First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ - 145th Anniversary Celebration

First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ (First Church) will host its 145th Anniversary Celebration eleven o’clock a.m. on May 27, 2012 at 105 Courtland Street in Atlanta Georgia.  This festive and spiritual celebration of history and culture will feature renowned theologian Rev. Dr. James Alexander Forbes, Jr., Senior Minister Emeritus, and Riverside Church in New York City and President of the Healing of the Nations Foundation. 

The theme for the anniversary is "Celebrating 145 Years of Faithful Service: Remember, Renew, and Rejoice.    Highlights of the day will include Dedications of the New East Wing, Memorial Garden and a Toni Morrison Society Bench by the Road. First Church has the distinct designation of receiving the seventh Toni Morrison Society Bench by the Road of only twenty dedicated in various cities around the world.  The culminating event will be the Legacy Dinner in honor of First Church Seniors and Ancestors which will take place at three o’clock p.m. at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in downtown Atlanta.

Located on Courtland Street and John Wesley Dobbs Avenue, the Historic First Church building, was at the center of the Reconstruction Era and efforts to integrate former slaves into the open society.  Continuing with the traditions, First Church remains a downtown church.   First Church was established as a "gathered church" on May 26, 1867 and is one of the oldest African American Congratulation churches in the United States. First Church is committed to the causes of social justice, equality, reconciliation and will continue to bear witness to God's presence in the world through its work in education, local and global missions, and artistic expressions.