Rev. Dr. Curran Reichert, Pastor

The slightly irreverent Reverend Dr. Curran Reichert has been stirring up “good trouble,” and serving up questions that challenge us to grow spiritually for the past ten years at FCC. She believes in the power of Spiritual community to be a force for good in the world. Curran is highly educated and dedicated to making Sonoma Valley a more just and equitable place.

Throughout the Valley, Rev. Reichert lends her perspective as a faith leader to addressing the need for fair housing and worker justice. She has been a leading voice concerning fair treatment of those without permanent shelter. She is committed to doing her part to end racial bias and deconstruct colonialism in the church and in our community.

Rev. Reichert understands that Christianity can be scary for people who have suffered abuse, or oppression due to bigotry and religious intolerance. She creates what she hopes will be a safe entry point for those seeking the support of a radically inclusive community of faith. Her motto is “Purpose, Presence, and Practice,” she embodies all three.

We love our pastor, and we think you will love her to. If you would like to make an appointment to meet with Rev. Reichert, receive prayers, or a visit from our support team, send her a message or call the church office at 707.996.1328.

Rev. Reichert often says, “FCC is the place you would want to go to church if you went to church.” We are a gathering of spirited people who care about earth justice, speaking out about injustice, tending to the vulnerable, and learning to find common ground, these are the relevant earmarks of our congregation. We invite you to join us on Sunday mornings either contemplative at 9:00am or regular in person at 10:30am. Here is the Zoom link for our 8:30 a.m. service.

Thoughts from the Pastor

12/22/2025

Greetings Beloved Community,

It has been a rich and colorful Advent Season. We have lit candles and watched the light grow brighter in anticipation of the coming wonder of Christ’s birth. In a world that is so divided, separated by class, party religious affiliation and more -still we light candles reminding us that nothing, and I mean nothing can separate us from the love of God.
 
As you know, Advent is not the lone holiday that celebrates flickering light growing in the darkness this month. This past Sunday we celebrated the Festival of Lights with our Jewish siblings and danced in the street as a sign of solidarity. Each night of Hanukkah saw a candle lit with the reminder, “such is the way of creation: first comes darkness, then light.”
 
This season also hosts the Wiccan holiday of Yule, which marks the New Year and the celebration of the birth of the god as the Winter-born king, symbolized by the rebirth of the life-generating and life-sustaining sun. Yule is a time for ritually shedding the impurities of the past year and for meditating on ways in which you can develop your spirit in the year to come.
 
In addition to Yule, December 21 was Tohji-taisai, the Shinto Grand Ceremony of the Winter Solstice. Tohji-taisai celebrates the joy of the sun ending its yin period as it declines in strength, and the beginning of the yang period as its power grows stronger and stronger as the days lengthen. The sun is of central importance in Japan, expressing the presence of Amaterasu Omikami, or the Kami of the Sun.
 
As the days begin to grow longer again, Advent has ended and the Christmas season will soon begin. Like the brightening of days, the liturgical colors shift from purple to bright white or gold. Light is birthed. The sun grows stronger. As the twelve days of Christmas begin, so too, does Kwanza, a West African holy season where the candles of a seven-branched candelabrum are lit to represent seven holy attributes: unity, self-determination, responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
 
Each of these meaningful wisdom traditions holds unique value that should not be overlooked, yet all honor the importance of darkness. Whether the lights are coming from the Advent candles, the Menorah, the yang period of the sun, the fire dancers celebrating the Winter-born king, the seven-branched candelabrum, or the Christmas tree, they are providing illumination in the midst of shadows.

May the light in each of our hearts also increase. May we glow so brightly with love as to light the way for others who struggle in the darkness.

With love,
Curran