Inreach Team

The Inreach Team is our ministry that supports the First Church family of members and guests by being a visible manifestation of caring for one and all.  We strive to accomplish this through a variety of work groups including: Parish Care, Hospitality, and Fellowship. We welcome and encourage membership involvement.

Please check out our past photo gallery pages by going to the drop down menu. Inreach touches the lives of our church members and others in the community and involves members in the life of the church in many ways:

Knit in Public in West Hartford Center on June 14

Click image to enlarge/print

Join First Church Creative Crafters for Worldwide Knit in Public Day on Saturday June 14 from 10 a.m to 1 p.m. on the outdoor labyrinth on the front lawn of First Church. Bring a chair and a knitting (or crocheting) project and enjoy a glass of lemonade as we knit and crochet together.

WWKiPDAY was started in 2005 by Danielle Landes as a way for knitters to come together and enjoy each other’s company and takes place on the second Saturday of June each year. This is a specific day to get out of your house and go to a local event (with your knitting in tow) just for you and people like you.

According to the WWKiP Day Facebook page, this is a unique event, in that it’s the largest knitter run event in the world. Each local event is put together by a volunteer or a group of volunteers. They each organize an event because they want to, not because they have to. They bring their own fresh ideas into planning where the event should be held, and what people would like to do.  If it weren’t for these volunteer hosts, WWKiP Day would still just be an idea.

WWKiP Day is really about showing the general public that knitting can be a community activity in a very distinct way. Each year more and more groups organize knitting events all across the globe, some lasting the entire second week of June.

At First Church we will also be collecting food donations for the West Hartford Food Pantry. In the event of foul weather please check back here. Free parking in rear lot; enter from Farmington Avenue.

Coffee & Conversation with Clergy

Each Wednesday morning, at 10 a.m. folks meet over coffee and tea with Rev. Fredd at Nero Kitchen which is directly across from the church. Park at church and walk over to join us. Anyone is welcome for this casual social time.

Gather Round the Table

The program will consist of 3 rounds and starts in the fall each year. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Tobin at 860-916-1135, Linda Moffitt at 860-874-7786, or Martha Calef at 860-212-1352.

Creative Crafters

Recently hats were knit for Pediatric Care Center in Bristol to have for babies.

Creative Crafters was started in 2019 to knit or crochet twiddlemuffs for local memory care facilities. Projects were eventually expanded to fulfill church and community needs. We’ve crafted and donated over 200 twiddlemuffs, bed quilts, shawls, lap blankets, hats, mittens and scarfs.

The group is a caring crafting community, sharing the love of doing for others.

Crafters meet every Friday 10:30 a.m. to noon in the church activity room and all are welcome. Reach out to Nancy Ball if you want more information.!

Donate Altar Flowers for a Loved One!

Parish Care

Inreach keeps in touch with church members  and our youth with volunteers who send cards and notes for birthdays, holidays and other occasions.  Volunteers also provide members in need with transportation to church and keep in touch with members through Phone Friends.

Following each Sunday service, a volunteer takes the altar flower arrangement and makes smaller arrangements from it to deliver to church members celebrating birthdays, recuperating from illness or surgery, or for other occasions.

Recruiting and Scheduling Ushers for Sunday Services, special events, Memorials, funerals and weddings are part of Inreach responsibilities.

Hospitality

Inreach organizes a cadre of volunteers who prepare food and drinks for the fellowship time which follows each Sunday morning worship service.  Volunteers coordinate with all church teams and work groups to assist with hospitality for a variety of receptions for members and the wider community. Please contact Al Day if you are interested in being part of hospitality.