Our Staff
A Conversation with Pastor Laura Westby
Where did you study?
I took courses at Hartford Seminary and then graduated from Yale Divinity School.
How long have you been a pastor?
17 years now. At first I was a an interim pastor in seven CT different churches; Waterbury, Newington, Kensington, Hartford, New Britain, Weston, Cornwall. This was a good way to hone my craft while raising my two daughters.
How long have you been at First Congregational Church Danbury?
Since 2004.
What did you do before becoming a pastor that helped prepare you?
I was a hospice nurse before seminary. Working as a home care nurse taught me invaluable lessons about the blessings to be found in becoming partners with those I serve. So often the most life affirming and hopeful solutions to a patient’s challenges came by the goals of my clients. This was especially true when I worked with hospice patients. They taught me that it is a privilege to be allowed into the difficult spaces of a person’s life, because it is in those times that the presence of God draws especially near.
What led you to the ministry?
Looking back, I can see the ways that God was leading me toward ministry, but the moment when I realized that I was being called to ministry came as a surprise. I was raised Roman Catholic, so the idea of being a pastor never occurred to me. It was only after finding the United Church of Christ, that the need to serve others which had motivated me to become a nurse became a desire to become a pastor.
What was struck you most when you came to First Congregational Church of Danbury?
The years prior to my ministry in Danbury were characterized by profound change in the congregation and the city of Danbury. First Church was a church in transition- and all of my ministry to date had been as an interim pastor, a ministry specialty that focuses on helping churches in transition. So on a practical level, my skills were a good fit for the church’s need. I was looking for a city church, one with a strong sense of commitment to social ministries and outreach. But the most important factor was the people I met here. Despite their struggles, they were hopeful, courageous and passionate about helping others in the model of Christ. In them I discovered friends and partners in ministry.
This church has a long history of being a voice for justice. Almost from its beginning 312 years ago, the people of First Church put their faith into action in the world. Whether it was speaking out against slavery or protesting racism and homophobia or standing with people of others faiths, they have been courageous advocates for others.
What is your vision for us?
I want our house of worship to be a Meeting Place - a place for the entire community where we learn and share on issues facing us today so that we can work together to help resolve them.
What are the issues that are important to you ?
This church has the gift of hospitality, of making others welcome. So homelessness, hunger, immigration and interfaith dialogue are natural avenues of concern for us. I think the warmth of our church also offers a sense of belonging to those without a strong network of support. As a smaller church, part of what we try to do is support the individual ministries of our members.
Are there steps that you think we're taking right now that are especially important to our future effectiveness?
Becoming a Meeting House- reinterpreting the great strengths of the Christian faith and our own history in ways that meet current and future needs. Looking at our programs and buildings and asking how they can contribute to becoming a place where we meet God in worship, gather together in service and learning to provide a place for the community to come together for the common good.
What are the most special things about 1st Church to you?
The most special thing about this church is the people - their warmth, their desire to serve God by serving others and their willingness to be open to wherever God might lead us. We need to reclaim our heritage of bold and faithful discipleship, which has been diminished somewhat during the years of change within and outside the church.
If you would like to join us in these efforts to better ourselves and our community, please visit us at church on Sunday - we would love to meet you and tell you more! Please send is any ideas you might have on furthering our mission or your wish to volunteer to JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING .
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Seminary Interns
The First Congregational Church of Danbury, UCC, serves as an internship site for the Yale Divinity School program of supervised ministries. Only a few churches in the state become “field placement” sites. The YDS Director of Supervised Ministries screens and chooses the sites and the pastors who serve as intern supervisors. Each pastor who, like Pastor Laura, directs an intern must undergo supervisor training at YDS and must have multiple years of ordained ministry experience. Although YDS provides no training per se for internship churches, each church's members must be the sort to support its intern with a warm welcome, on-going prayers, and take time throughout the year to offer the intern encouragement and constructive feedback.
First Church accepts with enthusiasm the challenge and the opportunity to assist interns in discerning God’s call in their lives and to help form UCC ordained ministers of the future. Through the internship, Pastor Laura and the congregation help YDS students gain professional competence, acquire a broader and more realistic view of the Christian Church and its ministries, and develop a ministerial identity. The interns, in turn, offer their hard work, abilities, and enthusiasm to the congregation for two academic semesters. In the UCC’s classic covenantal fashion, First Church and its chosen seminary intern participate in a wonderful exchange of needs and gifts!
Facility
At First Congregational Church of Danbury we are blessed with a beautiful sanctuary – as you can see from our picture gallery. It holds 300 people and the acoustics are exceptional – important since we have a wonderful 1959 Aeolian-Skinner organ and a Knable grand piano to accompany a terrific choir.
Behind the sanctuary are Pilgrim Hall, our classrooms, and offices. Pilgrim Hall is where we gather after church for fellowship and snacks. We also hold events here for the congregation and the community, sometimes educational, others simply entertainment. Recently we had several interactive sessions on the major religions of the world, another on the healthcare crisis affecting our country today, and we also had a game night just for fun. Next to and above Pilgrim Hall, we have several more classrooms. Some of these rooms are available for reasonable rent. If you are interested, please contact us at JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING .
We feel strongly about the need to provide a meeting place for the community to come together to hear about issues that are important to us. As an urban church we should be the place where community voices can be heard and where people can get help to overcome the many obstacles people face today:
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Just what is it we should be doing about the immigration situation and homelessness from a faith and values perspective?
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Is it possible for everyone to have healthcare without the country going broke?
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What does the Bible say about alternative lifestyles and the making of war?
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Is the pollution problem just junk science or do we need to do something?
There are many people working on these questions from the political perspective but in downtown Danbury, we are becoming a major forum for examining these questions from a religious and moral perspective. Please keep checking back with this website’s Events page to see what’s next on the schedule and join us whenever possible. Additionally, if you have suggestions for future topics, please email them to JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING . If we keep working together, Danbury can be an even more special place to live!
Christian Education
We all want our children to have wholesome and wonderful lives, throughout their lives. When times are challenging, we want our children to have a firm foundation of positive experiences and beliefs that help them through those times the best way possible. At the First Congregational Church of Danbury, we believe that our faith helps accomplish this goal and we help our children to understand the benefits of faith through Christian Education.
Our bright nursery room offers child care for our littlest ones. Preschoolers through eighth graders stay in worship for a Children’s message then leave for church school. The curriculum we use offers opportunities to learn the stories of the Bible through a variety of methods- drama, cooking, art, and science are the most popular. Our Senior High class meets twice a month to discuss how their faith can help them understand contemporary topics and daily life. Take a look at some of the photos on this website and you’ll see a wide variety of children’s activities including mission trips, youth fellowships, vacation Bible school, and church camps. Over the years, we have helped our children develop long lasting friendships and a hefty dose of confidence with which to face the world as people of faith.
Christian Education is run by parent volunteers with the assistance of our pastoral staff, including Pastor Laura Westby and the current Yale Divinity School intern. It’s a warm, cooperative group comprised of people with the same goals – to foster the spiritual health and well being of their students.
Please bring your child by after the Children’s Message during the service each Sunday, and check us out for yourself. With Christian Education, the more the merrier!
To Volunteer or ask questions, please write JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING .
Boards
Congregational Life Board
The members of the Congregational Life Board are responsible for overseeing our worship services, and fellowship events, and the decorating of our beautiful sanctuary. This Board works with the Minister to enhance the spiritual life of the Church by preparing the Lord’s Supper, assisting with communion and baptisms, visiting the sick and homebound, and sponsoring retreats.
As part of their responsibility for worship, Congregational Life members support the Music program, its staff, and volunteers. Congregational Life makes recommendations on musical instruments and has maintained our spectacular Hooks and Hastings organ (rebuilt by Aeolian Skinner in 1959) in top condition. In the fall of 2007, the Board helped our Music Director, Mark Cherry, to secure a Knabe Grand Piano for use during services This wonderful piano, which was once owned by a renowned opera singer, was headed for oblivion until it found a home at First Church.
Congregational Life members also bring meals to the homebound, organize ongoing Adult Fellowship activities (see the photos throughout this website), help other Church groups with their events, and sponsor delegates to the Fairfield East Association and the Connecticut Conference.
If any of these activities particularly appeals to you, please call or email JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING for more information.
Church Council
In the Congregational Church, the congregation is responsible for the most important decisions in the church. The church Council is responsible for acting upon the wishes of the congregation and it is responsible for coordination between the Boards and Officers of the church. At First Congregational Church of Danbury, Council has eight members, elected by the congregation annually: The Moderator, Treasurer, Clerk and chairpersons of the church Boards. The Boards are Congregational Life, Christian Education, Outreach, Church Resources and New Member Growth.
Council has the responsibility to ensure that the church is fiscally healthy, not only today, but far into the future. This means that it must implement accounting safeguards, ensure proper handling of church assets and find ways to raise more funds as needed.
Today, we are blessed with a beautiful sanctuary located in the center of downtown Danbury on the corner of West Street and Deer Hill Avenue. The church seats 600 people, a spiritual and lovely building representing hope and redemption to all who enter.
A few of the actions Council has recommended and implemented are:
1. Sponsor events at the church like concerts, topical lectures, discussions, films and performances. We want to make our church a community gathering center for people from all walks of life to come together share ideas, learn new things, and enjoy God’s great gifts;
2. Consultations with the Mayor’s office, other religious organizations and businesses about sharing our space;
3. Elimination of the paid assistant pastor’s position – we now use volunteer interns from Yale Divinity School. They have fresh ideas, are well trained and enthusiastic about the position;
4. Reduced bookkeeping and insurance expenses;
5. Closed the building two nights a week to conserve energy.
If you have ideas for helping us to maintain and grow our mission to be of service to our community, please share them by emailing the church office at JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING . Our church thrives when we all work together!
Church Resources Board
Church Resources is responsible for the assets of our church: the physical structures and property, memorial funds and our Endowment. It makes recommendations for the use of funds, sets the procedures for the Treasurer, and proposes the annual budget for approval by the Church Council before the Church’s annual meeting. This body is also charged with conducting our Stewardship campaigns, encouraging members to donate time, talent and money as they are able.
Church Resources makes recommendations regarding the church Secretary, Financial Secretary and custodial employees to the Church Council. In addition, they develop the personnel policies for the entire Church staff for approval by Council.
Estate planning is a critical aspect of Church Resources’ function and a very complex subject these days. Nevertheless, for the health of our church and our mission, we need to ensure that we educate everyone as to how they can best give when their time comes – and that no gift is too small! These gifts are crucial to the long term survival of a church like ours with spectacular assets to maintain like our sanctuary, grounds and musical instruments. With regular and sufficient income from trusts and endowments, we can put more focus into our mission to service our community, and less into fundraising.
If you have questions regarding Estate Planning, please contact Pastor Laura Westby at 203.744.6177 or email her at JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING .
New Member Growth Board
One of the things every successful organization needs is fresh ideas and people to make them happen. The New Member Growth Board at First Congregational Church of Danbury is dedicated to making sure that every new person walking through our doors is greeted the way Jesus would have met that person - with “extravagant welcome and hospitality” – no matter who they are or where they come from.
But NMGB doesn’t just greet new people – they are also charged with getting new people to our doors – a tall order in this age of so many secular distractions from spiritual pursuits. The members of the NMGB are examining ways to make sure people who are seeking a fuller spiritual life find their way to us. Currently these activities include:
- Keeping in touch with new people coming to church;
- Answering visitors’ questions about our church, beliefs, activities and congregation;
- Following up with new people to invite them to become members;
- Finding sponsors for new members;
- Developing new newspaper advertisements;
- Ordering signs to inform the community of our activities
- Re-designing the website to be more modern, informative and inviting to our Internet visitors.
If you are new to our area or you are thinking about returning to church, please try us out. We will welcome you warmly, answer your questions, and generally make ourselves available to help in your spiritual journey. You will find that we are a fun-loving group working together to do service in our community and our congregation.
Mission Statement
Our mission as the First Congregational Church of Danbury, United Church of Christ, is to be a growing, multicultural, Open and Affirming community of believers and seekers, who participate in Christ's ministry of reconciliation (II Corinthians 5:16-21) by:
- Providing a loving invitation and welcome to the diverse population of the Greater Danbury area
- Nurting people at various stages of their spiritual growth
- Offering inspirational worship, in the spirit of the Congregational tradition
- Engaging in outreach to heal and enrich lives
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