First Parish Church Unitarian Universalist of Northborough, Massachusetts
Our History
"Our best searching will only give us indications of that truth which is infinite. Yet this is no reason why we should not be looking for it, and stating it when we think we have found it."
-John G. Adams
Welcome to First Parish
Our Beliefs and Worship
Our Religious Education
Our History
Our Minister
Our Staff and Governance
Our Calendar and Programs
Where to Find Us
First Parish Church Unitarian Universalist, Northborough was organized as "The Church of Christ" on May 21, 1746, twenty years before the incorporation of the town, by ten residents of the North Precinct of Westborough. On the same day, the Reverend John Martyn was ordained as the first minister and services were begun in the first meeting house constructed during the previous year.
Like all early New England Puritan churches, it was, and still is, congregational in government and polity. For eighty-six years, it was the town church with the minister being engaged and paid by the local government. The second and third ministers of the church, the Reverend Peter Whitney and Dr. Joseph Allen, served the church and community for a continuous period of 106 years, an era embracing the American Revolution and the Civil War.
In 1808, during Reverend Whitney's time, a second, more elaborate meeting house was erected. The original plans are no longer in existence, but the tower and facade are said to have been designed by Bullfinch, and the entire structure reflected his influence. From the stately steps to the graceful belfry, it was American church architecture at its best. Its historic bell was cast in Paul Revere's foundry in 1809. This bell now sits on the church grounds.
During Dr. Allen's pastorate, the religious controversies of the early Nineteenth Century came to a head. In 1827, one group of parishioners left the church to form the local Baptist Church. Then in 1832 during the Unitarian controversy, which split New England Congregationalism into two denominations, the smaller conservative faction withdrew and organized the Evangelical Congregational Church. The liberal group, which was in the majority, retained the church organization and property.
In 1945, on the twenty-second of December, the church building was destroyed by fire. Only the bell remained. The parish decided to restore the church as it was originally built in 1808, but on a reduced scale, and to construct a parish house and connecting arcade. In 1947, a surplus army chapel was purchased from the government and moved from Bradlee Field in Connecitcut to the Church property in Northborough, where it was rebuilt in accordance with the architect's plans for the parish house. This building was dedicated on the twenty-seventh of June 1948 and, on the same day, the cornerstone of the third meeting house was laid on the site of the second.
First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church became a welcoming congregation in June of 2001.
Record of Ministers
1746-1767
John Martyn
1767-1816
Peter Whitney
1816-1873
Joseph Allen, D.D.
T. Forbush, 1857-1863
John H. Allen, D.D., ~2 years
H.L. Myrick, D.D., 1866-1868
F.L. Hosmer, D.D., 1869-1872
1873-1876
Charles T. Irish
1877-1882
Henry F. Bond
1883-1891
Obed Eldridg
1892-1895
James Aubrey Chase
1895-1921
Josiah Coleman Kent
1921-1934
Charles J. Staples
1934-1937
S. Robert Mayer-Oakes, Ph.D.
1938-1944
Ralph Edward Kyper
1944-1950
Andrew G. Rosenberger
1951-1957
Arthur B. Jellis
1958-1960
Kenneth G. LeFleur
1960-1964
Herbert F. Vetter
1965-1966
Glenn L. McKee
1967-1968
John Schleicher
1968-1991
Mack W. Mitchell
Marjorie Hollovary, 1980-1981
Richard F. Beal, 1981-1982
Wendy Colby, 1982-1985
Robin F. Gray, 1985-1987
Rose Edington, 1988-1990
1992-1994
Stephen Davies Howard
1994-2001
Richelle C. Russell
2001-2002
Dacia Reid
2002-
Judith E. Wright, Ph.D.
Lisa Kemper, 2005-2006
Erica Baron, 2006-
Come as you are and be welcomed.
First Parish Unitarian Universalist
40 Church Street
Northboro, MA 01532 USA
Phone: (508) 393-6422
Fax: (508) 393-8938