About First Congregational United Church of Christ
Our church is a congregation of the United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomination that emphasizes governance at the congregational level and values spiritual exploration and growth over doctrine.
First Congregational UCC is big enough to offer a great variety of small-group experiences but small enough that you can actually get to know just about everyone. We’re small enough to give visitors a warm welcome, but big enough that you won’t be identified as “new” by every single person in the building on your first visit!
Sunday worship hours:
10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary and via Zoom
It is a joy for Pastor Mark to be in ministry with First Congregational UCC since 2000. As a preacher and teacher, he finds this congregation exciting: People listen carefully, inquire fearlessly, read widely, pray fervently, and genuinely seek to discern how God is at work in their lives and what God would have them do as faithful disciples. He values the remarkably high percentage of membership that participates in worship, mission, education, hospitality, and pastoral ministries.
First Congregational is the third church that Pastor Mark has served since becoming a minister. His first two congregations were in Evansville and Rhinelander, Wisconsin. He earned his bachelor of arts degree at St. Olaf College, his master of divinity degree at Andover-Newton Theological School in Maryland, and his doctor of ministry degree at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Illinois.
Mark has a particular love for classic church music and has sung in church choirs all of his life. Years ago he prayed that during his ministry he would have the privilege of serving a congregation with an excellent music ministry, and his prayers were answered. A member of First Congregational’s Chancel Choir, he appreciates the church’s wonderful relationship with UW-Eau Claire, through which the church benefits from faculty’s and students’ musical gifts – when blended with the talent in our congregation, worshippers enjoy high-quality sacred music involving our church choir, youth choir, and instrumental ensembles.
Mark and wife Meredith have two adult children.
First Congregational elderlife ministry provides Geri the opportunity to work with an age group that fits her passion and for whom she feels a call to serve.
She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from UW-Eau Claire. She has held positions at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Dove Healthcare, Spirit Lutheran/First Lutheran Church, Mayo Clinic Health System, and Sacred Heart Hospital, and taught at UW-Eau Claire and CVTC. Recently, in serving as a parish nurse for more than 20 years at another Eau Claire congregation, she coordinated a ministry similar to First Congregational’s elderlife ministry.
When not working, Geri spends time in nature, especially at our family cabin in northern Wisconsin, or gardening, or cooking. Her husband, Richard, is a retired photographer.
The UCC faith has been part of Pam’s life since birth. During her childhood life on the family farm in Indiana, her family attended a nearby UCC church that was her grandparents’ church home. After her family moved to Wisconsin, she attended and was confirmed and married at Immanuel UCC in West Bend. As a teenager, Pam loved volunteering in Sunday school there.
Pam and husband Paul discovered the warm hospitality of First Congregational UCC soon after their marriage, becoming members in 1992. Their two adult children grew up at First Congregational.
A few years after joining First Congregational, she coordinated the young children’s Sunday programs for 17 years. She became Office Manager in June 2017, a position that merged her UW-Eau Claire journalism degree skills, management skills from a family summer ice cream cart business, and her compassion for the people of First Congregational. She enjoys spreading the word about the church’s personally fulfilling events through the church newsletters, church app, digital signage, website, and calendar of events. She helps the church communicate and connect effectively with people.
Numbers fill Jennifer’s days. At First Congregational, she assists members and visitors with making contributions, including through electronic giving, and provides them with giving reports; handles accounts payable and receivable; and produces financial reports.
Jennifer also owns Blakeley Bookkeeping LLC, specializing in helping small business owners with QuickBooks Online, and is the Finance Clerk at Lake Street United Methodist Church. She is a member of Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Eau Claire, where she serves as Treasurer.
Born and raised in Eau Claire, she graduated from Memorial High School before pursuing advanced education at UW-Madison, UW-Whitewater, and Madison Area Technical College. She was bookkeeper for First English Lutheran Church in Whitewater for three years. She returned to Eau Claire in 2014.
Jennifer has two adult children and two cats.
Brent knows every intricate detail of First Congregational’s beautiful historic building, from the top of the steeple to the corners of the lower level where the educational and music rooms are located. For him, working with staff and interacting with members are the highlights of maintaining our facility, which he’s mastered since 2006.
He hails from Iowa, where his identical twin still lives. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in occupational safety and health from the University of Dubuque, Iowa, and moved to Wisconsin when his insurance company job led him here more than 30 years ago.
He and wife Karen have two adult children and three grandchildren.
310 Broadway St.
Eau Claire, WI 54703
715-834-2668
Worship: 10 a.m. Sundays
First Congregational United Church of Christ, Eau Claire, seeks a full-time Director of Faith Formation, a salaried position with benefits. Please see details on our Hiring Page.
First Congregational’s Creation Justice Committee was formed after the adoption of the Creation Justice Covenant by the congregation in June 2022. The vision of the committee is “to weave Creation Justice into the culture and very fabric of our church.” What does that mean? It means finding ways to care for the creation that God entrusted to us, such as:
- Improving the carbon footprint of our building
- Providing education for members and visitors
- Collaborating with community environmental organizations and efforts
- Pursuing multigenerational projects and events
- Regularly providing creation care tips in our newsletter
- Hold recycling events twice a year
- Celebrating an annual Creation Justice Sunday Service
Learn more by reading our Creation Justice Covenant here.
First Congregational’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee assists church governance and congregants in building routines and practices which prompt reflection, explore explicit and implicit biases in existing practices, and evolve church partnerships with the community. First Congregational’s Open and Affirming Covenant, adopted by the congregation in June 2025, is here.