On a quiet stretch of Columbian Street in South Weymouth, a white meetinghouse with a tall steeple has anchored this community for three hundred years. Old South Union Church traces its roots to 1723, when families in the southern part of Weymouth grew weary of the long trip to worship in North Weymouth. Permission was granted for a new meetinghouse to be built right in the center of present-day Columbian Street, midway between the Fogg Library and the Fogg Building. A stone marker on the small triangular strip of land that divides the street still marks that original site. The current church carries forward that same calling: to be a place where neighbors gather to pray, learn, and serve, in a building that has been rebuilt, restored, and loved back to life more than once.
Worship on Sunday Mornings
Worship is the heartbeat of Old South Union. The Sunday service begins at 10:00 AM in the sanctuary and typically runs about an hour, though services with communion or baptism tend to run a bit longer. Ushers greet everyone at the door with a bulletin that includes the order of worship, hymn numbers, and a list of upcoming events. The service itself follows a traditional shape: a time for singing, prayer, Scripture reading, and preaching. Communion is shared on the first Sunday of every month, and the table is open to all. Baptisms are scheduled throughout the year, often on the third Sunday of the month, and are woven into the regular worship service because baptism marks entrance into the Christian community. Adults are baptized as they join the church, and infants, children, and adults are all welcomed into the sacrament.
Pastors normally follow the lectionary, a list of suggested Bible readings used by many churches, although they sometimes choose a different text. Recent sermon series have included "Believing is Seeing" and "Let Love Rise." An audio archive of recent sermons stretches back several years and is available through the church's sermons page. For those who cannot attend in person, the service is livestreamed on the church's Facebook page at the same 10:00 AM hour, and a virtual offering of prayer, hymns, Scripture, and sermon is also shared there.
Music and Choir
Old South Union is known for a traditional, hymn-rich musical style. The congregation loves to sing, accompanied by an organ (with the occasional addition of piano) and supported by a full choir that sings from September to early June. Anthems sung by the choir and sung responses from the whole congregation are woven through the service. The church's magnificent Austin pipe organ, housed in the sanctuary, has been a feature of worship for decades. The Music Director, Dale Munschy, holds the right of first refusal for all services that take place at Old South, and outside musicians are invited to participate only at the discretion of the pastoral staff. The annual Music Appreciation Sunday each June is a highlight of the church calendar.
Children, Youth, and the Next Generation
The church's ministry to children and youth is one of the most distinctive features of Old South Union. Children are welcome to stay in the sanctuary for the full hour of worship, but a range of options supports families with younger ones.
Infants and toddlers through age three are welcome in the nursery, which is staffed by at least two loving, background-checked adult volunteers every Sunday. Parents may stay with their child and still hear the service through an audio feed in the room. Children in pre-K through 8th grade begin in worship with their families and then transition to Sunday School, where they learn Bible stories through storytelling, crafts, cooking, and games. Sunday School runs from the third Sunday in September through the first Sunday in June. Gina Walton, a lifelong member of the church and an elementary educator in Weymouth, directs the program.
Confirmation is offered for students in grades 9 through 12, with most participants in 9th grade. The class meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:15 PM, running weekly from early January through the end of April. Co-led by both pastors with a team of adult mentors, the program is discussion-based and gives confirmands a safe place to ask questions about their faith.
Old South Union's Youth Group is one of the largest in the area, welcoming around 750 middle- and high-schoolers each year. The program is open to the community, and the majority of participants are not members of the church. Two groups meet on Sundays from September through June: Junior High (grades 6 to 8) gathers from 5:00 to 6:30 PM, and Senior High (grades 9 to 12) meets from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Activities include small group discussions, group-building games, singing, dancing, service projects, ski trips, and lock-ins. The highlight of the year is camp week in August, when the youth group travels to Camp Robindel in Moultonborough, New Hampshire, for a week of outdoor activities, evening chapel, and cabin life. The Director of the Youth Group is the Rev. Brian Craig, the church's Associate Pastor.
Adults: Bible Study and Small Groups
Faith formation at Old South Union is not just for children. A Thursday Morning Bible Study meets in the parlor at 10:00 AM from September through June, focusing on a different topic each year using book and video resources. Anyone is welcome to join at any point.
For fellowship and friendship, the church hosts about a dozen small groups, even with a congregation of nearly 500 members. These include a nature walks club that meets monthly after worship, a board games group, a yoga small group that gathers on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 PM in the church basement (free and open to all, with a trained instructor), a Walking Prayer Group that meets every Wednesday at 7:00 AM at the South Field Dog Park at Union Point, a karaoke group, a young adults 20s and 30s group, a dining out group, a guitar group, and a stitching group for needlepoint, embroidery, knitting, and crocheting that gathers on Wednesdays at 2:00 PM in the parlor. An LGBTQ small group also meets monthly, offering support for individuals navigating questions of faith and identity.
An Open and Affirming Identity
At the start of every worship service, the congregation says together: "Whoever you are, whomever you love, and wherever you are on life's journey, you are welcome here." Those words are not a courtesy; they are a covenant. On February 12, 2023, the congregation voted unanimously to become an Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ. The covenant affirms individuals and families in all their forms, inclusive of race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, physical and mental capabilities, and religious heritage, and recognizes that none of these should serve as a barrier to leadership or participation. The church's 2019 Vision Statement rests on four pillars: open and welcoming, shaped by the teachings of Jesus, united in God's love, and committed to service. In 2005, the congregation voted to allow same-sex couples to have their weddings held in the sanctuary, and in 2013, the church welcomed its first female Senior Pastor, the Rev. Jennie Barrett Siegal.
The Building and Its Spaces
The church's spaces are designed to serve both worship and community life. The sanctuary is a bright, beautiful room with pew seating for 300 (and capacity for up to 400) and acoustics well suited to musical performances. It also houses the Austin pipe organ. For smaller gatherings, the chapel seats up to 85 people comfortably and has a good electronic organ. The vestry, with hardwood flooring, hosts meetings, receptions, and small parties for groups of 50 to 75. Friendship Hall, in the church basement, is a medium-sized meeting space for groups of up to 100. Fellowship Hall, the largest meeting space, can hold 250 people and is paired with a large, modern kitchen available for use.
The building is handicap accessible through the Torrey Street entrance, marked by big green doors. From there, an elevator carries visitors up to the sanctuary level. The church also provides assistive hearing devices, which ushers can hand out before the service. For those who need a quieter environment during worship, a Soothing Space Room offers a low-sensory setting with the service audio piped in. Children are also always welcome in the service.
Old South Union's spaces are available to rent to non-profit organizations and for community and cultural events, and the church hosts baptisms, weddings, and funerals for both members and non-members. Weddings of any orientation or gender identity are welcomed, and the pastors are available to officiate at locations outside the church as well.
Pop-Up Pantry and Food Pantry Garden
Service is at the heart of who Old South Union says it is, and the most visible expression of that mission is the Pop-Up Pantry, also known as the PUP. Since March 2016, the church has partnered with the Weymouth Food Pantry to host a weekly food distribution on Saturday mornings from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. Each week, the PUP serves 70 to 85 Weymouth families in need, and the South Shore Pet Food Pantry also distributes pet food during the same hours. Volunteers gather from 9:00 AM to noon to set up, distribute groceries, and clean up, and the aim is not just to fill shopping carts but also to create a warm, welcoming environment.
Across the lawn between the sanctuary and the Fogg Library, twenty-four raised garden beds make up the Food Pantry Garden of Weymouth, a partnership with the Weymouth Food Pantry and South Shore Bank. The harvest goes directly to neighbors served by the food pantry, and volunteers are needed throughout the growing season to plant, water, weed, and harvest.
Mission Trips and Giving Back
Each summer, Old South Union sends a mission team to Coatesville, Pennsylvania, to work with Good Works, Inc., helping to rebuild homes and restore hope. The trip is open to adults and young people age 13 and up; those under 18 must travel with a parent or guardian. No construction experience is required, and the program welcomes people of all abilities.
Back home, the church gives back through its Board of Missions, which distributes roughly $70,000 each year from the annual budget to non-profit organizations doing work locally, nationally, and globally. The Board also organizes special collections throughout the year, gathering items like personal care products for residents of nearby adult care facilities, toiletries for women's shelters, and Christmas gifts for the Weymouth Department of Youth and Family Services.
OSU Preschool
Sharing the church's campus is OSU Preschool, a long-running early childhood program for the broader Weymouth community. The Preschool operates as a separate ministry under the church's roof and is led by Director Dawn Bridge, giving parents a faith-rooted option for early learning.
History on Columbian Street
Old South Union's three centuries of history are woven into the life of South Weymouth. The first meetinghouse was built in 1723, only 103 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. In 1785, the church voted to spend $70 to procure a bell for the steeple; it was brought from London by Captain Reuben Loud of South Weymouth and is said to have had $100 worth of pure silver cast into it. The bell tolled until 1865, when it cracked after being rung for the death of Abraham Lincoln.
Ministerial longevity marked the early years: the Rev. James Bayley served 43 years, and his successor, the Rev. Simeon Williams, served 51. In more recent decades, the Rev. Terry Martinson served Old South Union for 41 years, first as Associate Pastor and then as Senior Pastor. Under his leadership, the church's Youth Group grew into the community-wide program it is today, drawing young people from well beyond the church's membership. On May 8, 1989, the meetinghouse (the part of the building now called the sanctuary) was destroyed by fire. The first worship service in the newly rebuilt meetinghouse was held on March 3, 1991, and a Dedication Service followed on May 5, 1991, just two years after the fire. A $1.6 million restoration project completed in the spring of 2018 brought the exterior of the building back to pristine condition after years of deterioration.
Pastors and Staff
The Rev. Jennie Barrett Siegal has served as Senior Pastor of Old South Union Church since July 1, 2013, after six years as the church's Associate Pastor. A graduate of Vassar College and Harvard Divinity School, she completed her first two years of ordained ministry as a Pastoral Resident at Wellesley Congregational Church. She has a particular passion for helping people discover their God-given gifts and for crafting worship services, Bible studies, and mission opportunities that connect the Bible to everyday life.
The Rev. Brian Craig became the church's Associate Pastor in October 2021, after serving as a Resident Chaplain at Tampa General Hospital. A native of Lisbon Falls, Maine, he holds a Bachelor's Degree in Youth Ministry and Biblical Studies from Gordon College and a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. In addition to his pastoral work, he serves as Director of the OSU Youth Group.
Gina Walton joined the staff as Sunday School Director in August 2023, bringing 19 years of educational background and a lifelong connection to the church. Dale Munschy serves as Music Director, and Dawn Bridge directs OSU Preschool. Janet Finneran serves as Church Administrator.
Joining In
Old South Union Church gathers for worship each Sunday at 10:00 AM at 25 Columbian Street in South Weymouth. The building is handicap accessible through the Torrey Street entrance with its big green doors, and assistive hearing devices are available from the ushers. Visitors are welcome to come as they are, in whatever makes them feel most comfortable, and to stay for food and fellowship in the vestry after the service. The church can be reached at 781-335-2545 or osuchurch@osuchurch.org.