The Changing Shape of First Parish in Concord

The organ sounds coming from the in Concord resonate with the sound of change. Every week the organ sounds richer as the repairs on it are getting closer to completion. 

With the large run-up in membership, First Parish undertook a fundraising effort in 2006 with a capital campaign.

Melissa Perdue Gallo, business manager for First Parish, focused  "on generating as high participation from the congregation as possible and we were lucky to be doing the fundraising before the economy fell into a recession. The fundraising was essentially done when we started with construction."

The payments and pledges for the extensive renovations to First Parish in Concord totaled nearly $4 million. The funds came directly from the congregation membership.

"The members of the church came through," said Gene Brown, deacon of the church and chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee. 

The extensive building and landscaping renovations make the church fully handicapped accessible in accordance with Unitarian Universalist principles. The ministers have been able to move back to the church with brand new offices as they were previously located in the Wright Tavern, a Center for Spiritual Renewal and part of First Parish in Concord, due to space constraints. 

It has been "a blessing for the congregation," Gallo says.

The Religious Education area has been completely renovated with new classrooms and meeting rooms and even includes a theatre stage for its young members.

"It was absolutely clear that we needed to expand the Religious Education program.  We ran out of space," Brown said.

Starting in the Spring of 2008, First Parish conducted its religious services offsite at Kerem Shalom in Concord to accommodate the renovations until the late fall of 2008.

Gary Smith, senior minister of First Parish, "has helped to generate growth. His vision of First Parish as a pillar of the community and a place that is welcoming to a wide variety of people will be his legacy," Gallo says. Smith is retiring next year.

Many members of the church helped to make this renovation happen. 

Dian Pekin, head of the Women's Parish Association (WPA), noted that, "the WPA has raised funds for over 100 years to maintain the facilities."

With its 375th anniversary coming next year and their Senior Minister of 23 years going into retirement, change will still be in the air at First Parish in Concord.