Thinking Outside the Box in the 1940s

In October of 1945, a Joint Committee of members of both the First Baptist Church and the first Church of Newton submitted an initial report regarding the idea of merging the two churches. The second report was submitted in April 1945.

Portions of the eloquent and thoughtful report are included below.

While the idea was tabled in 1945, First Church continued discussions with Second Church in West Newton and the Eliot Church in Newton Center. First Church had also explored the idea as early as 1847 with the Eliot Church. Ultimately, First Church closed in 1972. Its records were digitized and are held at the Congregational Library and Archives in Boston.