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The
First Parish of Bolton incorporates three of Bolton's historic
churches: the First Parish and Religious Society, 1741 (Unitarian); the
Bolton Friends Meeting, 1779 (Quaker); and the First Baptist Church,
1828. The church maintains ties with these denominations and has added
an affiliation with the United Church of Christ, whose members, like
those of the Bolton church , come from many different Christian
traditions. The First Parish of Bolton has offered a liberal Christian
perspective in the community for nearly three hundred years, and is
enriched by the diverse theological and spiritual backgrounds of its
members. |
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We are:
- Liberal Christians.
We take the Bible seriously, but not literally. We believe,
with John Robinson, the Pilgrim's pastor, that God "hath yet more light
and truth to break forth from his word." While focused on the life and
teachings of Jesus, we also cherish wisdom from other faith traditions.
- Non-credal.
We do not ask that our members adhere to a particular statement of
faith or belief. We believe in each person's "soul freedom."
- Autonomous.
We value our denominational affiliations, but are self-governing.
- Welcoming.
Our doors are open to children, to parents, to single men and women, to
seniors, to the physically challenged, to members of the GLBT
community, to those who have economic advantages and those who do not.
- Generous.
Church members are expected to assist the life and work of our
community through their financial support, and each year, tens of
thousands of dollars are raised to assist those in need locally and
around the world.
- Committed to community.
In a town in transition, we provide both the sense of continuity and the
connections between people that are necessary to create community.
Bolton's first church, and, for much of the town's history, its only church, the First Parish has the longest memory of any institution in Bolton and has always served as a gathering place for the entire community. Town meetings were once held in the Meeting House of the First Parish and the famous Bolton Fair began on the church lawn. In the 1930s and 1940s, weekly pot-luck suppers in the church vestry attracted virtually everyone who lived in Bolton. The church's parish hall, named for the Rev. Howard P. Davis, was built in 1956 to provide a growing town with a venue for meetings, dinners, and concerts. Today, many organizations make use of this attractive space. The Bolton Public Library and Bolton Conservation Trust hold many of their events in Davis Hall. Candidate's forums take place here. Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and 4H groups meet in the hall. And it is the setting for private parties and the Florence Sawyer School's eighth grade graduation dance. The First Parish is truly a community church.
The Mission Statement of the The First Parish of Bolton, Interdenominational was adopted April 25, 1993.
"We,
as members of the The First Parish of Bolton, encourage the development
of our personal faith in God and seek to prepare ouselves to grow and
live as disciples of Christ. In the journey of discovery, we endeavor
to expand our understanding and enrich our spiritual lives.
We
value the heritage of our collective traditions and respect our
individuality. This challenges us to build a future in which God's
presence and call become a greater reality in ourselves, our community,
and our world.
We strive to be caring people who provide a ministry of support, comfort, and fellowship for all God's people.
- The church championed the self-governance of the local congregation at a time when it
was threatened by the increasing power of the clergy and associations of churches.
The parish removed its first minister in 1771, causing a scandal but eventually leading
to the affirmation of each church's autonomy.
A descendent of the church's first minister still worships here.
- The church bell was once rung to announce deaths in the town, tolling out each year of
the person's life.
- The clock in the church steeple is the town clock and is maintained by the town.
- A nineteenth century minister, the Rev. Thomas T. Stone, was a leader of the anti-
slavery movement and welcomed Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau
to his home in Bolton.
- The first woman graduate of Andover Newton Theological School served as minister in
the 1920s.
- The Bolton Friends (Quaker) Meeting House is now at Old Sturbridge Village, and
church members have traveled there for special worship services.
- In the 1960s, the church sold the land on which the Town Hall sits to the town for a
dollar, and the town sold the land on which the church sits to the church for a dollar.
The land had been given to the town when there was no separation of church and state,
and this seemed the best way to settle the longstanding question of ownership.
- The largest Christian denomination represented in the current membership of the church
is the Roman Catholic Church. Half of our active members are former Roman
Catholics. They join Unitarians, Congregationalists, Baptists, Quakers, Episcopalians,
Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Christian Scientists, Pentecostals, and even a
few who are of Jewish origin.
- Today, church members serve on the town's board of selectmen, the conservation
commission, the historical commission, the master-plan committee, the advisory
committee, as members of the police and volunteer fire departments, as town
assessor, tax collector, assistant town clerk, and cemetery commissioner.
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