First Church Somerville UCC is a holy brew of several Congregational UCC churches that once served Somerville and Cambridge. The original First Congregational Church of Somerville was founded in 1854 on Franklin St. in East Somerville. Like many urban mainline Protestant churches, its fortunes rose and fell with the shifting demographics of the 20th century, and in 1963, First Church merged with the West Somerville Congregational Church. West Somerville Congregational was originally founded in 1874 and housed in the Somerville Theatre, but moved to our present location at the corner of College and Francesca Ave in 1912. When First Church merged with West in the 60s, they brought their name, their minister and the rose window which still graces our sanctuary. Along the way, the new First Church absorbed members from other Congregational churches that faced closure through the 60s, 70s and 80s.

While West Somerville Congregational boasted over 1000 members in the 30s, white flight and major culture shifts decimated the membership over the next several decades. By the early 2000s, the merged First Church had only about 50 members left, many of them elderly.

The church leadership, never afraid to take a risk, has called several women in a row as pastor, most recently the current senior minister Molly Baskette, in 2003, and our new minister of outreach, Laura Ruth Jarrett, in 2008. With clear vision, trust in God’s goodness and a heart for radical welcome, over the last several years we have been rebuilding the congregation in spirit and numbers. We have added 98 beautiful members in the last 6 years, and are still growing!