First Parish Universalist Church of Stoughton - (781) 344-6800

790 Washington Street, Stoughton, MA 02072
Worship Service: Sundays at 10:30 a.m.
Telephone: 781-344-6800

Originally founded in 1744 as the "established church" for the town of Stoughton, our current incarnation resulted from a split between liberal and orthodox church members in 1822. The more conservative congregationalists in town went on to form the First Congregational Church, just up the street. The liberal majority remained as First Parish, eventually declaring loyalty to the Universalist cause. As such, we are one of only three Universalist "first parishes" in our entire nation.

We at First Parish in Stoughton seek to be an open, welcoming congregation. Religion for us has to be lived. As such, we are a hard working church that tries to carry out fully the demands of churchmanship. To many of us, our church is our second home. We are dedicated, therefore, to seeing that it is well maintained and cared for, and that its programs are adequately supported. We think that we "do church" well!

But as a beacon of liberal religion for our community, on the town green, right in the middle of Stoughton Square, we know that we have responsibilities to the larger community as well. Through our Free Market of Ideas and Committee on Outreach and Programming, we try to reach out to our communities and raise the level of discourse on a wide variety of subjects and issues. We hope that we are growing into a viable and visible religious alternative for the people of our area.

Certainly, it has not been an easy road over these many years. A devastating fire in 1966 destroyed our lovely old church building. But the people of First Parish rebuilt, worked hard, and today we are finally growing again, after a number of years of decline. Our church school, especially, enjoys a steady inflow of new voices and new energy-- now numbering more than 40 children. While our official membership still numbers a rather modest 80 or so, Sunday worship attendance has increased noticeably in the last few years, and we are a strikingly younger congregation than we were a decade ago. In all honesty, we consider ourselves a church with a proud past, an exciting present, and a hopeful future!

Tags: Church,Religious Organization