[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15729]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     IN RECOGNITION OF THE FIRST UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY OF 
                               MIDDLEBORO

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM R. KEATING

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 13, 2014

  Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the First 
Unitarian Universalist Society of Middleboro as it celebrates its 125th 
anniversary this year.
  The First Unitarian Universalist Society has long been a central 
fixture in the Middleboro community. On June 29, 1889, after the new 
church first sought formal recognition, its members hired Unitarian 
minister Rev. William Ramsey of Salem to lead the church for its first 
year. Not long after, local member Enoch Pratt donated a lot on Pearl 
Street, where the group's first church was opened on October 26, 1890. 
While this was the original site of the modern-day building, it is not 
where the church can be found today, as in the early 1900s a more 
central and visible plot of land was gifted to the church by member 
David Pratt. The building was then cut into three pieces, led through 
the streets, and remounted in its current location.
  While society changed drastically over the course of the next 
century, the First Unitarian Universalist Church remained a central 
part of the local community. An early advocate of equality, the Society 
called its first woman minister, Clara Cook-Helve, in 1929, and she 
became a prominent voice in the town throughout the Great Depression. 
Today, the Society remains a vibrant presence in Middleboro and 
continues its strong focus on community service and equality for all.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating the 
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Middleboro as it celebrates its 
125th anniversary and in wishing the Society well in the years to come.

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