About First Parish




Mission
Minister/Staff
Board Governance
Church Committees
First Parish History
UUA History

Mission

The mission of First Parish of Northfield Unitarian is to embrace the spiritual through imaginative contemplation and reflection; to nurture fellowship, service and charity; and to share, celebrate and affirm diversity and explore common needs among members, friends and the larger community.

Growing out of the Judeo-Christian tradition, we also seek inspiration from great philosophers and world religions. We cherish diversity among our members, and require adherence to no creed.

As members of the Unitarian Universalist Association, we accept the following principles agreed to by its member churches:

  1. Every person is a person of inherent worth and dignity.
  2. Human relations should be based on justice, equity, and compassion.
  3. Spiritual growth should be encouraged in our congregation but we should accept one another without regard to judgments about our spiritual growth.
  4. The search for truth and meaning should be free and responsible.
  5. Within our congregation and society at large the rights of conscience should be respected and a democratic process followed.
  6. We should work for the goal of a world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.
  7. We should respect the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

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Minister/Staff

Rev. Marguerite Sheehan is the Minister of First Parish Unitarian of Northfield. Rev. Marguerite is a graduate of Andover Newton Theological School. As well as being the parish minister for First Parish, Rev. Marguerite is an interfaith hospice chaplain with Allegiance Hospice and Palliative Care in the Greater Springfield area. She was the intern minister at First Church Leominster and the sabbatical minister for Harvard Unitarian Church. Previous to her calling in ministry Rev. Marguerite worked for many years in the fields of early childhood education and special education, including being the team leader of the Franklin County office of the REACH program. She lives in Amherst with her spouse/partner and family. She hails originally from Chicopee Massachusetts. She is delighted to return to Franklin County as the minister of First Parish of Northfield.

Lynn Walker is the Music Director of First Parish Unitarian of Northfield. She was born and raised near the Colorado Rockies in the Denver area, moved to the East Coast in the 1960’s raising her family, studying and making music in the Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Springfield, MA areas. She is currently co-director with Joseph Marchello of Music for Life Studios in Northfield where she lives and teaches piano. Lynne performs both piano and voice throughout the region in churches, community concerts, and in assisted living and nursing homes. She loves to hike, bike, read and create fabric landscapes.

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Board Governance

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is responsible for care of church property. Questions or ideas concerning church upkeep can be addressed to this committee.

The newly shaped First Parish Trustees of Northfield is hard at work managing endowment funds and our historic facility. In the Fall of 2007, the trustees experienced a shift in leadership and membership.  Long-serving and highly respected board members completed terms.  Sincere thanks to Walter Anson for his six years of service as member and President.  Tom d'Errico and Carolyn Spencer deserve deep appreciation for their time as trustees.  The energy, wisdom, and thoughtfulness of these members is a strong foundation for our work today.

Current trustees include Helen Adams (Treasurer), Steve Baskowski, Tammy Pelletier (Secretary), Erik Middleton, and Paul Bocko (President).  The group is actively recruiting new members to fill a slate of nine positions.  Walter Anson and Steve Baskowski serve as sextons monitoring the condition and efforts for maintaining church property.   The trustees meet regularly - at least five times during the "church year" and once in the Summer.  All are welcome.

Activity in 2008 has focused on brainstorming and prioritizing building and grounds projects.  Exterior painting tops the list, along with side entrance repair, kitchen improvements, and furnace efficiency.  Other hot topics include how our facility can be more "green" and accessible.

Upcoming Meetings

Parish Committee

The Parish Committee manages church operations. Anyone proposing programs or expensible activities can contact the Parish Committee for advice, guidance, and authorization. The committee meets the first Sunday of each month.

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Church Committees

Committee on the Ministry

The Committee on the Ministry is an appointed committee which is intended to help with communication between the minister and the congregation and to provide another avenue for assessing the ministry of the church. We meet monthly, review First Parish church ministry concerns and also provide support and evaluation for the minister as part of her fellowship as a community minister (hospice.) The Committee on the Ministry is intended to be a safe, sensitive and productive place to reflect on concerns about the church ministry. The congregation is invited to share concerns about the ministry with this committee.

Religious Education Committee

This is an appointed committee including the volunteer religious education coordinator/director, a church member and the minister, focusing on supporting the religious education program at First Parish. We meet on an "as needed"  basis to support the program and to be a link between the program, the parish committee and the congregation.

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First Parish History

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First Parish History

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UUA History

For a brief history of the UUA, see the About Us section on the UUA website

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