Pastor’s Welcome Message

Welcome to First Christian Church!  I think it’s great that you found your way to our website, and I hope that you are inspired to join us in person, if you haven’t already.  First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Anniston, AL is a congregation that goes out of its way to make people feel at home.  In fact, in the pews of our sanctuary, you may find “bookmark” type cards that have this message (they’re pretty popular, so people take them and often clean us out!):

“We Welcome: Singles, twice divorced, under thirty, filthy rich, poor as dirt, songbirds, tone deaf, LGBTQ, able-bodied, disabled, English speaking, Non-English speaking, married- with pets, unbelievers, skeptics, seekers, doubters, conservatives, liberals, brown, black, beige and pink, left-out, de-churched, Protestant, Catholic, middle-aged, orthodox, heretics, workaholics, screaming babies, older than dinosaurs, teenagers, obsessive compulsives, tourists, and you!”

As a pastor, I stand by this ideal and feel blessed to be able to minister alongside a community of believers that is always working towards living out the kind of welcome we claim.  There is no perfection in any human group, but we are always praying to God to guide us ever closer to His will for us in living out the Gospel.

We feel that Jesus Christ calls us first to love God with all our hearts, and then to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Our worship of God is pure and sincere, and we invite you to come and worship God as you feel called.  If you want to worship in stillness, bless you.  If you want to shout “Amen”, bless you.  If you want to raise your hands in worship, or bow your head in reverence, bless you.  No matter how different we are in our love of God, we are united by Christ and His sacrifice for all people.

I sincerely welcome you and your family (whatever that looks like) to join us in worship, fellowship, prayer and study.  I have faith that you will find a home here.

Love,

Pastor Laura