Join us for our 11:00 am Worship Celebrations

All are Welcome

Sun July 11      And Who Is My Neighbor?   Luke 10:25-37

    12:30 pm     Trustees Meeting in the Library

Sun July 18     The Better Part   Luke 10:38-42

                        We celebrate the birthday of the Rev. Al Carmines: Special music composed by Al and sung by Dennis Hearn and Richard Binder.

Sun July 25     Tonight, Tonight!    Music from West Side Story   Luke 11:1-13

Sun Aug 1       The Rev. Allan Ross, Pastor Emeritus, guest preacher - Communion  

~ Visit our Worship Celebrations and Upcoming Schedules page ~

West Center Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ

firmly believes that gender, age, physical ability, sexual orientation, and race

do not limit access to leadership positions, membership, particpation in the life and

work of the Church, and eligibility to receive Church sacraments and services.

Stop by Often

Find out about the happenings at West Center.

If you live nearby, join us at 11 am on Sunday mornings for an hour of worship.

For those of you farther away, if you're ever in the area, we hope that you will come by and visit us. We would love to meet you in person.

Finding a church home is not always easy. We believe you may find West Center a Church that welcomes persons who are both formed in their faith or are still finding and forming their faith in God. It is a good place to explore and experience the depth of God’s Spirit and the wideness of God’s love in Christ Jesus.

Find out about our activities and programs at West Center which may interest you.

Remember that you that you are a very important part of our church family. Your greatest gift is your presence at worship or participation in a study group, program or concert.

We challenge you to respond to God’s love in Jesus Christ by developing your unique gifts and by sharing them.

We encourage you to deepen your faith and witness by joining West Center Church as a full or associate member.

If you would like any more information, or would like us to include you in our prayers, send us an E-mail at Westcenterucc@verizon.net.

May God richly bless you.
West Center Staff:

John M. Barrett, Senior Minister

Celia Milton, UCC Ordination Candidate

Christina-Jean Alexis, UCC Ordination Candidate

Arnold Ostlund Jr., Director of Music

Allan Ross, Pastor Emeritus

Contact us:  

westcenterucc@verizon.net

Phone: (914) 337-3829

No matter who you are,

Or where you are on Life's Journey,

You are welcome here!

Center for Spiritual Growth and Renewal

At West Center Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, we believe that “God is still speaking, and we are still listening.”  Our worship and community life is Bible-based and open to God’s continuing revelation through our hearts and minds and spirits. Our worship celebrations and sermons are based on the readings of the day from the Common Lectionary.  The musical selections are carefully coordinated with these readings, church holidays and the theme of the day.

We are a friendly, welcoming and diverse congregation. We seek God’s guidance in our corporate life and welcome fellow pilgrims of good will, wherever they may be on their personal spiritual journey.  We invite you to join us for worship and to join us in your spiritual quest as part of our community.  See you in Church!

Sum – Sum -- Summertime!

Well, it’s summertime, and even if the livin’ isn’t necessarily easy, it’s not so difficult either. The days are long, the nights can be cool, and when the heat hangs on, most of us can find an air-conditioned space for some cooling down, some respite.

West Center Church provides a place for you to come in and cool down, a place to find some respite, community and encouragement these lazy summer Sundays.

From July 4^th through Labor Day Weekend, we worship in the air-conditioned comfort of Bodge Lounge, which is adjacent to the Sanctuary.  Arnold Ostlund and I get things started by rolling the Steinway into Bodge Lounge the last week in June. During worship  the weeks of July, we are treated to the piano playing and singing of Richard Binder, a talented Off-Broadway performer. During August, Arnold himself is at the piano keyboard, while a member of our Choir Quartet sings solos and leads the congregation in hymn singing.

Summer worship is informal and enjoyable. We sit on couches and folding chairs in close proximity to everything and everyone.  We may find we become more aware of and closer to our fellow worshippers, both those sitting near us and across the room.

So don’t take a vacation from church.  We are here and we look forward to having you with us, for worship and conversation.  Some Sundays we will have a discussion or activity of some kind at 12:30, depending on your interest.  So take a break and join us!          

  Pastor John

Contact the pastor:    Jmbarrett65@verizon.net

Our Own Christina-Jean Alexis

A Tribute by Pastor John Barrett

Two-and-a-half years ago, December 9, 2007, turned out to be a red-letter day in the life of West Center Congregational Church. On that snowy first Sunday in Advent someone walked into this sanctuary for the first time, someone whom we would grow to love, and who would love us and minister with us and unto us.

I am speaking, of course, of Christina-Jean Alexis. In December 2007, Christina was finishing up her Masters of Divinity degree at New York Theological Seminary, while working full time for the MTA in their legal department. Christina joined West Center Church a few months later, on February 3, 2008, and  came under the care of our West Center Church for ordination by the Metro Association of the UCC.

As a member of our congregation, Christina soon became a member of the staff as a volunteer, taking the initiative to call on some 800 of our neighbors, teaching adult classes on many Sunday mornings and some afternoons, preaching, visiting people in the hospital, offering pastoral prayers and  calling for the offering. Christina has done so much at West Center that she has been called our “Associate in Ministry,” and we are most grateful for her ministry among us. Although it has only been two-and-a-half years, it is hard to remember time when she was not among us.

And now the time has come for Christina to enter fulltime ministry, and we celebrate  her recent call to be Pastor of the Community Congregational Church of Clinton Heights, UCC, in Rensselaer, New York, near Albany. Before Christina’s ordination, she will be examined by the Ordination and Standing Committee of the Metropolitan Association of the United Church of Christ, as to her knowledge of theology, her faith and her calling to ministry.  That examination is scheduled for June 17 at The Church in the Gardens in Forest Hills, Queens, NY.  If the Metro Ordination and Standing Committee votes to proceed with Christina’s ordination, the next step will be the meeting of an Ecclesiastical Council, made up of laypeople and ministers of UCC churches in the Metropolitan Association, most particularly the UCC churches in Westchester County.  This meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 9, at 7 pm at West Center Church.

At the Ecclesiastical Council, Christina will present a summary of her ordination paper and answer questions.  The Ecclesiastical Council then votes to approve her ordination.  Assuming the vote is affirmative, as it usually is by this stage, Christina will be ordained at West Center Church on Sunday, October 3, 2010, at 4 pm in the Sanctuary, with a reception to follow in Bodge Lounge.  

Christina is leaving us, but we know this will not be good-bye, as she will keep her membership here at West Center. She promises to visit, and will even preach on occasion. But Christina’s call and ordination is a transition.  We will no longer see her every week and experience her boundless energy. And yet our thoughts and prayers are with Christina daily and always, as she answers God’s call. And may Christina always remember that in the storms of ministry and in the storms of life, there will be rainbows, as signs of God’s promise and presence wherever we may be.

Kids, Glorious Kids!

 We hope that you will make every effort for your child(ren) to be with us this year. Our caring and creative Church School teachers are planning a program to stimulate and enrich each child’s spiritual growth, socialization and self-esteem.  The instructional component is based on “Seasons of the Spirit,” a lectionary-based, inter-denominational curriculum, with the United Church of Christ as one of the curriculum partners.  Our teachers add their own ideas, including crafts, to each session.  The crafts relate to the Biblical stories of the life of Jesus and his role as teacher and healer in our own lives.  Look for email updates if your email address is in the church directory.  If you have children, or know someone who does, tell them about West Center Church, and invite them to come with their children to visit on a Sunday and get acquainted. 

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