Worship Services at First Parish


Child's View of a Service Our worship services are the soul of the church-a time in which we renew our sense of wonder; express our gratitude for life and its many blessings; and heighten our understanding of ourselves, our neighbors, and our world.

There is a rich variety of format and content. We hope that you will join us soon at a Sunday worship service.

Drawing by Brooke Kingsland Age 8

Sunday at First Parish

Worship services are conducted from September through June at 10:30 AM. Children attend the beginning of each service. The service consists of organ preludes and postludes and various organ and piano pieces; hymn singing; readings from religious and philosophical texts, literature, and social commentary; a sermon; and announcements. One Sunday of each month the congregations shares its joys and concerns while placing flowers in a special vase.

On three Sundays each month the services are led by the Minister, Richard Stower. On one Sunday per month the service is led by either a lay person or a visiting minister or speaker. These services generally follows the format noted above with a guest speaker, although they may have a form of their own. Periodically children take a more extensive role in the service by performing plays or doing readings. We have several inter-generational services throughout the year: Water Ceremony, Apple Communion, Christmas Pageant, Easter, Earth Day, and Youth Sunday. Nursery care is available during the service. A coffee and fellowship hour follows the service in the Sloop Room.

We follow this schedule fot the months September through May. We follow a different format during the summer months. Discussion groups are led by members of the Parish. Coffee is served at 9:30. The program begins at 9:45 and ends at 10:30, usually held in the Sloop Room at the Church.

Special Services

We cordially invite you to join in our special services and traditions (click here for information).

Recent Sermons

Click on the title of a sermon to view the complete text