At 210 Harvard Street near Coolidge Corner in Brookline, Massachusetts, United Parish in Brookline is an ecumenical, open and affirming Christian congregation known for bringing three Protestant traditions together and for making worship, music and social justice part of one shared life. More than 300 members and friends draw on the Harvard Street building for worship, education, meals, thrift shopping, performances and meetings. It is both a congregation with a broad liturgical and musical practice and a busy community hub whose welcome extends well beyond Sunday morning.
Three Traditions United in 1970
United Parish grew out of a union completed in 1970 among three local Protestant churches: The Baptist Church in Brookline, the Harvard Church of the United Church of Christ, and St. Mark's Methodist Church. They entered the merger with distinct denominational traditions, worship styles and theological outlooks. What they shared was faith in a God made known through Jesus Christ, a commitment to the Church and a sense of being called into something new. The result was not a single denomination replacing the others, but one congregation that has continued to name and draw on all three.
Today United Parish is formally affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church and the American Baptist Churches. Its members and friends include people raised in church, spiritual but not religious, and those for whom this is a first spiritual community. Their worship draws on the best of Christian tradition while making room for people who are still discerning belief. The church describes itself as a joyful experiment in ecumenical unity and as a living, changing, dynamic community.
A vision adopted by the congregation in 2009 gives United Parish its shared structure. Ministry is described as spirit-driven rather than governed by habit or convention, and five directions shape the life of the church:
- Exalting in Worship, celebrating God through worship, music and art.
- Deepening in Christian Faith and Spirituality, supporting lifelong spiritual journeys.
- Gathering in Community, creating a sense of home and connection.
- Stretching into Justice, following Christ through service and advocacy.
- Stewarding Resources, caring for buildings, grounds, finances and people.
Sunday at Eleven, With Music at Its Heart
From September through June, Sunday worship begins at 11:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary. Musical preludes begin shortly beforehand, and the service generally lasts about an hour, give or take 10 minutes. From late June through Labor Day, worship begins at 10:00 a.m. downstairs in Willett Hall. Both services are livestreamed on YouTube.
The service is participatory. The congregation prays, sings, shares the peace, reads the Bible, hears a sermon and considers how ancient truths intersect with the world. The preaching is described as inspired, the music as moving, the prayers as deep and the connection as joyful. Worship is understood as a time for facing the full range of life, including its joys, sorrows, celebrations and needs, and for leaving worship ready to engage the world differently.
Music is central to that experience. The repertoire ranges from familiar hymns to international songs, classical and popular music, commissioned works, plainchant and Negro Spirituals. The historic Skinner organ, piano, African drums, handbells and other instruments all have a place. Music is not merely decorative; it is a principal way the congregation encounters God, tells its story and joins together as one community.
Communion is usually celebrated on the first Sunday of each month. The table is open, and United Parish welcomes people who are not members, have not been baptized or christened and do not belong to any Christian tradition. Grape juice and gluten-free bread are served so that there are no barriers to participation. An offering also supports the church's own ministries and organizations with which it partners. People arrive in everything from dresses, suits and ties to jeans, sweatshirts and casual clothing; the only guidance is to dress comfortably enough to worship fully.
Children Belong in the Room
Children and young people are integral to United Parish rather than separate from its main life. They are encouraged to participate in worship, education, music, service and fellowship, and the free nursery opens at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays from September through June for infants and preschool-age children. Church School for preschool children through eighth grade meets before the 11:00 worship service and uses age-appropriate lessons in Bible stories, Christian tradition and the larger questions of faith.
Young children are welcome to be noisy and wiggly. The congregation sees their sounds in worship as a reminder of Jesus' call to let the children come to him. Activity bags at the Sanctuary entrances help busy hands, and the Prayground at the front of the Sanctuary contains a child-sized table and chairs plus a sensory library with weighted blankets, coloring pages, prayer beads and marble mazes. Nursery staff attend this space during worship.
A larger toddler space beside the chancel has rocking chairs, books and toys. Across the hall, the Lindsay Room offers a quiet place for nursing or fussing babies, with a crib, changing table and livestream of the service. Parents of children from birth through preschool can also take part in a group devoted to social connection, mutual support, intentional parenting, faith practices and relationships with parents of older children.
An Entrance That Welcomes Different Bodies and Minds
The main level is fully wheelchair accessible through the entrance off the Marion Street driveway. There are wheelchair spaces in the Sanctuary and Chapel, an accessible restroom and a chairlift serving the Parlor and Choir Room. Accessible parking and a drop-off zone are available on Marion Street. The drop-off area is intended for families with very young children, seniors, people with disabilities, weddings and funerals.
Hearing-assistance devices and large-print orders of worship are available for services, with ushers prepared to assist. The congregation also welcomes neurodiversity in many forms. Rocking chairs are available at the back of the Sanctuary, and people may bring headphones, fidgets and other tools to support sensory needs. Service animals are welcome throughout the building, and seat cushions are available for the wooden pews.
Church School is on the second floor, which is not wheelchair accessible, but any age class can meet in an accessible area when needed. During summer, the ramp to Willett Hall is to the left of the 15 Marion Street entrance. These practical provisions reflect the church's conviction that an extravagant welcome should include the building as well as the congregation.
Harvard Street, Coolidge Corner and Sunday Parking
United Parish stands at 210 Harvard Street, one block from Coolidge Corner and one block south of Beacon Street. The Green Line C train stops at Coolidge Corner, followed by a two-block walk south on Harvard Street toward Brookline Village. Bus 66 has nearby stops at Beacon Street, Marion Street and Harris Street. A Blue Bikes dock is directly across from the church, with a bicycle rack in the Harvard Street parking lot.
Street parking is free in Brookline on Sundays. Residential streets have a two-hour limit from Monday through Saturday. There is no short-term public parking lot at the church, and the spaces in the adjacent Harvard Street lot are reserved for permit parking. Accessible parking is available in the Marion Street driveway beside the accessible ramp.
All entrances are open on Sunday mornings. Ushers greet visitors at the 210 Harvard Street parking-lot entrance and answer questions. During the week, visitors enter at 15 Marion Street through the double wooden doors; the church office is upstairs, with the second door on the left. Office hours are Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with Mondays and major holidays closed.
Learning Across the Generations
Education at United Parish is intended to sustain faith rather than end in knowledge. Its forms include Bible study, visits to different houses of worship, meditation, book clubs, Sunday classes, confirmation and small discussion groups. On Sundays, adult drop-in Bible study meets at 10:00 a.m. in the Parlor and through Zoom, exploring the text for the day.
Children and youth are invited to explore stories, questions and service in age-appropriate ways. The youth group for grades 6 through 12 meets Sundays at 7:00 p.m. in Room 204 for pizza, friendship, games and service projects. Acolytes may begin serving in fifth grade, and older children participate as readers, liturgical leaders and members of youth choirs.
United Parish also marks important transitions with worship. Baptism is available to people of all ages, infant dedication is offered, and an annual confirmation service celebrates teenagers' faith journeys. A seasonal new-member process combines classes, participation in church life and conversations with the pastors. Rite-13 marks the beginning of eighth graders' journey into adulthood, while memorial and funeral services give thanks for a life, pray for reunion with God and comfort those who mourn.
More Than Seventy-Five Voices and Hands
More than 75 children, youth and adults take part in United Parish's choirs and musical groups. The program includes the Cherub Choir for preschool children through kindergarten, a Children's Choir for first through sixth graders, a Youth Choir for sixth or seventh through twelfth grade, the community Chancel Choir and a handbell choir open to seventh graders and adults. All choirs are non-audition. New singers, whether experienced or novice, are welcome throughout the year, and the church provides training for its volunteer musicians.
The Children's Choir rehearses on Sunday mornings, and the Chancel Choir rehearses Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:45 p.m. Four professional section leaders support the adult singers. Music ranges from gospel to classical, and the children's and youth's voices often lead the congregation into worship. The handbell ensemble includes both experienced ringers and beginners and contributes to preludes, congregational hymns and collaborations with other choirs.
At the center of this musical life is the romantic E. M. Skinner organ, a Depression-era instrument once played by concert organist E. Power Biggs. Its pipes, harp and echo organ in the Chapel give United Parish a distinctive voice, while piano, African drums and handbells allow the music to change with the worship moment. The congregation sings from the New Century Hymnal, which pairs enduring hymns with inclusive contemporary writing, and also draws on African American Heritage hymnals, Taizé music, Anglican chant and other sources.
Music reaches beyond worship through Jazz Sanctuary, a community-driven cultural initiative that turns the Gothic sanctuary into a venue for live jazz, art and connection. Its recurring October-through-May concert series features regional musicians and international performers under a pay-what-you-can model, helping make concerts accessible while supporting the artists and the church's community mission.
Singing the Spirituals, Sharing the Royalties
United Parish began collecting royalties for Negro Spirituals in 2021. Whenever the congregation sings them, an offering supports the development of young Black musicians in Boston through Hamilton-Garrett Music and Arts in Dorchester. The project recognizes that many of these songs were created by enslaved Black people whose names were often lost or never recorded before the music was published and widely arranged.
The work treats the performance of Spirituals as more than a musical choice. United Parish describes the songs as witnesses to slavery and racism, expressions of mercy and faithful justice, and works that continue to teach grace, protest cruelty and sustain a people. The term Negro Spiritual is used respectfully because it is the term preferred by the royalty recipients.
By making payment part of singing, the church seeks to move recognition into practice. Its Missions Giving Committee matches gifts to the project, while additional support can go directly to Hamilton-Garrett. The result is a racial justice initiative rooted in the church's own repertoire and in the conviction that musicians who created enduring works of American sacred music deserve to share in their value.
A Building That Works for Brookline
The Harvard Street property functions as a community hub as well as a worship home. More than 35 community organizations use its rooms for activities, meetings and gatherings. The building hosts book signings, author events, concerts, performances, rehearsals, classes and nonprofit work. Partners in the surrounding community contribute energy and purpose to the building, while visitors encounter art, music and opportunities to take part in something larger than a Sunday service.
United Parish also makes several spaces available for life-cycle events and community use. The Sanctuary, Chapel and Parlor are recommended for wedding ceremonies, while Willett Hall, the Chapel and Parlor can accommodate receptions. Memorial services and funerals are also part of the church's worship life. The building's combination of historic worship space, practical meeting rooms and accessible main floor allows it to serve congregation and neighborhood in the same week.
Food at the Center of Outreach
The Brookline Food Pantry has used the church as its main location since 2021. The pantry operates three locations in Brookline and serves more than 700 households each week with fresh produce, meat, dairy and household staples. It also provides weekend food bags to more than 500 students and delivers to clients who cannot reach a distribution site.
Food pickup at United Parish is available Wednesdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. and Thursdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Donations can be placed in baskets in the Marion Street lobby, at the back of the Sanctuary or at the 210 Harvard Street entrance. The pantry especially welcomes nutritious foods with lower sugar, sodium and preservatives, along with items for special diets, diapers, personal care products and household necessities. Monetary gifts allow the pantry to purchase staple food in bulk at a lower cost.
Thrifty Threads: Goods, Service and Stewardship
Thrifty Threads, a volunteer-run thrift shop inside the church, has served Brookline and Greater Boston since 1993. It offers clothing, housewares, jewelry, shoes and purses at low prices, including a vintage boutique section. Store proceeds support United Parish's outreach and justice work, and more than half of donated goods are passed to nonprofit organizations serving people in need.
Those goods include backpacks, sweatshirts, jackets, coats and durable shoes for people experiencing homelessness, business clothing for people entering the workforce, and children's clothing and toys for family-nurturing centers. Book donations are redirected to the Prison Book Project or the Little Free Library on the church lawn. The shop is open Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 3:00 p.m. Donations are accepted Tuesday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 3:00 p.m. The church asks for clean, usable clothing, footwear, new socks and undergarments, and small quantities of clean, working kitchenware and housewares.
United Parish's wider justice work includes a free community Thanksgiving meal, a tradition of more than 40 years participating in Project Bread's Walk for Hunger, active involvement with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, mission giving to community organizations, and a Mental Health Awareness Team. Collective learning has also addressed mass incarceration, gun violence and environmental responsibility.
Open and Affirming, Grounded in Welcome
United Parish believes that all people are made in the image of God, without exception, and embraces every person and every form of family. God's love and grace are extended equally to all. The church welcomes people into worship, fellowship and leadership across differences in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental ability, age, marital status, economic means and faith background. It is Open and Affirming in the United Church of Christ, Welcoming and Affirming in the American Baptist Church USA, and part of the Reconciling Ministries Network of the United Methodist Churches.
The church calls itself progressive and says it draws direction and meaning from the Bible while treating faith, reason and experience as gifts that help people interpret sacred texts. It draws from many Christian traditions, respects the dignity of all religious traditions and follows Jesus in loving God, neighbors and self. Believing is understood as a lifelong process of discernment rather than a test that some people pass and others fail.
A Safe Church policy combines practices from all three denominations to create an atmosphere free from discrimination, harassment, exploitation and intimidation. Particular attention is given to the safety of children, youth and volunteers, with a response team available when concerns arise. United Parish also participates in Brookline's Safe Place Initiative, which promotes public education about hate crimes and assures victims entering the church that they will be heard and treated with care, dignity and respect.
Shared Governance and Shared Ministry
Ministry teams are the primary means of carrying out United Parish's work. Teams gather around the five directions in its vision, and there is no required number, allowing members to form new teams as needs and interests emerge. The congregation formally meets as a whole twice each year. The spring meeting establishes ministry priorities, adopts the annual budget and elects church officers; the fall meeting directs attention toward participation in the church's many ministries.
The Church Council has eight to 10 members, including three officers who serve three-year terms. Budgets and major decisions are open to review, questioning and votes by the congregation, and an elected endowment committee oversees the church's invested funds. Senior Pastor Kent French, who joined United Parish in 2013, and Associate Pastor Amy Norton-Benfield share theological and pastoral leadership, while Minister of Music Susan DeSelms directs the extensive music program.
United Parish's annual stewardship campaign takes place in spring and invites commitments of time, talent and money for the July-to-June fiscal year. Gifts can be made through Realm, PayPal, Venmo, text giving, checks, securities and other arrangements, and the church also offers educational resources for legacy giving. Give online through the church's giving system.
Caregiving is carried by the pastors, staff, lay leaders and Hearts and Hands Ministry, whose work emphasizes support through prayer, conversation and presence during celebration, illness, grief and loss. Members also participate directly in worship through choir, ushering, liturgy, communion preparation and acolyte service. Taken together, United Parish is a community organized around extravagant welcome: three traditions in one church, music made across generations, learning for every age, hospitality in worship and the building, and service directed toward the needs of Brookline and beyond. At 210 Harvard Street, its work remains rooted in worship while extending into the life of the town.