First Church in Salem, Unitarian

Sunday Services, 10am, August – June.
Rev. Jeff Barz-Snell, pastor (minister [at] firstchuchinsalem [dot] org)

The First Church in Salem, Unitarian is one of the oldest churches in North America and was the first to be governed by congregational polity, a central feature of Unitarian Universalism. But at nearly 400 years old, we can happily say that this is a church that doesn’t act its age. In fact, if you visit us on a Sunday morning you may be just as impressed by the number of families with young children as you are by the fine woodwork and spectacular stained glass windows of our 1836 Meetinghouse. Stick around afterward for our Fellowship Hour and you will find a lively throng of First Church members and friends alike, enjoying the opportunity to get to know one another a little better (as well as a delicious array of culinary delights to go along with fairly traded coffee and tea).

Owing in part to our Puritan congregational roots, we are a UU church in the liberal Christian tradition. We espouse the values of freedom, reason and tolerance, both in our liturgy and in our flourishing Religious Education program. But don’t be surprised to hear Biblical readings or a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer during our service.

The First Church is currently in the process of become an official Welcoming Congregation and enjoys the representation of a variety of orientations in its membership and lay leadership. Social Justice issues are also central to our community outreach as regular supporters—financially and otherwise—of many agencies and organizations tending to the needs of individuals and families on the North Shore. We are also seen as local leaders in the cause of environmental sustainability.

We are proud of our history and excited by our present, but we are also boldly embracing our future with plans for building renovations that will provide greater accessibility and functionality while maintaining the historical character that is so much a part of our identity. The preliminary phases of this work have begun and we hope to have the major portion of the work completed during the second half of 2011.

Come visit us to find out why we like to think of our church as 382 years young!

Paul Madore, Director of Music
Deborah DiGiulio, Director of Religious Education (RE [at] firstchurchinsalem [dot] org)
Jim Singletary, Office Administrator (firstchurch [at] nii [dot] net)
Kristin Kobialka, Archivist (yourarchivist [at] hotmail [dot] com)