History

Calligraphy at First Church

The first principle of the Unitarian Universalist faith is “the inherent worth and dignity of every person.” In a dramatic visualization of this belief, calligrapher Margaret Shepherd designed a unique installation that embeds the names of every member of this historic church into the walls of the building itself.  Each name is lettered in special high-carbon ink on a thin strip of copper three to ten feet long, and pressed into the channeled concrete.  This design uses ideas from the architect himself, Paul Rudolph, who experimented with these copper strips in the n newly rebuilt church building 30 years ago. 

On the north wall of the Sanctuary, are inscribed the 26 ministers of First Church dating from 1630 to the present day.  To date over 400 names have been set into the East and West walls of the Sanctuary.  The installation of names continues each year as new members are welcomed into the congregation.  The complete installation will some day encompass some 70 interns, the ministers of historic Second Church and the names of every member from 1630 to the present day.

To commemorate the 350th anniversary of the founding of First and Second Church and of the city of Boston, Margaret Shepherd created memorials in calligraphy which can be seen at First Church.  These memorials, the originals of which burned in the 1968 fire, express the congregation’s understanding of and gratitude for the pastors and prophets, poets and patriots, politicians and philanthropists whose lives are an inspiration.

Calligrapher Margaret Shepherd
Margaret Shepherd is a highly regarded calligrapher with an international reputation.  Herself a member of First Church, she is the author of Learning Calligraphy now published by Random House, which has become a classic in its field, going into twenty-three printings.  Thirteen well received books on calligraphy followed.  She has been quoted in Newsweek, drawn by Hirschfeld and cited in the Collier Encyclopedia. 

Ms. Shepherd has had a solo show at the Hartford Public Library in honor of Wallace Stevens’ birthday.  One of her works is permanently installed at that library.  She is represented in collections of the Cooper Hewitt Museum (Smithsonian) in New York City, in the Rare Books and Manuscript department of the Boston Public Library, and the David Friend Recital Hall at Berklee College.  She has participated in exhibitions at the Federal Reserve Gallery.  One of her installations, cast in bronze, graces the entrance to the Clarendon Street Playground in Boston. 

Ms. Shepherd is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College (BA) and has a graduate degree from Simmons College.  She makes her home in Boston.