Minister of the First Parish

The Minister of the First Parish is the settled (or interim) minister of the First Church in Billerica, gathered around Rev. Samuel Whiting, who was engaged by the town in 1658 and ordained pastor when the church was formally organized on November 11, 1663. For its first century and a half the church was the town church: the minister was chosen and paid by the town, and his salary was collected by the constables with the other town rates. Only four pastors (Whiting, Ruggles, Chandler and Cumings) served between 1658 and 1823, and Whiting, Ruggles and Cumings each held office until death, the last two with colleagues ordained during their final years.

Under Rev. Nathaniel Whitman, colleague of Dr. Henry Cumings from 1814, the church accepted the "liberal" (Unitarian) position; a small orthodox minority withdrew and the Congregational Church was organized in 1829, while the Baptist church had been gathered in 1828. The town stopped raising the minister's salary in 1834 and the parish took over its support. The fourth meeting-house, built in 1797, was turned to face the Common in 1844 and burned on December 27, 1967; the present building was dedicated on November 22, 1970. The local Universalist Society (1842-1868) later merged with First Parish, which is today a Unitarian Universalist congregation.

Start years are the year of ordination, installation or settlement (for interim ministers, the year the interim began); end years are the year of death, dismissal or resignation. Sources: Farmer, Historical Memoir of Billerica (1816); Hazen, History of Billerica (1883); and the First Parish list of ministers 1658-2025 and ministers' biographies compiled by Teresa English (updated 2025), published on the church's website.