Eleanor Wight

Hello! This is my story.

Where your treasure is, your heart will be too. And where your heart is, you will also find a joyful willingness to put your treasure!

When my then partner, Rayda and I found First Church in 1991 we had been Christmas and Easter church attendees for a very long time, but we’d begun to hear a calling for us to return to the faith instilled in us as small children. We picked First Church because we had heard it was an active and activist church – which was important to us. The 1990’s were not a highwater mark for First Church but despite their ups and downs we found much warmth and deep caring within the congregation. We stayed with First Church because the others who stayed were good and faith-filled people who wanted to work together toward a bright future.

And the bright future did arrive, and the rewards were tenfold. Rayda and I give of our treasure to First Church because we have found much, much more than activism at First Church. We have been grateful to be part of a community of caring, a community of acceptance, a community of action, a community of deep faith and spiritual yearning. We’ve seen First Church grow, change, and embrace new ways of helping those in need and we’ve collectively lifted our voices about injustice and inequality. In 2006 we were thrilled to have First Church vote to become Open & Affirming to the LGBTQ community. In 2014 we were blessed to be married, in front of friends and family, in the wonderful First Church sanctuary.

First Church has a very long history as an important part of West Hartford and the greater Hartford area – we can continue to sustain that place in our community by doing our part sharing our lives, our love, and our treasure to make sure this home of faith, courage, and character stands the test of time.