Between March and May 2025, 76 members and friends of First Parish of Watertown (FPW) responded to a survey exploring how our congregation might engage with the church’s 400-year history. This document summarizes the quantitative and qualitative results to inform the working group as it develops programming, educational materials, and community initiatives.
- How long have you been a member or a friend of First Parish of Watertown?
76 of you responded and represent a good range of time with this community.
- How important is First Parish of Watertown’s church history to you and/or your connection to the church?
Over 75% are deeply or somewhat interested in the church’s history.
- Are you interested in particular topics? (Multiple responses allowed)
You expressed the strongest interest in:
- Our relationships with Indigenous peoples
- FPW’s role in Watertown’s local history
- Our historical connections to slavery and abolition
- The voices of ministers, women, and community members across time
Comments for Question 3
The motivations for demolishing the 1849 Gothic church that stood on the site of the bank, instead of building the bank next to it and conducting a fundraising campaign to preserve this important Watertown landmark.
I’m interested in all of our history and how it relates to the settler colonial history of the area and the nation and within UU history.
Didn’t our Shared Values replace the 8th Principle? Reflecting within their context feels very important!
The decision to demolish the 1840s Gothic meeting house that stood where the bank is, as opposed to fundraising to preserve the old church.
- How would you be willing to participate in deciding what to focus on? (Multiple selections allowed)
Many of you are ready to help shape this effort through focus groups, small group discussions, or congregational meetings.
Comments for Question 4
I am not sure that the church has to agree on what to focus on?
Circle suppers topic??
I can’t really come in person much as I’m far away so a zoom meeting would be great
Talk to the historian
- How would you like to learn more about our history? (Multiple selections allowed)
Top choices were:
- Short presentations about our history and why it matters today during Sunday services
- Expert presentations and partnering with local organizations
- Many expressed time constraints but want to remain informed
Comments for Question 5
I would like Sunday worship to be about worship not history presentations
Create a history shelf in Allison’s office. Do something about the items that were behind the infamous plaque and are now stored in a closet in the social hall. More stuff needs to go to the Mass Historical Society.
CPA [Community Preservation Act] funding possible if not too “churchy”
I would want the researcher to be a person of color. We already have white/male representation in history, which literally says – his story.
Not completely sure – checking the most likely… I am more in the listening mode
- What is your vision for the “Final Product(s) that you’d like to see? (Multiple selections allowed)
You would like to see a mix of permanent, digital, and experiential products.
- First Parish website pages
- Participation in Watertown’s 400th celebration
- Printed monographs, multimedia exhibits, and possibility of reparations
- Walking tours, art installations, and personal storytelling
- Some underscored the need for our work to lead to action, not just reflection
Comments for Question 6
Whatever we currently use as branding to spread the word plus any other options;
Online archive of info we already have for posterity.
Any and all of these sound good to me and I think however you decide to collect a final project should eventually land on the website. I’m not sure what reparations would look like so I can’t envision it but I’m open to it.
I didn’t check reparations, but it might be interesting to discuss the topic.
I favor “permanent” records, not necessarily digital products or temporary exhibits. Something that Watertown Historical Society or Library could have as part of a permanent exhibit (though not necessarily on display all the time. Something that could be updated in 50 or 100 years (how about that??)
Any products would hopefully be on the church website.
I’m not sure right now. I’d like for us to think about it as we learn.
Do you have any other ideas, thoughts, or questions about how we should approach this? (Open-ended comments)
Several themes emerged from your comments on this question.
A: Ongoing Dialogue and Education
- Many value frequent small-group discussions, workshops and Zoom sessions
- There is interest in linking personal experience with historical understanding particularly regarding oppression and privilege
- Desire to learn from and collaborate with other congregations and community organizations
B: Creative and Public Expression
- Support for art installations, walking tours, signage, and graphic storytelling to make history visible and engaging
- A poem and historical essays were offered as contributions
C: Ethical Accountability and Visible Action
- Several call for tangible reparative actions, such as fundraising for Native communities, removing outdated relics, and affirming commitments to the 8th principle
- There is a desire for balance in acknowledging both the positive and negative aspects of our church history
D: Future-Focused Engagement
- Comments emphasized not becoming a “museum,” but translating historical reflection into current social justice actions
- Some stressed the importance of connecting past values to future commitments and making the church more welcoming and responsive.
Overall, parishioners seek a mix of research, reflection, creative interpretation, collaboration, and meaningful action to truly grapple with and respond to our church’s complex history.
Comments for Question 7
Frequent Sunday afternoon group discussions on these issues would be nice.
Buy in from congregation. Then and now as we move to AI.
I think we should connect with other organizations in the area that are considering similar questions to understand the larger context. We are not an island!
I am not sure that action can be determined until research is done and shared
I know two members of the UCC church in Harvard Square. They have done extensive research on their church’s role in history. One of our friends is a graphic artist and she created some very effective graphic panels depicting former church members and the role of the church in the history of Cambridge. She offered to consult with us if needed. I could put someone in touch with her.
As “untold stories.” “Owning” rather than “Grappling with”. Social history interpreted in a historical context. History we are making right now (looking to the future). How our history reflects our values. Not a complete list….
Really like the idea of an art installation outside–other UU churches have done this. Partnering with other UU churches feels important and exciting. Looking to the UU of A for guidance and inspiration. Not turning into a museum or historical society (my old church was like this and it was why I left).
Walking tours of nearby areas, such as the graveyard and monuments (we went on a tour with Kyle Morton during the pandemic) were instructive and engaging. Watertown does have a rich history!
It will be important to reflect both on the positive and negative aspects of our history, I hope from a balanced viewpoint. We can and should draw heavily on whatever was done during our 350th anniversary, both for perspective and for detailed information that was gathered at that time.
I think the church should have a fund-raising campaign with the goal of making a significant contribution to an organization that supports local Native Americans in some way (e.g., contributing to a scholarship fund, supporting a tribal clinic, etc.) It’s time we do more than simply acknowledge that our meeting houses have been on land that is unceded. To the best of my knowledge, our fund-raising campaigns have all been self-serving. This is an opportunity to do something different. We may want to learn from other congregations which may have done this already, and if we are that first, we might inspire others to follow our lead.
No doubt, the history of our congregation (like all others) has elements of which we can be very proud and elements of which we can now understand as insensitive or even repulsive. I would encourage the congregation to acknowledge both.
I am interested in how our personal histories intersect with how we understand and approach historical legacies of oppression of our church. I think that small group discussions about these topics are important. I think that connecting with our own experiences of oppression and privilege is going to be an important part of this process and that it shouldn’t simply be an academic, detached exercise of researching and synthesizing information.
When the “Arbella” was a monthly newsletter, I wrote essays from time to time, in my capacity as Church Historian. I would love to make a project of compiling the essays for the website. The Grappling with Our History Work Group should involve full participation with the History Circle history@fpwatertown.org
I’ll send you a recent poem of mine called Massachusetts, for any use desired.
Thank you for this survey. Maybe if smaller in person “study” groups collect information and reports, I’d love to see a few larger zoom presentations or discussions.
This survey doesn’t directly address adding signage and language taking responsibility for our history and clearly stating how we adhere to the 8th principle. I believe this is important for existing congregants and for newcomers. It also doesn’t directly address removing or destroying relics that no longer represent a congregation that fully embraces the 8th principle.
I would like to see some more work of us translating our history into actions for the future. I think as a congregation, we do a good job acknowledging past wrongs, but don’t do the best job translating that knowledge into fighting current injustices. It feels like more talk and not a lot of walk. I don’t feel like our work looking at the past does us much good unless we translate that into action for the present and future. We should have equal or greater verve to fight injustices as our brave predecessors in the abolitionist and civil rights movement.
Grappling with Our History Working Group: Eric Hanson-Plass, Judy Kamm (chair), Sarah McSweeney, Charmian Proskauer, Virginia Rice