This is the first Sunday of Advent. We’ll be hanging the greens today, decorating our beautiful church!

Bidding on all items except for Early Bird items will end at 4 p.m. today.

It’s time to get your ducks in a row!
Bidding on early bird items ends TODAY at noon.

Or scan the code below

Join us for Thanksgiving Sunday. Noel Grisanti will be preaching.

Be sure to bring your donation of non-perishable food for Hands on Hartford and Loaves & Fishes.

The Silent Auction Reception with Early-Bird winners following worship!

GHIAA is collecting turkeys for Hands on Hartford’s Thanksgiving food distribution. If you are able, please purchase an extra turkey for our neighbors in need. The most requested size is 10-12 lbs. Ton Thursday, November 20, from 1-4 pm, there will be a “drive thru” drop off in our circular driveway. You won’t even need to get out of your car. You’ll simply pop your trunk, and the GHIAA team will take care of the rest. Any questions, please contact Cori Mackey.

We can’t wait for this worship service! Hot Cat Jazz, directed by Ross Tucker, will be here performing all the music during the service!

It’s also Stewardship Sunday, so please remember to bring your pledge cards!

“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others...not dominating but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others.”

                   ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

Your stewardship pledge enables us to be the church that exists for others. We take care of each other so that we can care for others.

Stewardship letters have recently gone out asking for your support in 2026. If you haven't received yours, please contact the Church Office or fill out a pledge card on our website.

Sunday, November 2 is Book of Remembrance Sunday. Please join us as we give thanks for and remember those from our church family who have died in the past year, and those inscribed in the Book of Remembrance.

Join Iris Branch and Ann Conable on Zoom Wednesday, October 29th from 7 to 8 pm for a discussion of James by Percival Everett. Everett received the 2025 Stowe Prize for Literary Activism in our very own sanctuary this past month. He is a Professor of English at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and the author of many other award-winning books. The 2023 film, American Fiction, was based on his novel Erasure and won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. In his novel James, Everett reimagines Jim as the central character in Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and we go along for the ride….and what a ride it is!

We hope you will come along as well. Look in the latest e-blast for the Zoom link or email the church office.

Celebrating Immanuel’s 25th Anniversary of being Open & Affirming!

We will celebrate in worship today with guest preacher Rev. Darrell Goodwin, Executive Conference Minister of the SNEUCC. We are also excited to Hartford Gay Men’s Chorus with us!

Celebrating Immanuel’s 25th Anniversary of being Open & Affirming!

Saturday, October 25 will be our evening of pure celebration of our 25th Open and Affirming anniversary. After a delicious array of hors d’oeuvres and appetizers from Fire by Forge, and a glass or two of wine, you’ll be ready for a splendid stroll down Broadway featuring Brian Patton with David Dalena. Both Hartt graduates, Brian and David were all-star choir section leaders at Immanuel for many years. These days they live, play and sing in Boston and Boothbay Harbor, but they left their hearts in Hartford, and look forward eagerly to this return visit!

You must RSVP to this event! Contact Mary in the Church office. This is needed for head count for the food.

Immediately prior to our Saturday Support & Action Group at 10am there will be a small group of people joining in community to proclaim that we are Standing up for Human Rights and Needs! We are stronger together!

Please consider joining us Saturday, 9/13 from 8:30 am-9:30 am at the corner of Farmington and Woodland. 

Then, come in for coffee/tea and and conversation during out Saturday Gathering.

We look forward to seeing you!

Let’s celebrate Immanuel’s 25th Anniversary of being Open & Affirming!

On October 15, 1998, over 800 people walked into our sanctuary to attend a memorial service for Matthew Shepard. This stunning service was witnessed by several Immanuel members and became the impetus to officially designate our congregation as being Open & Affirming.

On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, please join us as we watch “The Matthew Shepard Story: An American Hate Crime.” This documentary offers a poignant look at the life and legacy of Matthew, highlighting the impact of his tragic death on the fight against hate crimes and the progress made in the years since.

As we celebrate our 25 years of being Open & Affirming, let’s remember together this tragic story that galvanized communities all over the country, and became a pivotal event in the life of our church.

The screening, with a brief historical introduction, will begin at 7pm. Refreshments will be served.

We are joined today by Janet Bermudez, Executive Director of Hands on Hartford (HOH). Please stay after worship, for Second Hour to hear about issues facing our unhoused and food insecure neighbors.

Since 1969, HOH has worked in partnership with the Hartford community to meet the basic needs of low-income neighbors as they support them in building long term stability. This comprehensive approach has assisted many folks like Jacqui who experienced the trauma of homelessness and isolation before entering a local shelter. For two years now she has benefited from safe, affordable housing coupled with around-the-clock supportive services at HOH and has enjoyed regular meals at Gather55 and the groceries provided by HOH’s community pantry. Jacqui also loves the connections and activities that the HOH Center for Community provides. For more information, to donate, or to volunteer, go to their website, handsonhartford.org.

Let’s celebrate Immanuel’s 25th Anniversary of being Open & Affirming!
We’ve got several ways to celebrate in October!

An Evening with Jennifer Levi

Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights, GLAD Law 

“The State of Transgender Rights”

Jennifer L. Levi is the Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights and a nationally recognized expert on transgender legal issues. Levi led the legal fight against President Trump’s transgender military ban in both Doe v. Trump and Stockman v. Trump. Levi has also been a leader in working on harm reduction for incarcerated transgender people. Levi was co-counsel in two landmark marriage equality cases, winning the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in Massachusetts (Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, 2003) and Connecticut (Kerrigan v. Department of Public Health, 2008).

Through strategic litigation, public policy advocacy, and education, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) works in New England and nationally to create a just society free of discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status, and sexual orientation.

Call to Special Congregational Meeting

Sunday, October 12, 2025

The Council of Immanuel Congregational Church, UCC, 10 Woodland Street, Hartford, Connecticut, calls a meeting of the congregation on Sunday, October 12 to approve the use of $354,000 (or 51%) of the proceeds from the sale of the buildings at 350 and 360 Farmington Avenue to support the proposed Immanuel Revitalization Justice Initiative, including a 3-year position of Director of Outreach and Justice as recommended by the Council on September 22, 2025.

Please contact the church office for the meeting agenda, the proposal for this initiative, for answers to questions you may have, and for the job description for this position.

The Bible Study will resume on Sunday, October 12, at 8:30 am. Ellie Eisenberg will be teaching "Pericopes and Parables: Exploring Parallels and Personalities in The Testaments". (The term "pericope" simply means a selection from a book, like a cut-out. "Parable" is a short story – fictional, that is illustrative of a moral attitude or religious principle.)

Please bring your Bible (any version other than "The Good News" or "The Message"). If you don't have one, Bibles will be available. Please prepare by reading Genesis 24:1-67 (this is the longest narrative in the entire Torah) which is often referred to as "A Bride for Isaac". We will point out some neat and helpful literary devices in this narrative and discuss the theological messages it holds. If it is read ahead, we can move through it more readily. We will also be discussing topics and themes for the coming year. Everyone is welcome, even if you’ve never read or studied Scripture before.

Immanuel’s Environmental Action Team has taken a leaf out of the book we studied during Lent, “Church of the Wild” by Victoria Loorz. And we are sponsoring an Outdoor Worship Service to encourage people to find the Sacred in Nature. This service will be held, rain or shine, on Saturday, October 4th, 2025, at 10AM, at Elizabeth Park’s Lawn and Stage area. Members of other churches, including Asylum Hill Congregational, First Church of West Hartford and Faith Congregational Church will be invited.

This Tuesday's Event has been cancelled.

But there are two other immigrants' rights events scheduled in October. Please click here for dates and locations, and to register.

Questions? Contact Cori Mackey, Immanuel GHIAA Core Team Chair.

The Council of Immanuel Congregational Church, UCC, 10 Woodland Street, Hartford, Connecticut, calls a meeting of the congregation on Sunday, September 28, 2025, to begin immediately following the 10am worship service, to adopt the revised bylaws recommended by the church Council at the September Council meeting. The meeting will be in person only.

Please click here for the meeting agenda, the Bylaws and a Summary of the proposed changes