First Parish Universalist Church of Stoughton

Originally founded in 1744 as the "established church" for the town of Stoughton, our current incarnation resulted from a split between liberal and orthodox church members in 1822. The more conservative congregationalists in town went on to form the First Congregational Church, just up the street. The liberal majority remained as First Parish, eventually declaring loyalty to the Universalist cause. As such, we are one of only three Universalist "first parishes" in our entire nation.

We at First Parish in Stoughton seek to be an open, welcoming congregation. Religion for us has to be lived. As such, we are a hard working church that tries to carry out fully the demands of churchmanship. To many of us, our church is our second home. We are dedicated, therefore, to seeing that it is well maintained and cared for, and that its programs are adequately supported. We think that we "do church" well!

But as a beacon of liberal religion for our community, on the town green, right in the middle of Stoughton Square, we know that we have responsibilities to the larger community as well. We try to reach out to our communities and raise the level of discourse on a wide variety of subjects and issues. We hope that we are a viable and visible religious alternative for the people of our area.

Certainly, it has not been an easy road over these many years. A devastating fire in 1966 destroyed our lovely old church building. But the people of First Parish rebuilt, worked hard, and today we are an energetic, if small, community of faith. In all honesty, we consider ourselves a church with a proud past, an exciting present, and a hopeful future!