Local Congregations Merge into One Super Congregation

What began as a touch decision for a church in Salem has ended in a chance to come together with another congregation in Beverly.

The First Universalist Society of Salem was faced with a tough decision. As
with many religious communities, its numbers were shrinking and the members found it increasingly difficult to support and maintain a large historic building. So they decided to find a new home.

Rev. Clyde Grubbs, one of the two consulting ministers at the 210-year-old
church, explained, “Michelle Walsh and I sought to offer leadership to help
the congregation unite around a spiritual vision,” said Rev. Clyde Grubbs, one of the two consulting ministers at the 210-year-old church. “In the end, they felt they could best share the vision of serving the people of Salem in the future by giving away their building, and joining with another congregation. This way,members could enjoy the religious education, full worship experience, and expanded social witness opportunities for which they longed.”

During their search for a compatible congregation, they found a neighbor,
First Parish Church, UU, in Beverly, which will celebrate its 350th year in
2017, to be a match. The yellow building in the heart of Beverly’s downtown shares many of First Universalist’s spiritual philosophies and desire to reach out in service to the local communities. After social events and pancake breakfasts, the two congregations began drafting a merger agreement to outline the rights and responsibilities of each going forward.

By state law, each congregation needed to vote and have two-thirds of the members approve the merger. First Universalist voted on May 17 in favor of the merger. First Parish’s membership also approved the merger at their annual meeting on May 20.

The new church year begins on Sunday, September 13, when both congregations will begin worshipping together at First Parish Church. In order to strengthen the bond within this single congregation, a uniting ceremony will be held that morning beginning at the former home of First Universalist at 211 Bridge Street in Salem at 8:00 a.m. and continuing to the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge, connecting Beverly and Salem.

After this brief ceremony, congregants of First Universalist and First
Parish will proceed together to the yellow church in downtown Beverly for
the opening service at 10 a.m. Members of both congregations are excited to start a new chapter in the history of UU on the North Shore. After working together for 2 years, co-chairs Patti Welch and Danielle Maltais Povey share that, “Together, we are looking forward to finding rituals and blending traditions, in order to integrate the congregations and create something new.”

“The project before us is the knitting together of two histories, the
blending of two families, the retelling of two stories now as one. Luckily,
as Unitarian Universalists, we are blessed with a fair bit of experience in
this area,” said Rev. Kelly Weisman Asprooth-Jackson, minister of First Parish since 2010, who will continue to serve as minister of the congregation post-merger.

The repurposed building at 211 Bridge Street will serve the greater Salem
community as “The Bridge at 211,” a new non-profit organization focusing on “connecting people . . . past and present.” A ribbon cutting for this newly repurposed building is planned for November 14.