Thriving Congregations Initiative

Reimagining Church

New Models for the 21st Century

Participating Congregations

Bethel AME, New Haven

Dixwell Avenue UCC

church building

First Church of Madison UCC

church with no justice no peace sign

First Presbyterian Church of New Haven

First Presbyterian Church of New Haven—commonly known as the “No Justice No Peace” church—is a Christian community dedicated to following Jesus Christ through just and compassionate ministries. We warmly welcome the full diversity of God’s family in all our races, genders, sexual orientations, ages, nationalities, ethnicities, economic situations, and abilities. We joyfully gather to worship God, to study and learn, to nourish our spirits and to connect as a community.

outdoor table

Grace & St. John’s Episcopal Church, Hamden

Grace Church has been at the heart of Hamden for more than 200 years, serving the people of the Greater Hamden area, worshipping and praying together, supporting each other, and reflecting God’s love into the world. In the 1990s, Grace Church was joined by St Peter’s on the Hill; now, in 2022, Grace and St Peter’s Church is joined by St John the Evangelist, Wallingford.  As we learn to be “Grace and St. John’s,” there is no doubt that we will continue to be the welcoming, friendly, faithful and committed community that we have always been.

Shalom UCC

Shalom United Church of Christ in New Haven, Connecticut, is a church without walls.  Shalom has consistently met on Sunday afternoons in spaces shared with other New Haven congregations, serving not only as a primary church home for many congregants but also as a place for local clergy to be congregants.  With a governance style centered around consensus-based circles rather than majority-vote based committees, they have not tended to have paid, solitary head pastors, preferring instead to forge their own way without stratified divisions between clergy and laity.  As the pandemic moved wor

church door with peace symbol

Trinity Episcopal Church, Seymour

Welcome to our piece of the Kingdom. Trinity is a place for people with big hearts, who made the intentional decision a few years ago to become the heart of our community. We started by leaving our campus (not as scary as you may think) and went to our local laundromat where we paid for people’s laundry. This was followed by community dinners at our local low-income housing units, the creation of a community garden, a clothing room, and then a little free pantry on our property which is open 24 hours a day.

Trinity on the Green, New Haven

Trinity on the Green is a historic Episcopal Church located in the heart of New Haven, on the New Haven Green.  Trinity recognizes that there is more than one way to connect with one another and with God, as reflected in the breadth of their programs. Trinity connects with God aesthetically—through choral music, theater, art installations, and readings. Trinity connects with God ethically—serving Christ through serving others out on the New Haven Green and beyond. And Trinity connects with God spiritually—through reflection, meditation, “Godly play,” Bible study, and prayer.