History:

The Union Church in Waban is an interdenominational congregation, and it was conceived as such by those first few members who gathered together in December of 1904. Waban was a newly developing suburban community. The Waban railroad station, whose designation gave this village its name, was not yet even 20 years old. Most of its young house owners were in their 30's with growing families of children. They themselves had grown up at at time when people took religious denomination very seriously, often choosing even to socially exclude those of other beliefs. Thus, they sought to create an inclusive church which they felt was closer to both Christian doctrine and to American ideals.

Soon after the beginning of 1905, a small congregation gathered for worship in Waban Hall, a community meeting hall above a cluster of shops near the railroad station. The building still stands, but with stores, including Starbucks, extended to the sidewalk. Also meeting there was the Sunday School which opened with 36 children. Over the next 6 years, the ministry of the church was led by retired pastors while the growing congregation made plans for a permanent church building and a settled minister. Funds had to be raised, never easy to do among young couples with small children and large house mortgages. However, this they managed with many fund-raisers and donations as well as a sizeable mortgage.

The lot on which the Union Church is built was generously given by William C. Strong, a well-known Waban nursery owner who raised mostly fruit trees for the market. The cornerstone was laid in 1911, and in September a year later the new little church was dedicated. The Rev. Charles Cutler was called to be its first pastor. With Dr. Cutler's guidance, the new congregation drew up a covenant reflecting its original ideal of the inclusive church, a covenant which continues to be promised by new members joining the Union Church together with all members present. It is as follows:

Trusting in God's grace to strengthen us, we hereby engage to be the Church of Jesus Christ in this place, to love and to serve God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We resolve to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. It was a little church, quite a lot smaller than at present. It had an abbreviated chancel which held only three impressive chairs behind a centered pulpit in the best early New England tradition. There was a vestry beneath where a growing Sunday School met weekly and many events were held throughout the year. The so-called "Ladies' Parlor" was on the second floor of the tower.

By 1925, the needs of the fast-growing congregation had outstripped the building, so plans were drawn up for a major enlargement. This extended the nave, created a true chancel with an altar and choir pews, and a transept allowing for two chapels. Beneath, the vestry also was extended and a stage added which doubled as a new Ladies' Parlor. A number of new Sunday School classrooms were created as well.

The church congregation continued to grow as the population of the village of Waban expanded so that following World War II, a new addition was required. Opened in 1952, it included 6 Sunday School classrooms, an office for the pastor and another for the church secretary, and a large reception room. Union Church has always provided space for community organizations to meet: Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Cubs and Brownies, the Waban Garden Club, and for many years the Waban Improvement Society and the Waban Women's Club and it continues to do so.