United First Parish Church — Attraction in Quincy

An amazing place with an amazing history. I LOVE the fact that ANYONE of ANY Faith is welcome with open arms to feel their spirituality or just community, as they see fit. This is a compassionate Congregation that cares about humanity... all of it, and welcomes interfaith, interracial, all sexual preferences, internationality, multicultural, and other community without reserve. And yes: they even have room for the atheists! The Congregation is modest, but each tithes as they can afford. No one gets turned away. This magical place would be relegated to the status of just another spot on the historic register but for the Congregation which resides. They are the caretakers of the original mission of this Stone Temple! The Congregation cares about community, not politics. They struggle to maintain this building because the Government won't settle for a "Share". No exceptions: It is up to the community to step up and support the mission When the roof was caving in, where was the grant from the government? No: Can't mix politics with religion! Thank goodness for the grace of our founding fathers who built this CHURCH as a place of Community FOR the people! THEY weren't afraid to donate to the Church! So help maintain the legacy! You CAN EARMARK what any donation you may consider for what it is to be used for. If its for the building, then SAY SO and they will see that the funds go towards the building. This church isn't about politics. It is as it was meant to be, and as out forefather planned. So don't be small minded. See the WHOLE picture and learn the story, make an intelligent decision, and then make a donation to help maintain this amazing edifice. All visitors are always welcome, whether to see the temple, the presidents, or the congregation! Come visit on Sunday and meet some of the community after services for coffee hour in the rectory, in the back of the church: No donation required! Here is a piece of The Story of......

The Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalists at The United First Parish Church, a.k.a. “The Stone Temple”, a.k.a. ”The Church of The Presidents”.

•The inherent worth and dignity of every person; •Justice, equity and compassion in human relations; •Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; •A free and responsible search for truth and meaning; •The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; •The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; •Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

These principles are the backbone of the community at United First Parish Church. The mission of UFPC:

As a free fellowship of this historic church, We unite to lift our hearts and open our minds to a larger reality, To accept, support, and encourage one another, To seek the wisdom in all religions, To cherish and sustain the web of life, And to strive for Justice,...

My tween daughter and I visited here on July 7 while also visiting the Adams National Historical Park across the street.

To begin with - the crypt is downstairs. First there is a presentation in the church which describes (in my humble opinion) in a bit too much detail every last bit of information of how the church was constructed.

After that you walk down the stairs into the crypt and see a very beautiful Adams burial site for President John and First Lady Abigail and President John Quincy and First Lady Louisa.

There are three American flags. a. As requested by himself, the one over John's coffin is the one from his time period b. As requested by himself, the one over John's Quincy's coffin is the one from his time period c. Right outside - at the gate going into the crypt - there is a modern American flag.

I asked the guide if there was ever a time when the flags were not displayed (as noted in several reviews found here) and she said, "Certainly not - this is a Presidential burial ground. We always display the flag proudly and also have the two earlier American flags over the coffins."

The tour took about 20 minutes; I...

I have to be honest that I work in the museum field and going to this church very much stressed me out. They allowed people to touch, lean on, place their water bottles (or other personal items) on the sarcophagi of John and Abigail Adams. The docent even joked that he regularly has school children try to push it open (they never could it’s way too heavy, but let’s have everyone deliberately rub their oily, dirty hands on the historic artifacts). The preservation knowledge is just not there.

An easy adjustment is for all docents to simply add to their tours “please don’t touch, lean on, or place anything on the sarcophagi while we are inside… remember we want these to last for another 200 years!” People understand!

Other than that, it was a wonderful tour and experience. I loved my docent’s knowledge about the history of the church and the...