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Our History
As the parish church, First Parish was designed from the start to serve not only the members of the congregation, but everyone in the town (the parish). Its Meetinghouse was the site of town meetings for many years. The first Meetinghouse was raised in 1712 and stood on Nehoiden Street, near Central Avenue. The first ministers are buried in the nearby Needham Cemetery. The second Meetinghouse, built in 1774, was also there.
The present Meetinghouse was built in 1836, using timbers from the pre-Revolutionary building. It is the oldest public building in the town. In 1879, when Wellesley became a separate town and the center of Needham shifted to its present location, the Meetinghouse was moved. Its Paul Revere bell has been in use since 1811.
Even during the time of its Puritan origins, the congregation at First Parish gathered on the basis of a covenant – a statement of shared hopes, along with an agreement about how to walk together – rather than on the basis of a creed, or required statement of belief. Ministers were called by vote of the membership. Church governance was democratic.
Congregations like First Parish came to feel strongly about democratic governance in secular affairs, and played a leading role in the American Revolution. After that event, they tended no longer to preach the Calvinist idea of predestination, nor to require even ministers to believe that God is a trinity of persons. Opponents called them Unitarians. During the early and mid-19th century the congregation also came to include, and to call as ministers, people who were Universalists – who denied eternal punishment and affirmed God’s loving intention to save all people. (See What is Unitarian Universalism?)
The Parish maintained a traditional distinction between covenanted members (the church) and a wider constituency being served (the parish) for many years. But with the adoption of an “open covenant” in 1905 it made it explicit that no affirmation of belief would be required for membership. In 1944 the church formally merged into the more inclusive Parish. The congregational bylaws simply say that its purpose is “to provide a community where religious living is fostered through worship, study, service, and fellowship.”
The congregation is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (see www.uua.org), formed in 1961. In the 1965 the minister of First Parish answered the call of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and marched in the campaign at Selma, AL. So did many UUA ministers. Lay members were involved in fair housing issues in Needham.
Along with many other Unitarian Universalist congregations, First Parish in Needham has undertaken a careful process to become a “Welcoming Congregation.” It seeks to welcome all persons – without regard to race, religious background, sexual orientation, gender, ability, or economic circumstance – to full participation in its life and ministry.
For More information on First Parish read:
First In A Series On The History Of First Parish
A Second Minister, a New Building and the Outbreak of the Revolution
A Centennial Anniversary, A Tower, and a Paul Revere Bell
A Fourth Minister, a Third Edifice
A Succession of Short-Term Ministries
A Two Hundredth Anniversary
Researched And Written By Ruth Sutro