First Parish in Malden, Universalist

Arriving for the first time at First Parish in Malden, I was reminded of the church I attended growing up. A beautiful old stone building with gorgeous stained glass windows, huge pipe organs and pulpit—it really exudes a sense of sanctuary and genuinely feels like a place of worship. The pews were only half-full at this service, which was rather surprising once I learned that this parish is actually Malden and Saugus combined.

Looking around from the back (I always sit in the back as a visitor) I notice the fantastic diversity of the congregation. Men and women of every color, young and old, and gay and straight parents with their children. It felt so comforting to share the beautiful space with the diverse crowd. My heart was eager for the services to begin.

We began with a hymn led by Music Director Mariko Matsuma, a rather petite Asian woman whom you would not expect to have such an amazingly rich and beautiful voice. She filled the sanctuary with angelic notes while the rest of us simply tried to mumble the words correctly and sounded like complete dung in comparison. The Reverend Horst (of the Malden parish) then welcomed us, read some announcements, and welcomed The Rev. Clement (of the Saugus parish) to conduct the remainder of the service.

The Rev. Clement welcomed us and told us about the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead (El Dia de los Muertos) which I hadn't thought about since high school spanish class and was very refreshing. The kids in the congregation had all dressed up in costumes to celebrate, had a quick parade around the sanctuary, and then left for the children's classroom. The remainder of the service was about remembering those lost to us and placing objects of remembrance upon an ofrenda—an altar of offering similar to a cornucopia. Members of the congregation placed photos, journals, food, and other momentos on the ofrenda and told stories about their loved ones. As a first time visitor, it felt awkward to hear such intimate details of these nice strangers—like I was watching them undress through a peephole. We had several moments of silence for those departed. Clement then reminded us that the spirit of the Day of the Dead is not a sad one. People believe the spirits of the dead still live on with us, enjoying the life that comes with death—that death is simply a transition to a different realm than life and not merely the end of it. Cartoons were shown depicting dancing, drinking, partying skeletons playing jokes and having fun with one another.

After Clement finished her interesting, cultural, but somewhat brief sermon, there was a responsive reading and another hymn—both included references to God sheltering his creations in life and in death. While the sentiment was nice, the many iterations of the G-word still made me cringe.

The entire experience kept bringing me back to my Roman Catholic church upbringing. The hymnals, offerings, and prayers. I came here for a new, alternative experience and somehow it didn't seem very new at all. I ponder about the Day of the Dead and spirits living after death. Maybe there is new life after death... but can there be a new life after an old religion dies? My heart truly hopes there will be dancing skeletons in the future.

Thank you First Parish in Malden for inviting me into your service with open arms, hearts, and coffee in the basement.