There are many worship and service opportunities during the course of the year. Please call the church office for more information: (508) 877-2151.

July and August Sunday Worship Services begin at 10:00 a.m.

 

Children's Choir - for elementary school children and their kindergarten siblings,
Thursdays 6:15-7:15 p.m.

Junior Choir - for Junior Highs
Thursdays at 6:15 p.m.

Royal Family Kids' Camp - the Summer of 1999 a week long camping experience was provided for 30 special children! It was the 4th year the church sponsored and supported the program with trained volunteers, funding, and prayers.

Christmas Angel Tree - each angel on the tree has a requested item attached to it. An angel is taken, the requested gift is supplied, wrapped, and returned with the angel attached. Over 100 gifts of items or money are provided yearly.

Soup and Spirit Suppers - 5 Wednesdays in Lent, when members, friends and families come together to have Soup for sustenance and Spirit study for the Soul.

"Souper" Bowl Sunday party - the United Methodist Youth sponsors the evening when football fans and others bring cans of food for shelters and food pantries, and enjoy "the game" on big screen TV.

Vacation Bible School, run jointly with our sister church Wesley United Methodist, is one of the largest and best VBS experiences in the area. Year after year more than 100 children attend.

Breakfasts and Suppers - approximately once a month a breakfast or supper is put on by various groups in the church. Breakfasts happen on occasional Saturday mornings, and on Palm Sunday. Special suppers include UMYF sponsored International Dinners, St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef and Cabbage, Spaghetti, and a Harvest Dinner when vegetables from the church garden are featured.

Sunflower Juice and Milk Project - through the sale of sunflower seeds and other methods, juice and milk are provided to area children.

United Methodist Youth Fellowship - is a small, active group of Senior Highs involved in various areas of church life. Summer of 2001 included a second Mission Trip to the North Carolina Annual Conference's program "Crossbeams."  The youth and their adult counterparts assisted in the reconstruction of devastated areas caused by floods, Hurricane Floyd and other weather related disasters.

Directions to First United Methodist Church

From Route 9 East or West in Framingham

Alternative from Route 9

From the Massachusetts Turnpike Exit 13

From Route 20 East or West in Sudbury

The Council is the programming arm of the church with the following Committees reporting to it: Nurture; Outreach; Witness; and Education. The Board of Trustees, Finance, and Staff Parish Committees also report to the Council.

The responsibility of the Nurture Committee is to oversee and plan the Christian Education program for all age groups-from preschool to adult. The task of choosing curriculum and recruiting teachers for the program is major and requires much time and dedication by the members. The Committee is instrumental in planning intergenerational activities, including holiday programs and assisting with Vacation Bible School. Fellowship opportunities such as hosting Sunday Fellowship time and arranging Child Care are also obligations of the Committee

The Outreach Committee is a very dedicated group of persons who perform many goodwill tasks. Working in the garden, delivering food, clothing, and basic articles of need to shelters, halfway houses and safe houses are but a few of the things the Committee does. At Christmas time the Angel Tree is an important Outreach project whereby gifts are provided anonymously. The Committee sponsors the Mission Team in a yearly trip to work in United Methodist disaster relief programs. The Committee encourages congregational support of the Salem Economic Ministry in Maine by donating clothing and household goods. Some Committee members have donated time and talent to the local Habitat for Humanity program.

The Witness Committee works in concert with the pastor to keep as many members, visitors, and constituents in touch with all that is going on in the church. Through contact by visitation, phone calls, etc., the Committee searches for ways to augment special observances and often explains the rationale for doing certain things. The Committee also plans and enables the Lenten study program. It encourages persons to participate in the worship life of the church through greeting, ushering, reading and, occasionally bringing the message on a Sunday morning. In addition, the Committee also shares responsibility for the music life of the church.

The Finance Committee handles the church's budget, which includes the everyday housekeeping finances and salaries (which are determined by the Staff Parish Committee). The Committee is also responsible for the annual Stewardship Drive and creates the year's Budget at the close of the Drive.

The Trustees are entrusted with the care and upkeep of the building, its furnishings, the land, and the parsonage.

The Staff Parish Committee is concerned with relationship of the pastor and hired church staff, IE. Secretary, Professional Musician(s), Sexton, etc.

Its founding was recognized by the New England Conference in 1793. The Rev. Jesse Lee wrote that Methodist preaching came to the Needham Circuit, which included Framingham, on September 13, 1791. Before that time there had not ever been a Methodist preacher in the area.

In his book for the 190th anniversary of the church, the late Rev. John Ambler wrote the following: "The little Methodist class meeting in Saxonville, organized in 1793, was so different from our experience in a modern church, that imagination must be used if we are to know what life in those days was like. In the first place there were only seven members. With assorted wives, children, and guests, there may have been more; but probably never more than 15, even in the best of times. Secondly, meetings were held in homes around a fireplace, or in an unheated barn (in good weather); possibly even out of doors. And there was no settled minister. The little group was served by circuit riders; that is, self educated men, usually quite young, called by God to be Methodist preachers, and travelling a circuit on horseback, involving a dozen or more towns and churches. Keep in mind that Jesse Lee, when he was appointed to New England in 1789, had as his assignment, all of New England and Eastern Canada! The circuit rider appeared possibly once a month; in large territories, less often. In the meantime, the little group, led by a layman (not a woman) designated as the Class Leader, had care of the society. Sickness, lack of heat, and winter weather took their toll. It is a tribute to our ancestors that these societies survived. But survive they did; and slowly, very slowly, they grew."

The seven persons who formed the church represented just three families. The population of the north section of town, called Saxonville, was small and church growth was small. So small that for forty years the little Methodist society did not need, nor could they afford, a building. They met in homes and/or barns for worship and class meeting. Bishop Asbury, in his Journal of 1795 referred to the members as a society "full of tenderness, sweetness, and love."

Through the 200 plus years of its existence the church has experienced periods of joy, frustration and sorrow. In the early 1800's it was often the ladies of the society who obtained the monetary support for the itinerant Preachers as they made visits on the circuit. Sometimes it was three weeks to a month between those visits. In the absence of a regular preacher, the Class Leader, always a male member of the society, led the small band in meeting. He or another male would offer prayer, usually long and fervent! Hymn singing was lined out (the words repeated by the song leader and then sung, one line at a time, by the people) or sung from memory. A good singer was valuable to the society as there were no instruments to accompany the singing and choirs did not exist at that time.

The service, when a Preacher was present, included scripture reading, the taking of an offering, and a sermon. Preaching was simple and direct, emphasizing John Wesley's "warm heart," a personal experience with the Holy Spirit. Following the sermon the society would kneel and pray. If a conversion took place as a result of the service, there would be general rejoicing.

If the meeting were a class meeting, gentle and loving examination of the spiritual condition of the class members would take place. The responsibility for honest and sincere examination (without being cruel) belonged to the class leader. Early Methodists took their religion seriously. It is not uncommon to find names removed from the rolls due to back-sliding. As with churches today, persons joined, others left or drifted away. In the early years Preachers changed constantly, but the Methodist society though small, remained active.

In 1832 the Needham Circuit was reduced to two Sunday appointments at Needham and Weston, and two evening appointments at Saxonville and Waltham Plains. At Saxonville the society met in the kitchen of the Eaton family at *Four Corners, or at the home of Benjamin Stone (possibly the McSweeney home at the *intersection at Elm Street and Potter Road).
 
 

The second church building was built at the corner of Chestnut and Elm Streets in 1881. An excited and joyous congregation celebrated the dedication of the new building on January 5, 1881. The cost for the new edifice, including the land, was around $10,000.

The young people of the society provided the "elegant and tasteful pulpit furnishings," while the "superb tapestry carpet that adorns the auditorium" was given by Michael Simpson, owner of the then Saxonville Mills. The mill, later to be known as Roxbury Carpet, still stands in Saxonville Square. The remainder of the "ample, commodious and truly appropriate church furnishings" were provided by the ladies of the society.

A great deal of time, energy and effort went into expanding and perfecting the facilities of the second building over the 80 years it was First's church home. The repair records indicate the careful attention given to the upkeep of the building. The stained glass windows were constantly at the mercy of the school boys next door. It was not until sometime in the early 1900's that a cellar was dug out and fitted for use as the church school and social activities. Electricity was installed in May of 1904, with the installation of electric lights the following January. Upon learning that the bill of $25.00 had not been paid, the Ladies Aid Society reported that it would pay the outstanding bill.

The 1938 hurricane blew the church's steeple over, it was not repaired because there was never enough money to make the proper repairs. When Rev. Paul Otto was appointed as Pastor in June, 1941, he called a meeting of the Official Board. The Treasurer's report read, 'Balance on hand, 5 cents; overdue bills totalled more than $600.'

By 1955 it was evident that more space was needed by the growing church constituency. The 1950 Framingham population was reported at 27,772. Families moved into new neighborhood developments, and by 1981 the population had swelled to 68,000. Church membership and the church school grew at rapidly over those years as well. In a March 1957 Quarterly Conference meeting a suggestion was made about an earlier proposed addition to the church building. No action was taken at that time. Later that year, in June, the decision was made to purchase two parcels of land at the corner of Brook and Water Streets. The land had become available through casual conversation at a fair sewing workshop at the home of the owners of the property. In December of 1957 the purchase arrangements were completed.

Upon completion of the third and present building in 1961 concern was immediately expressed about the lack of space for an adequate youth program and for the church suppers which had been such an important part of life in the prior building. Through a $2,000. bequest in 1963 a Building Expansion Fund was established. Proceeds from the church fair that year were also placed in the Fund. On December 19, 1965, 275 persons first used the Fellowship Hall for a Christmas Sandwich supper.

The church has been expanded by many changes over the years since that first sandwich supper. Construction of usable space in the lower level was due in large part to the Odd Fellows organization who met there regularly for many years. Today it houses two rooms, a large one with a big screen for viewing videos and movies, etc., and a smaller room, used as a class-room on Sunday and as workshop space when preparing for special programs during the year.

A well equipped kitchen makes the use of Fellowship Hall a pleasure and many church functions are held in it. Breakfasts, dinners, receptions, baby showers, the Coffee House Harmonies programs, Boy and Girl Scouts, are but a few of the activities which occur in the Hall. Fellowship Hour in the Hall following the worship service offers occasion to greet and be greeted while enjoying punch or coffee.

Although the church has had a number of parsonages, some owned, some rented, information is available on only the last three. A home at 65 Elm Street was given to the church in 1913 (it is now located at 98 rear Elm Street). It was used as the parsonage until the 1950's when land was purchased across the street from the second church. A ranch style home was built at 30 Elm Street and occupied by parsonage families until 1969. The parsonage today is a home adjacent to the present church building. In 1969 the home was extensively renovated and redecorated in preparation for a new parsonage family with four daughters.