First Church In Salem Unitarian

Founded in 1629, this church has a long and fascinating history, which is explained on the church’s website. The current building, which is newly renovated, was built in 1836. I’ve been going here for just over 10 years. I was church shopping with my then-​four-​year-​old and even hoping to rope my atheist husband into the project. I needed a church that had some seriousness to it, as I was raised Catholic and really wanted a church that felt like a church. Then there’s the atheist husband. He does not want to be overwhelmed with miracles and bible thumping hocus pocus. Luckily the little boy and I stumbled into First Church by accident one winter day. There were kids taking part in the service that day,. a good sign, families all around, and no crazy bible thumping. The next Sunday we tried it again, and that time there was some old school organ music droning from the impressive antique organ up in the Gothic choir loft. What I figured was that you could get a little bit of everything here. They had traditional hymns, candles, flowers, a brief bible reading and the Lord’s Prayer for the recovering Catholic in me, and liberal, open minded, atheist welcoming values for my husband. The church is welcoming of LGBTQ friends, also. As for the four-​year-​old, this would be a banquet table of choices for him. As we attended more often and eventually became active members, we met people with all kinds of belief systems and practices, all feeling welcomed and validated under the historic roof of the First Church. We’ve met people who have become close friends, and our sons have found many friends as well. The Religious Education program is ever-​expanding and we found that, like many First Church parents, our sons actually begged to go to church on Sundays when we were planning to stay home. What can you say to that? Your kid is BEGGING to be taken to church? That was NOT my experience growing up. We Catholic kids would do anything to avoid going. This church is alive with talks, movies, potluck dinners, games nights, and the best after church coffee hour I’ve ever been to, complete with china cups and sometimes a roaring fire in the fireplace. The RE program is always evolving to keep the kids interested, and we’ve now added a youth group to accommodate our pre-​teens. Finding First Church was a great gift, and we’re looking forward to many more years in our home away from home.