Programs

Programs at the

John P. Webster Library!*

events are FREE unless otherwise mentioned. We ask that you register to secure a spot!

The John P. Webster Library (JPWL), along with First Church’s pastoral staff, sponsors frequent programs for adults. Programs on mental wellness, Islam, memoir-writing, antiracism, climate change, social justice, home improvement, and gardening are just a few of the topics we have explored in recent years. Some programs are offered in person in our beautiful facility, and others have a Zoom option.

*Some Co-Sponsored events are off site.

To stay up-to-date on adult faith formation classes and programs at the JPWL, please contact Jennifer deSimas, Library Director, at jpwebsterdir@westhartfordfirstchurch.org.

Click here for Adult Faith Formation info. which includes book groups, men’s group, monthly breakfast and more!

In Case You’re Interested…

Mission and Transmission: Walking in the Congregational Way

July 17, Virtual

On Wednesday, July 17, the Congregational Library & Archives will sponsor a free, virtual, half-day seminar for those interested in Congregational history. “Mission and Transmission: Walking in the Congregational Way” will be held on Zoom so that participants around the world can take part. “The Congregational Way is an expression of Christianity in every part of the world. For some, it spread through the mission agencies of the USA and UK. In other places, it was transmitted through shifts in population as a result of persecution and conflict, or exploration and seeking new lives. But it has also arisen as a natural response to the Gospel, as God calls communities to express their lives in freedom.” Find out more or register to attend here.

Monday Matinees at the JPW Library

The Transformative Power of Music

All showings are at 2 p.m. in the JPW Library

JULY 1 Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) 2021 Running time: 1h 58m

Part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just 100 miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was never seen and largely forgotten–until now.

JULY 15 The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble 2015 Running time: 1h 36m

Offers a thrilling and too-rare glimpse of art’s power to bridge personal and cultural divides. As one musician says, “a piece of music can’t stop a bullet,” but this engaging film is a vote for culture, a vote against xenophobia.

JULY 29 Young at Heart 2007 Running time: 1h 47m

Documentary about a choir of senior citizens from New England who perform, with vigor and unabashed enthusiasm, rock and pop classics along the lines of Sonic Youth’s “Schizophrenia” and Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime.”