It is our intention that everyone feel very welcome at First Parish. That includes children, adults, and families. In April of 2002, we officially became a “Welcoming Congregation” because of our overt interest in welcoming all people to worship with us, particularly those folks who have felt unwelcome in other religious places. This program focused on bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender persons, but we also want to be welcoming to people of racial, ethnic, religious, economic, class, and other diversities. We proudly hang our rainbow flag as a sign to the local community that everyone is welcome here.
We carefully consider our “Welcoming
Congregation” status in all of our religious education planning. Being a welcoming congregation means
striving to have our actions support our promise. This includes offering programs that teach about different
cultures, religions, and lifestyles in ways that are positive and
affirming. We recognize that there
is bias in our mainstream culture and we hope that First Parish can empower our
members to overcome such negative messages to be a community in which everyone
is recognized as the important and valuable people they are.
Even with our welcoming intentions,
we recognize that the simple process of visiting and joining a new religious
community is not as easy as we all wish it could be. We know that many of our members enjoy coming here because
of their strong connections and friendships with the members of our community.
But seeing this unity sometimes makes it hard for visitors to initiate the
process of building new friendships. The process of truly connecting can be
equally challenging for new children.
We are willing to help! Our
DRE and many members of our church are very eager to help you feel at home at
First Parish. Contact our DRE and
we would be happy to assist you and your children in getting connected to our
church family.