First Parish in Malden, Universalist is a

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

("UU") church in

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden is a hilly woodland area no ...

and a member congregation of the

Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Ch ...

. It was gathered in 1648 to support the establishment of the city of Malden. It is one of the oldest churches in Massachusetts. The current minister is the Rev. Otto O'Connor, who was called to be the congregation's minister in 2017.

History

Establishment of the Parish

The first colonists living in what was then called "Mystic Side" attended the church in Charlestown, which forced the settlers to make a long journey, including taking a ferry. At the time, only church members were freemen and constituents of the body politic. As the ability to vote was tied to membership in the church, the residents of Mystic Side were eager to establish their own church; and gathered themselves in 1648, despite not having the permission from the General Court to assemble.Corey, Deloraine. 1898. History of Malden. In 1650 the Parish ordained its first regular minister, Marmaduke Matthews. Matthews had been preaching in

Hull, Massachusetts Hull is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, located on a peninsula at the southern edge of Boston Harbor. Its population was 10,072 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Hull is the smallest town by land area in P ...

but had lost the favor of the freemen there, and thus his ordination in Malden was opposed by the other churches and by the magistrates of the General Court. Matthews was ordained while the General Court sought to hold public inquiry into his "erroneous expressions, others weak, unconvenient and unsafe expressions" in his preaching. As a result of this conflict with neighboring churches, the historical record suggests that Matthews was lay-ordained, instead of ordained by the elder Charlestown congregation as was customary. The second ordained minister to preach in Malden was Michael Wigglesworth, a preacher and poet who was renknowned for his scriptural poem

The Day of Doom "The Day of Doom: or, A Poetical Description of the Great and Last Judgment" is a religious poem by clergyman Michael Wigglesworth that became a best-selling classic in Puritan New England for a century after it was published in 1662 in poetry, 16 ...

Recent Years

The congregation unanimously called the Rev. Otto O'Connor as its settled minister in 2017, making him the 36th settled minister. In line with other member congregations of the UUA, the congregation adheres to the

faith and affirms the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism. In 2009 the church voted to become LGBT affirming and were joined by Tonya McCloskey and Marcia Kadish, the first same sex couple to marry in Massachusetts.

References

External links

First Parish in Malden Website
{{Authority control Unitarian Universalist churches in Massachusetts Churches completed in 1909 Churches in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Malden, Massachusetts Stone churches in Massachusetts

History

Establishment of the Parish

Recent Years

References

Further reading

External links