We are gifted to have as our Director of Music, David Labman, a gifted jazz musician. Two or three times each year David’s jazz and that of some of Rochester’s finest musicians sets the tone for worship during our regular Sunday Service. Worshipers are encouraged to join in the relaxed atmosphere of this service by coming to church in jeans.

Each year during the season of Advent we let that most evocative of languages – music – guide us in the telling of the story of God’s arrival in the person of Jesus to the earth. The FBCR choir leads the service in performing a series of music and readings that draw our hearts and minds to the meaning of Christmas.

At FBCR we just can’t wait for Christmas! We celebrate the birth of Jesus a little early during the evening hours of Christmas Eve. We mark the occasion with a service full of carols and candlelight.

The brothers of the Taize community in Taize, France worship in a meditative style focusing on repeated refrains, periods of silence, and deep reflection. At FBCR we borrow from the brothers’ form of worship to try to create a worship atmosphere that relies less on the cognitive approach to God that our culture is so accustomed to and emphasizes a spiritual connection. We often offer these services during the season of Lent, but other offerings may become available as well.

During the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, known as Holy Week, we recall and place ourselves within the events of the week leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. We begin with a last-supper style light meal together while reading from the gospel accounts of the last supper. When the story turns dark and the disciples begin to fall away we process to the sanctuary for a Tenebrae service (Service of Darkness), which symbolizes the abandonment and eventual death of Jesus through a series of deeply impactful readings, music, and the gradual extinguishing of candles. The service ends in complete darkness and has no concluding benediction. This particular experience of worship cannot be concluded until we gather on Easter Sunday morning.

FBCR is a proud member of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. Together with AWAB we proclaim in general that God’s love is for EVERYONE, but we also proclaim specifically that God’s love is for people of all sexes, genders, and sexual orientations. This means not only full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in every aspect of church life, but also a commitment to advocate for a more inclusive society outside the church too. While this work and partnership impact everything we do year round, we celebrate them particularly on a Sunday during October each year.

Jubilee Sunday is the official beginning of the FBCR Program year.  A festive service and fun activities bring us all “home” at the end of Summer to settle in for a wonderful year full of exciting opportunities to grow and serve.

The seasons of Advent and Christmas are for many joyful occasions full of warmth and good tidings, but not for everybody. For those who are suffering loss of one kind or another the festivities of the seasons can become further cause for grief. We will hold space for those who have lost loved ones, who are going through relationship hardships, employment difficulties, life-limiting illness or who simply find themselves feeling “blue” this year with a longest night service. Positioned literally on the longest night of the year we will acknowledge through prayers, carols, and communion that though the light is dawning we still live in darkness.