Latest News

The Beloved Community group at First Church delights in announcing the results of our summer Reparations Fundraising initiative! During the summer months, $35,685 was donated by 29 new donors to our Reparations Fund, exceeding the $25,000 matching challenge issued by a First Church member. In addition, gifts from repeat donors and an allocation from the Missions & Social Justice Committee brought the summer total to $63,742.

In 2021, First Church created the Reparations Fund to engage in a process of wealth redistribution and the spiritual practice of repair and restitution. In 2024, the Executive Council voted to disburse the Reparations Fund donations in three ways:

• 1/3 to “The Collective,” people of African descent engaged in activism and anti-racist work convened by Rev. Karlene Griffiths Sekou. They make decisions as to how the money is spent, and during the past three years have supported small business ventures, college education funds, aid to people to catch up on rent, and immigration needs.
• 1/3 to the Lloyd family’s Slave Legacy History Coalition. The Lloyds are direct descendants of enslaved people in First Church’s records.
• 1/3 to further reparative efforts, including ongoing outreach to Indigenous communities, to be determined by a small Beloved Community subcommittee the majority of whom are First Church members who are people of color.

Thank you for your generosity, First Church!

Learn more about First Church’s Reparations work.

Give to the Reparations Fund.