First Parish Church of Dorchester
The First Parish Church in Dorchester, was built in 1631[1] by the emigrants from Dorchester, Dorset and the south west of England who founded the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts on March 30, 1630.[2]
The first church building was an crude log cabin thatched with grass.[1] As well as the church, the Puritans founded the first elementary school supported by public money in the New World. They held the first town meeting at the church, which determined policy through open and frequent discussion. In all of this they were inspired by the ideal of the Kingdom of God on earth and the attempt to realize this in England in the time of the Rev. John White. The church is referred to as a 'Foundation Stone of the Nation".[3]
The First Parish Church of Dorchester is now a Unitarian Universalist church.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b [1]
- ^ Notable Events in Massachusetts
- ^ Revd. John White - First Parish Church of Dorchester, Mass.
[edit] External links
- First Parish Church in Dorchester Website
- First Parish Church (Dorchester, Mass.) Records 1636-1981 Guide to the Collection
- Construction photos of the reconstruction of the steeple, November 2006
- Boston Globe article, March 27, 2006, on the installation of Rev. Arthur R. Lavoie as the 26th minister.
Coordinates: 42°18′29.4″N 71°3′44.2″W / 42.308167°N 71.062278°W
