At 57 Peters Street in North Andover, First United Methodist Church is known for its Reconciling identity and for joining worship to service. Love is expressed through welcome, hope is made embodied in education and outreach, and justice reaches into local and global communities. The congregation has served North Andover and surrounding communities since 1845. Its Sunday gathering brings together prayer, Scripture, preaching, monthly communion, music in many styles, and people who may be certain, searching, doubting, or new to Christian worship.
Since 1845: Love, Hope, and Justice in North Andover
Since 1845, First UMC has remained in ministry with the people of North Andover and neighboring communities. Its history is tied to three commitments that continue to define the congregation: authentic love, embodied hope, and doing justice. These commitments connect the life of the sanctuary with the lives of families, neighbors, people experiencing hardship, and communities beyond North Andover. The church describes its mission as inviting all people to join and to serve actively in local and global communities.
In 2009, the congregation voted to become a Reconciling Congregation within The United Methodist Church. This commitment means that First UMC is explicitly LGBTQ-welcoming and affirming. The Reconciling designation is part of the church's public identity, joined to its support for people who have been hurt by Christian communities and its conviction that love should be learned through humility, patience, prayer, and repair.
The congregation does not present itself as a group that has already mastered faith. Its description of community includes sinners, saints, believers, and questioners. People are welcomed without requiring them to arrive with perfect theology, certainty, or consistency. worship, mission, and outreach are still understood as forces that unite people in the saving love and abundant grace of Jesus Christ.
A United Methodist Faith with Room for Questions
First UMC describes itself as a worshiping community of The United Methodist Church. A central conviction is that when two or more people gather, Christ is in their midst. Some congregants have been Christians for life, while others are only beginning. Some have experienced the church as a place of healing, and many have also been wounded by it. First UMC does not promise that hurt will never happen again. It does commit to learning how to grow in love and to praying that God will work through honest, imperfect people.
Doubt is treated as part of life in the community rather than as a barrier to belonging. The congregation includes skeptics, questioners, and people who are trying Christianity for the first time. It acknowledges the tension of believing that God's presence is worth desiring while sometimes finding that presence difficult to perceive, especially in the midst of personal, national, or global tragedy. Such tension does not disqualify anyone from the life of faith.
The congregation gathers for community, healing, learning, growth, and service. Its faith is not confined to personal need. Peace, justice, equity, fairness, compassion, and generosity are active expressions of a hope for the transformation of the world. The church speaks of pursuing the continued unveiling of the Kingdom, or Reign, of God on earth and understands Christian formation as the work of reshaping identity, habits, and practices.
Prayer is included and direct. The church prays to God as Father, Mother, or Parent and asks for God's kingdom to come, God's will to be done, daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil. This prayer is joined by a confident statement of Christian anthropology: people are loved before they become impressive, productive, or settled. Growth is expected, but it grows from grace rather than functioning as a way to earn love.
Sunday at 10:00: Entering the Sanctuary
Sunday worship begins at 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary at 57 Peters Street. Visitors enter through the center doors and may sit wherever they wish. The congregation also provides a YouTube livestream so people unable to enter the building can participate in the same worship. Children and families are welcome in the church, and the congregation asks people attending in person to avoid strong scents or perfumes because some attendees have serious allergies.
There is no particular dress code. Most people wear casual or business casual clothing, and the welcome extends to someone who has never entered a church building as well as a longtime Christian who is exploring a new congregation. A greeter meets people at the door, and guests are invited to settle into the room without pressure to know the sequence of the service or how to take part in each part.
The Sunday gathering has a clear shape. It includes prayer, singing, Scripture, a sermon that usually lasts about 12 to 15 minutes, and a final blessing that sends people back into the world. The service emphasizes shared worship rather than performance. Singing draws from older and newer musical traditions, and the congregation's varied repertoire allows worship to move between global song, traditional hymnody, and contemporary music.
On the first Sunday of every month, the congregation celebrates the Lord's Supper, also identified as the Eucharist. The table is open to everyone, regardless of denominational tradition or whether someone considers themselves an insider or outsider. Communion is received by intinction, in which a piece of bread is dipped into a chalice of grape juice. Gluten-free alternatives are available.
After worship, coffee, tea, and snacks are available. This time is intentionally unhurried, giving people room to meet regular attenders, begin conversations, and learn more about the church without needing to decide during the service whether they belong. It is one of the clearest expressions of First UMC's hospitality: worship continues beyond the sermon through conversation, refreshment, and the simple experience of being present among other people.
English is the principal language of Sunday worship, and bilingual English and Korean Easter and Christmas Eve worship has also been offered. The bilingual celebrations reflect the church's connection to Korean ministry and to Pastor Shinjae Lee's cultural and pastoral background. In those services, important Scripture readings, prayers, and messages have been shared in both languages so that worship can include people across language barriers.
Children at the Center of the Service
Child care is available for families attending worship. During the service, children also take part in a special Children's Time connected with the theme of the day. The congregation does not treat children as an interruption to adult worship. They are included in the church's life as learners and participants in the community.
After Children's Time, children are invited to a craft table in the narthex, just outside the sanctuary. The activity is led by adults with child safety credentials, and it is designed to connect with the sermon's theme. All children and families are welcome, whether they arrive expecting the activity or discover it as part of their first visit.
Christian education at First UMC is intended to introduce people to the transforming love of God shown through the life and teachings of Jesus. It creates room for tradition, experience, Scripture, and reason to be shared honestly within a setting of trust and mutual respect. People are encouraged to examine their beliefs, ask difficult questions, grow in faith, and consider how faith should shape daily choices. The children's craft is one simple expression of that larger purpose.
Music Without a Single Genre
Music at First UMC spans traditional hymnody, global song, and contemporary worship music. The FUMC Choir rehearses on Sunday mornings in the sanctuary before worship, and singers may participate regularly or occasionally. Musicians are also invited to bring vocal or instrumental gifts into the church's worship. The musical mix makes room for inherited hymns, songs from different cultures, and newer expressions of Christian faith.
Participation is not limited to highly experienced performers. The church's simple invitation is to sing or play an instrument and share those gifts with the congregation. That approach supports its blended worship style and its wider conviction that people can participate in worship without having to leave uncertainty, identity, or questions at the door.
Prayer, Conversation, and Quilts Beyond Sunday
First UMC believes spiritual growth happens through Sunday worship and continues in small groups. The congregation offers a variety of ways to learn, pray, talk, and share life with other people. These gatherings are open to people who want deeper conversation and to those who are simply seeking a place to belong.
A weekly prayer meeting is held in the sanctuary from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on the fourth Friday. Prayer extends beyond the Sunday service into a regular time of gathering, listening, and seeking God's presence. The meeting is open to everyone, whether they come with a particular concern, with gratitude, or with words they do not yet know how to find.
p>Informal connection also happens through Coffee and Conversation, held from 10:00 a.m. to noon on the first Wednesday and third Tuesday of each month at Panera Bread Company across from the church. The setting is deliberately ordinary, creating room for conversation that may begin with coffee and continue into questions of faith, community, or everyday life. The quilting ministry adds another way to participate, making quilts for Fina House, Lazarus House, and other supported organizations.Mission at the Table, Pantries, and Homes
Mission and outreach at First UMC are grounded in the healing of the world. The church describes itself as being sent each week to care for marginalized and oppressed people through service, material goods, and speaking truth to power in love. Practical work is central to this witness, so the congregation directs time, meals, blankets, scarves, clothing materials, diapers, and financial support toward concrete needs.
One long-standing partnership is with Bread & Roses in Lawrence, a neighboring soup kitchen. A First UMC team provides a full meal every fifth Saturday. This ministry places volunteers directly within the local hunger served by the organization. It also expresses the church's conviction that justice is not only a concern for distant crises but is present in the practical work of ensuring that people in the region can eat.
Fina House provides housing for women who are survivors of domestic or sexual violence. First UMC responds by making handmade blankets and scarves for families in residence. The congregation's quilting ministry also contributes quilts to Lazarus House. These tangible goods carry the church's support into places where people are rebuilding stability after violence, displacement, or crisis.
Through Communities Together, a collaboration of churches in the Lawrence metropolitan area, parishioners supply materials for an underwear and diaper drive. This work addresses a basic need while strengthening cooperation among congregations that want to serve beyond their own boundaries. Material assistance is treated as a way of caring for whole families rather than as a disconnected charitable task.
Food access connects the church to two local networks. Neighbors in Need links local food pantries, while The People's Pantry of North Andover is a partnership with North Parish, a Unitarian Universalist congregation and food ministry. These relationships place First UMC within a broader response to hunger in North Andover and nearby communities.
Additional organizations connected to the church's wider mission include Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, and the United Methodist Economic Ministry of Maine. First UMC has also assembled hygiene-kit supplies for UMCOR. These connections extend the congregation's concern for people and communities well beyond its own town.
The Christmas Pop-Up Shop follows the same practical approach. The initiative sells new toy items at a heavily subsidized rate to help North Andover families provide Christmas gifts for their children without adding avoidable financial strain. The store treats the holiday season as a time to share rather than allowing economic pressure to deepen for families already carrying significant costs.
Giving supports one-time gifts, recurring gifts, and special collections through secure online giving. The practical outreach of the church therefore rests on both volunteer labor and financial participation, allowing local service, relief supplies, food partnerships, and seasonal assistance to continue as shared congregational work.
Access, Parking, and Shared Space
The church stands at 57 Peters Street in North Andover, with its parking lot directly across the street from Panera Bread Company. The lot and building are wheelchair accessible, and the church offers a Sound Mate personal listening system for people who are hearing-impaired. These features are part of First UMC's practical welcome, making the sanctuary and shared life of the congregation more accessible to a wider range of people.
Office visits and deliveries enter through the rear office entrance near the playground, where visitors ring the First UMC bell. Some parking spaces are assigned by semester on a first-come, first-served basis. The church also has several classrooms that may be available for regular or occasional rentals, allowing community groups to make use of its building space beyond worship and church programs.
Pastor Shinjae Lee and Music Director Lenny Cavallaro
Pastor Shinjae Lee leads First UMC with a background spanning Sunday school, youth, administration, inter-cultural ministry, and pastoral care. Originally from Seoul, he served for many years in Korea in several church roles, walking with children, youth, families, and congregations. His work included time in India assisting missionaries and serving Dalit communities. That experience continues to shape his understanding of ministry and his commitment to standing with people who are often overlooked or oppressed.
Alongside his pastoral work at First UMC, Pastor Shinjae serves as pastor of North Boston Korean Methodist Church in Andover and as a chaplain in the Theology Department at Boston College, where he accompanies students in spiritual and academic journeys. These roles connect the congregation's North Andover ministry with Korean American ministry and theological education.
p>Music Director Lenny Cavallaro brings a substantial background in performance and education. He was a top prizewinner in the J. S. Bach International Competition for Pianists, performed Bach's Six Partitas to critical acclaim in Carnegie Recital Hall, and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from West Virginia University. He has served as Music Director at Arlington Street UMC in Nashua. His role at First UMC connects disciplined musical training with a congregation that welcomes participation at every level.A Table Open to Everyone
p>At First UMC, reconciliation is more than a designation. It shapes a community that proclaims generous welcome, welcomes questions, makes room at the communion table, and carries love into homes and organizations around North Andover. The same faith that gathers people for prayer and singing sends them toward hunger, violence, isolation, poverty, and other conditions that demand a concrete response.Since 1845, the church has centered its life in three words: love, hope, and justice. At 57 Peters Street, those words are expressed through shared tables, open questions, blended music, children's participation, monthly communion, prayer for others, and service to neighbors. The result is a congregation that measures Christian faith not only by what people believe, but by how they learn to live together and how faithfully they continue to serve.