"description\"  ><p>Love<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12877 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-12877\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/pride_parade_2019_2.jpeg\" width=\"950\" height=\"323\" title='pride_parade_2019_2' alt=''  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/pride_parade_2019_2.jpeg 950w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/pride_parade_2019_2-300x102.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/pride_parade_2019_2-768x261.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/pride_parade_2019_2-705x240.jpeg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 950px) 100vw, 950px\" \/><\/div><\/li><li  class=' slide-5 ' ><div data-rel='slideshow-1' class='avia-slide-wrap '   ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18143 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-18143\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rev_mark_offering_communion.jpg\" width=\"950\" height=\"323\" title='rev_mark_offering_communion' alt=''  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rev_mark_offering_communion.jpg 950w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rev_mark_offering_communion-300x102.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rev_mark_offering_communion-768x261.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rev_mark_offering_communion-705x240.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 950px) 100vw, 950px\" \/><\/div><\/li><\/ul><div class='avia-slideshow-arrows avia-slideshow-controls'><a href='#prev' class='prev-slide' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue87c' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'>Previous<\/a><a href='#next' class='next-slide' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue87d' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'>Next<\/a><\/div><div class='avia-slideshow-dots avia-slideshow-controls'><a href='#1' class='goto-slide active' >1<\/a><a href='#2' class='goto-slide ' >2<\/a><a href='#3' class='goto-slide ' >3<\/a><a href='#4' class='goto-slide ' >4<\/a><a href='#5' class='goto-slide ' >5<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12846","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12846"}],"version-history":[{"count":232,"href":"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18251,"href":"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12846\/revisions\/18251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fccej.org\/v5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}