Join the Janet Leland Memorial Service on Saturday at 2 pm. (livestream)
How We Worship
You may be exploring the possibility of church for the first time in years or you may have been involved in church communities all your life. Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, we would be glad to share that journey with you!
Latest Sermon
Click on the links below to view sermons given from the pulpit of First Parish Church. Sunday Sermons are usually posted on this page by the following Tuesday, with texts and audio recordings as they are available. We are glad that you can ponder with us as we explore what God is saying to us and in us all!
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In the Sacrament of Baptism the congregation welcomes people of all ages into our community. Baptism is an outward and visible sign of God’s love. At each baptism, the congregation affirms our promise to love, support, and care for one another as we follow in the way of Jesus. If you are interested a baptism at First Parish, please contact our pastor.
We welcome you to First Parish Church as you consider your wedding plans. If you would like to be married at First Parish please call 207-729-7331 or fill our the “Contact Us” form below. As an Open and Affirming congregation, we are delighted to celebrate the marriages of all couples, regardless of gender identities.
In a marriage ceremony, the couple and the church celebrate the good news of shared love, commitment, trust, and grace found in a relationship. First Parish welcomes visitors, friends, and members to celebrate these occasions in our sanctuary. Our church has celebrated weddings large and small, with couples younger or older, and those of different genders or the same. If you’d like to talk about having your wedding here, we welcome the chance to learn about you as a couple and explore that possibility with you.
Preparing to celebrate a wedding can often have many practical details, but is above all grounded in a powerful spiritual moment for those who are promising to one another in marriage. In preparation for your wedding, you can expect to meet more than once with the officiating pastor to reflect about your journey as a couple towards marriage and plan your ceremony, choose music with our music staff, and discuss details of your service with our wedding coordinator. We are delighted to celebrate the marriages of all couples, regardless of gender identities.
In memorial services, we gather to give thanks to God for someone’s life, to entrust that person to God’s eternal care, and to acknowledge our grief, no matter how long or how short that life has been. We are supported by the rich strands of our tradition as we engage the mysteries of life and death, trusting that whether we live or we die God is with us.
The customs around memorial services and burial practices have changed significantly in recent decades. An increasing number of families are choosing cremation. In light of that fact, a number of years ago the church created a Memorial Garden which has been incorporated into the old church cemetery on Maine Street. In this garden, cremains (ashes) are interred directly into the ground. There are tall granite markers at the edge of the garden on which people’s names are engraved.
We come together to form a beautiful and loving community that holds each other up. Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, we would love to share it with you. All religious questions are encouraged and gladly answered.
First Parish Church is a vital and active community. Here are some of the ways to join us in ministry and community.