“We have grown to be open and flexible and have endeavored to be relevant to what’s going on at any given moment,” says Dan Smith, the current minister.
According to Smith, the church has been on the forefront of changing times, being open to gay couples since the early 1990s. Ten years later, the church inducted its first openly gay female minister, Mary Luti.
A COMMUNITY WITHIN
Though the church’s relationship with the University has been strained at some points, First Church has formed other life-long companions throughout the years.
Perry Neubauer and his wife, Susan have attended the church since the early 1960s.
“It’s my family, we don’t live geographically close to our family. They are not just a community, but family. My most meaningful experiences happened with this community,” says Susan, who is short in stature and always bears a slight smile.
“The spirit of the place is contagious,” adds Perry, who wears a green beret highlighting the whiteness of his hair.
Both life-long churchgoers, the Neubauers first decided to join First Church because of its convenient location and the quality of its choir.
As an architecture student at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Perry helped remodel the interior of the church during renovations in the 1970s. He says he redesigned the sanctuary, bringing in a newer organ and communion table, and created a more open environment for congregational worship.
Over the years, the Neubauers have held leadership roles in almost every aspect of the church—chairing the grounds committee, serving as deacons, and participating in fellowship and the choir, where Susan is a soprano.
“It’s a full time job being a member of this church,” Perry says with a laugh.
“In churches, synagogues, or mosques you get to do the most important things of your life there,” Susan says. “You baptize your kids, memorialize people, and strengthen ties with the community.”
“Having this amazingly rich and long tradition has created a foundation for a community that can add a sense of stability,” Smith says. He explained that the church continues to uphold its traditions by reciting the original covenant every Sunday morning.
The church has also provided solace for its parishioners during times of upheaval.
Perry, holding back tears, recalled the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the comfort the church community provided.
“The night before we had prepared the hymn ‘How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place.’ When Jack Kennedy died we were so heart broken,” Perry says.
Minister Smith says that commitment to the community will remain a cornerstone of the Church’s mission, by being mindful of historical events and adaptations to modern times.
“My legacy is to keep the church relevant to our pluralistic context and to a time where a counter-cultural voice of social justice is needed in society,” Smith says.
-Staff writer Nathalie R. Miraval can be reached at nmiraval@college.harvard.edu.