About First Parish

The best way to get involved in the life of First Parish is to take a look around. If you are here on Sunday, come worship and afterwards, go to coffee hour, find the Connections Table, browse the bulletin boards the hall, take pamphlets and sermons from the table by the front office.

Imagine that you are a traveler stepping into a new country. What languages do you hear spoken? What new things do you want to learn? What might you seek out tomorrow on the next leg of your journey? Ask yourself: “what piques my curiosity about this community?” “where does my heart feel pulled to get involved?”

The best journey is not rushed. You don’t have to be either. Take your time to get to know First Parish, its people, its history, our present-day community. Is it music that speaks to your soul? Is it a social action project that helps you go out into the world and try to make a difference? Perhaps it is a class in yoga or meditation to help you re-center and slow down. Maybe it is an opportunity for your child to sing with our fabulous children’s choir director or for you to come on a Friday night to “Rise up Singing” and make music with others. It might be a chance to eat a meal, mix and mingle informally with others at our First Tuesday community supper. It might be joining a covenant group, an affinity group or a book group.

Perhaps for you and your family right now the thing to do is simply slip into a pew on Sunday and worship with us. Find a seat and let the music and silence and words take you to a new place. We hope this will be an oasis in a busy world for you and your children. We hope you will get a sense of who our community is and who we have been in the last almost-four hundred years that we have been gathered here as a congregation in Concord, Massachusetts.

Take your time. Look around. Something will speak to you. We tell people that the best way to get to know us better is to pick one thing and get involved.

Look at the list of Small Group Opportunities at First Parish. We have affinity groups like knitting or photography, small group ministry where people gather to share spiritual discussion, we have book groups, choirs, groups that cook for our shut-ins. We have groups who go out and visit our older members in nursing homes.

Read the monthly newsletter (the Meeting House News). Sign up to receive the newsletter and regular email announcments, click here. Read the Sunday News, the yellow page in your Order of Service on Sunday that is full of news about this week’s happenings in and around First Parish.

The Rev. Dr. Elaine Beth Peresluha, the Interim Senior Minister, or our Ministerial Intern, Tony Fisher, are available to meet with you during the week. Feel free to email either of them with questions or to come in and talk. It doesn’t need to be a crisis. Both enjoy sitting down one on one and getting to know who you are. Email to make an appointment: Elaine Peresluha, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Tony Fisher, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Know that our doors are open. We are glad you are here!