The First Parish Church, Unitarian Universalist, of Stow and Acton - Stow, MA - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

In Stow's center is The First Parish Church, Unitarian Universalist, of Stow and Acton.

The church is located on the north side of the Great Road (Mass. Route 117), and east of West Acton Road. There is another connector road that is in front of the church.

The church is part of a rambling complex of structures. The main and oldest part is the sanctuary. It is a wooden structure with a peaked roof and spire rising over the entrance. The entrance is recessed relative to the front of the building and two columns support the ceiling, flanked by pilaster forms at the corners. Above the columns is a three sided window. The steeple starts with a four-sided base with a clock face embedded in it, then, above it is the belfry, then an octagonal portion, and then the octagonal spire topped by a weathervane. Along the long side of the church are tall, narrow paned windows.

Inside is simple, yet beautiful. The auditorium has two aisles and has dark wood pews. There is a balcony in the back as well. At the front is a beautiful rank of organ pipes, and the organ was recently restored.

Off the back and going down the hill is another structure that connects the main building with the parish hall/sunday school to the east.

The parish is an active congregation, with many activities that they participate in, whether it is volunteering within the church, in social justice endeavors, or other community activities.

The congregation had its beginnings in 1683, when the town of Stow was founded. The First Church in Stow became Unitarian in 1833. In Acton, the Universalist Church started in 1814. In 1833, the Unitarian and Universalist Churches merged together. But it took until 1969, for the Stow and Acton churches to merge together.

This building is a replacement for the previous meeting house that burned down in 1847. The congregation met in a nearby church while the new church was built and dedicated by January 1848. The addition off the back was completed in 2013.

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1864 Age of Church building determined by?: Church website If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Unitarian-Universalist If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Sunday Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 11:00 AM Street address of Church: 353 Great Road Stow, MA United States of America 01775 Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed

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