Minister’s Welcome
Welcome to First Parish in Needham!
We’re so Glad You’ve Found Us.
First Parish is a vibrant, inclusive, and justice-making Unitarian Universalist congregation. On our website, you can learn more about our historic congregation and about our shared Unitarian Universalist faith.
First Parish is a theologically diverse congregation, drawing our individual spiritualities from our Universalist and Unitarian history, the world religions, and secular philosophy and science. We come together to encourage, comfort, and learn from one another, knowing we cannot heal ourselves and our broken world alone.
We are a “seven days a week” church—you can find spiritually enriching opportunities every day, not just during Sunday worship.
We would still love to see you for our Sunday worship services, but we know deeper faith formation and personal relationships happen through being together for openhearted conversations, spiritual practices, and justice-making.
As you explore our website, please note our small group ministry, lifespan religious education, and musical programs including our choir, the First Parish Singers, and the Homegrown Coffeehouse. Our community is involved with many social justice causes, and we especially strive to live into our designations as a Welcoming Congregation and Green Sanctuary—welcoming people of all sexual orientations and gender identities and being environmentally-conscious at our church and in our personal lives.
To learn more about our events, please subscribe to our newsletters, which include our weekly Bell Notes and monthly Bellman newsletter.
If you are seeking comfort and prayer during a difficult time, I hope you will be in touch with me and our Pastoral Care Team. We encourage you to reach out to us, even if you’ve never visited First Parish before. We are here for you, with open hearts and minds.
I personally invite you to join First Parish any upcoming Sunday for worship at 10:30 a.m. You are also invited to come early for one of our regular Lyceums and to stay late for social hour. Children and teenagers are welcome in our sanctuary or can join our religious education program, which includes junior and senior youth groups. At any time, feel free to introduce yourself to us—in person, by email at office@uuneedham.org, through Facebook or Instagram, or over the phone at 781-444-0823.
