First Parish Church in Dorchester
Unitarian Universalist

Community

Dorchester's Meetinghouse

Minister's Musings
As many of you know, Mayor Menino's office has set up a Neighborhood Response Team (NRT) to deal with some of the issues that affect our neighborhood. The team of city, state and community leaders and partners has been working for over a month now to identify issues that affect the quality of life here in the Bowdoin Geneva area and find solutions. There are also financial resources from the state and city that are being brought in as part of this program. It has been a joy to be part of this group that is working diligently to facilitate positive changes here.

As part of this program, First Parish Church in Dorchester will be hosting a Resource Fair on Saturday, December, 17 that will bring together all of these programs and agencies under one roof (ours) so that our neighbors can easily access them.

The NRT would like to provide some incentives to get families to come and check out the resource fair and one of these is to provide bags of food to families that attend. Many agencies will be bringing food here on Friday, December 16 and we are looking for volunteers to help prepare the bags of food. We are also hoping that all our members will be generous in our donations of food over the next couple of Sundays so that we can have enough on hand for this giveaway.

This is another example of the way that First Parish Church in Dorchester can once again be a "Meetinghouse," a safe and welcoming space in this community where people can come together to serve the common good.

In Peace,
Art

Background
On Nov. 4, First Parish hosted Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and over 70 people from the community as he announced a "Community Engagement Plan" to help stem the violence in our neighborhood. The plan includes the launching of a Neighborhood Response Team, more youth workers and outreach to families. There will also be a trauma response coordinator position that will be housed at the Bowdoin Street Health Center as well as more jobs for local youth. The meeting was covered by major news outlets. Read story on Boston.com.

At First Parish Dorchester, the definition of community includes covenantal relationships and congregational governance; and it spans generations and goes well beyond the walls of the Meetinghouse. From our beginning in 1630 as a church, we have had a strong sense of social mission. As founders of Dorchester also in 1630, we have been involved with civic affairs from the start and for hundred and seventy-six years, there was no other church in the town. As Unitarian Universalists, we affirm and promote the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.

Below are some examples of our rich history and how we are engaged with community today.

In 1633, the first recorded town meeting was held at the church, which served as a general meeting hall and also as a fort for early settlers to Dorchester.

Today, our large historic building, called the Meetinghouse is a neighborhood resource—a safe and neutral place for meetings. We estimate that 200 people from the community use our building weekly.

In 1639, we founded the Mather School, the first and oldest elementary school in the country that was fully funded by public taxation.

Today, our minister works collaboratively with the principal of the Mather School, which is next door. Each year he speaks at student assemblies about our shared history. The school has used our building as rehearsal and performance space. First Parish also collaborated with the Mather Parents Council to organize a community day and Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. Our special collections at Christmas have been donated to the school to purchase computers and classroom supplies.

In 1887, church members established Dorchester House as a settlement house for immigrants.

Today, Dorchester House is multiservice agency and our minister serves on its board of directors. We hold weekly collections of food and clothing during the winter to be distributed here in the neighborhood by our friends at DotWell—a collaborative effort of the Codman Square Health Center and Dorchester House.

Members participate in Dorchester Peace March each year.

Sundays are when we all come together as a church community.

Greeting each other.

Socializing and sharing a meal.

Spending time together.