History of First Parish in Brookline
This congregation had its beginning in the early 18th century. In 1717, a meeting house was built at the center of the town of Muddy River, which later became Brookline. The original Town green is now the patch of green splitting Walnut and Warren Streets in front of the current building. The present building, dedicated in 1893, is the fourth to house the congregation that began as The Church of Christ, a Christian church in Puritan New England, and evolved into the First Parish in Brookline, a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Unlike the many Congregational churches in New England that split apart into separate Unitarian and Congregational churches during the Unitarian Controversy in the early 19th century, this one did not. It retained within its walls both groups in the Unitarian vs. Trinitarian struggle and stood strong as a community church embracing both Christian traditions as well as the theology and liberal inclusiveness of the Unitarian faith. To this day it honors the history and the tradition, but is firmly implanted in the Unitarian Universalist spirit of openness to all religious wisdom and practice.
First Parish has a history of beloved ministers through the centuries. John Pierce shepherded the congregation through the theological controversies of the early 19th century. Frederick Henry Hedge was a late 19th-century transcendentalist scholar for whom the Parsonage across Walnut Street was built. Howard Brown, a powerful preacher and liturgist, urged the purchase of the town’s original Town Hall, which is now attached to the church building and is called Pierce Hall. The most recent ministers were David Johnson who retired in 2003 after a 15-year ministry, Michael Boardman from 1975-1987, and Carl Bihldorf from 1942-1975.
Today First Parish is a congregation composed of people of deep conviction, strong faith, and devotion to community involvement. While very proud of our solid and rich history, we are passionately dedicated to responding meaningfully to the world here and now and to spiritually nurturing ourselves and our children for the challenges of the future.
See more information about our building on our Stained Glass page.