First Church Congregational

About this church

First Church Congregational in downtown Rochester worships Sunday at 10 a.m. in its chapel, with simultaneous participation by Zoom. Remote guests need to contact the church office for the current link and password. The South Main Street building also houses a food pantry Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and provides meeting space for Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Scouts, and the church youth group. Those community meetings follow their own schedules and are not part of the Sunday worship hour.

The congregation is part of the United Church of Christ and traces its Rochester roots to 1731, when its first meetinghouse also served as the town's only public building. It describes itself as a community of faith, hope, and love and is Open and Affirming, explicitly welcoming people across sexual orientation, gender, race, ability, age, economic status, and prior religious affiliation. Outreach includes the Rochester-area pantry, periodic soup-kitchen service, fair-trade sales supporting artisans and farmers, and a long UCC partnership in Zimbabwe. A first visit can be either onsite or online, while someone seeking pantry help should come during the separate weekday window. The church's long history is unusually local: it was Rochester's first and, for many years, only church.

Researched from the church’s official website and reviewed August 26, 2026. Sources: Official homepage, chapel worship hour, hybrid Zoom access, food-pantry hours, o · Official about page, United Church of Christ identity, Open and Affirming welcom · Official outreach page, pantry, youth and recovery-group space, soup kitchen, fa · Official history page, 1731 founding, first meetinghouse, town use, Congregation

Service times

Confirm current times directly with the church before visiting.

Ministries and visitor notes

• Community AA and NA Meetings — schedules vary; confirm with the host group
• Zoom Access — request the current link and password from the church office

Location