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Brief History
First Unitarian Church of Worcester
The Reverend Dr. Barbara Merritt is the tenth minister of our church; she was called by the congregation in May 1983. The Reverend Thomas Schade was called by the congregation as associate minister in June, 1999. In January, 1785, 54 members of First Parish (Old South) signed and presented a petition to the town seeking to make Dr. Aaron Bancroft the next minister of the Parish. The town voted in the negative on their petition but made no move to prevent establishment of a new parish which 67 persons decided to do. It was named the Second Parish in the Towne of Worcester, with Dr. Bancroft as its first minister. On the third Sunday in March of 1785, the first services were held in the Court House and the first sermon was preached by Dr. Bancroft. Second Parish was incorporated November 13, 1787. Seven years later it was decided that the Parish should have its own building, which was erected on Bank (now Summer) Street. The church was dedicated on January 1, 1792. The 60' x 50' wood building had a tower, a bell and a clock. The $3,000 cost was largely met by the sale of pews. Dr. Bancroft contributed one-third of the $500 yearly salary to the cost of the new building. In 1829, a larger building was constructed on land purchased from Isaiah Thomas for $4,000 on the site of the present church and next to Thomas's print shop. The church was dedicated on August 20, 1829. Twenty years later, the building was in need of extensive repairs, so the organ, furniture, and gallery clock were removed to the Court House. While repairs were in progress, fire broke out and the building was totally destroyed. It was immediately decided to rebuild, on the same site. The cost of $18,000 was raised by the sale of pews. A second Unitarian Church, the Church of the Unity, was founded February 7, 1846 with Edward Everett Hale as its first minister. The hymn, "Nearer My God to Thee," was sung there for the first time in America. The Church of the Unity united with the Second Parish in 1920. In 1888 some members left "Worcester North," as this church was often known, to start a Unitarian church in the Main South section of Worcester. They worshipped in several places until 1895. A church building was dedicated and named the South Unitarian Memorial Church. It rejoined this church in 1920. The church building is still in use as a church by the Armenian Apostolic Holy Trinity Church at 886 Main Street. Around the turn of the century, during Dr. Austin S. Garver's pastorate, the church adopted its new covenant, "In the love of truth and in the spirit of God and the service of men." For over a hundred years, money for the operation of the church was raised by the Assessors, so-called because an amount assessed each family was raised based on a percentage of the value of the pews owned. This practice was discontinued at the time of Dr. Savage's coming as minister in 1918 and thus ended the personal ownership of pews. Membership reached 1,200 during Dr. Savage's pastorate in the 1920's. In 1938, the church was struck by a hurricane. The steeple bell tolled for 15 minutes as the steeple swayed in the wind before falling across the sanctuary. In one year, the church was rebuilt on the same design but much stronger. A scar remains on the pulpit where the steeple fell; you can peek behind the flowers and see it. During Reverend Dr. Walter Donald Kring's pastorate, the space under the church was converted for church school use. During the pastorate of Reverend Dr. Wallace W. Robbins, the church's music program was greatly enlarged and a new organ was installed in 1965. When Reverend Dr. Barbara Merritt was called as minister in 1983, attendance at the Sunday worship service was about 30. Diane Mirick became the Director of Religious Education in 1984 and Will Sherwood has been Music Director since 1985. With the leadership and talent of this combined team, our average attendance on Sundays is 300 including children. Our present active pledging membership is approximately 410 and there are 190 children registered in the religious education program.
Timeline of 1st U integrated with World & Worcester History Timeline of Music Program and Instruments at First Unitarian June 17,
2000 - Fire breaks out in the attic during the process of replacing the
soldered copper roof. Over 4 million dollars of water and fire damage
to the steeple, and water damage to the sanctuary, organ, and Sunday School.
Service were held in Unity hall for 18 months during Sanctuary restoration,
and the congregation returned to the Sanctuary in January, 2002, with
the pipe organ being restored and installed throughout the Fall or 2002.
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