Pillars & Foundations

First United Methodist Church of Melrose, Melrose, MA  This is the fifth entry in a blog project where I intend to explore and experience the services of many different churches, predominantly near where I live in Massachusetts. The motivation for this activity/journey is detailed in the introduction post of this blog. The institutions are important, often overlooked and even misjudged centers of our communities that seek to make a positive impact on their participants as well as others through their generosity and public service. I'd like to learn about their impact and share what I find. It is possible that through this activity I may eventually consider a long term relationship with one of these pillars and foundations of the community, however I am eager to do a lot of exploring first. The Building and History: I didn't know much about the Methodist church itself, and did some quick searching. The Methodist Church had its formation from John and Ch

First Congregational Church, Stoneham, MA  This is the fourth entry in a blog project where I intend to explore and experience the services of many different churches, predominantly near where I live in Massachusetts. The motivation for this activity/journey is detailed in the introduction post of this blog. The institutions are important, often overlooked and even misjudged centers of our communities that seek to make a positive impact on their participants as well as others through their generosity and public serve. I'd like to learn about their impact and share what I find. It is possible that through this activity I may eventually consider a long term relationship with one of these pillars and foundations of the community, however I am eager to do a lot of exploring first. The Building and History: First Congregational Church in Stoneham sits on picturesque Stoneham Common off of Main Street in the town center. The church sits amongst public buildings, bus