Partnerships connect First Parish Church with community

From its earliest days as Tauntons meeting house to the present day, First Parish Church has long strived to be a more than house of worship.

Opening our doors and welcoming the community has been a central part of our ministry for 375 years, said longtime church member Barry Sanders, who has served as First Parish Churchs director of religious education for 18 years. Over the years, weve done all kinds of things at the church.

The citys annual Liberty and Union celebration, for example, a series of events held each year to commemorate Tauntons role in Americas struggle for independence from Britain, grew out of a service First Parish Church began holding approximately 20 years ago, Sanders said. And when the Silver City Teen Center was forced to vacate the former Pole School amid concerns over safety conditions there, it found a new temporary home in the First Parish Church basement.

We were welcomed in on very short notice, teen center director Annemarie Matulis. They have been as warm and welcoming as can be and have been the only congregation that has welcomed the gay-straight alliance.

The gay-straight alliance, she said, is one of the teen centers programs.

Matulis is also director of Southeastern Massachusetts Voices Against Violence and runs Dress to Impress, a program that provides gently used business attire to economically disadvantaged jobseekers. Those programs have also used space at the church for years.

Although the teen center is seeking a larger space than the church can provide, Sanders said he would like to maintain and strengthen the partnership with the organization, even if it relocates.

One of the things were always interested in is to become partners with these organizations, Sanders said. Much of their work is things that are absolutely in the ministry of Unitarian Universalism and our church.

The church grounds over recent years have hosted charity walks, domestic violence awareness displays and inaugurations of elected officials. When construction of a new park forced the Taunton Farmers Market to relocate, it found new space on the church grounds last year. Additionally, the Taunton Garden Club holds its meetings at the church and plans to create a new garden on the grounds, Sanders said.

Assisting community organizations and forming new partnerships, Sanders said, is a rewarding experience for the church.

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Partnerships connect First Parish Church with community