Join Squantum’s Congregational church for a special celebratory weekend.

Events
All of Squantum and Quincy proper are invited to join a Candlelight Worship of Celebration on Saturday and a Service of Rededication on Sunday.

Candlelight Worship
Saturday, September 20, 5:30 pm
All are invited to attend
Special guests will include former pastors, as well as Mayor Thomas Koch of Quincy and State Representative Bruce Ayers and other Congregational churches.

Centennial dinner
Saturday, September 20 (following worship)
By invitation only, for guests who have RSVP’d.
Following worship, a dinner for invited guests will feature community story-telling, historical photo and memorabilia displays, and the world-class Irish dancing of the Brady Academy for Irish Dancing.

Service of Rededication
Sunday, September 21 at 10 a.m.
All are invited to attend
Join this service as the congregation rededicates its building and its members to God’s purposes.

A rich history of service in Squantum

The community celebrated the dedication of the First Church on September 20, 1914 thanks to the efforts of Christians of different denominations, community organizers (such as Gordon Nelson and Eddie Carlson), and the construction talents of people like Thomas Curry. Current pastor Rev. Doug Gray reflects, “First Church’s founding seems to be very organic, rising up out of the community’s need to have shared space to worship God and meet together.” The church’s first pastor, Rev. Thomas W. Davison, had been organizing and teaching summer-only Sunday School for children starting in 1910, as a mission outreach of the Atlantic Memorial Church. The children met in a tent that stood at the corner of Huckins and Standish in Squantum, roughly where the fire station currently sits. Rev. Davison observed, “Squantum is without a hall of any kind, and its social activities have been stinted for this very reason. The fact that the Community Hall is separated from the church proper and its religious work, will tend to make [the] Community Hall available for such affairs as the church committee feels will be for the best interests of Squantum.”

The First Church of Squantum continues this tradition of open-minded faith, community service, and partnership as it hosts Cub Scout and Boy Scout troops, Daisy and Brownie troops, Squantum Community Association lectures, a community book group, “Mommy and Me” for pre-schoolers and their adults, and dances for middle-school students. This summer the church offered Vacation Bible School free of charge to anyone who wanted to come as part of their commitment to Squantum. Rev. Gray shares, “This fellowship’s commitment to reaching out to the community, to being a light of grace in Squantum is part of what drew me to this church last year. It’s part of what keeps me excited about the chance to serve here. I think we are really making a difference for God!”

Learn more about the First Church at their website.

First Church, 1914

First Church, 2014