A little more than a year ago, in January 2024, the historic First Parish Church in Manchester welcomed Reverend Katherine A. Schofield as its new pastor, and it marked a significant chapter in the church’s rich history. And this past Sunday the church honored a long-held and somewhat unique tradition of “Pastoral Installation” that formalized her its spiritual leader.
It may seem like a long time between milestones. But Pastoral Installation, including its timing, is very purposeful and it offers a glimpse into the character of the Congregational Church. It’s a rite of passage in which the minister isn’t leading, but rather is led in a collective ceremony run by everyone, including parishioners, members of the community, family and friends, and the worship service performed by ministers who, in this case, were drawn from Schofield’s long career in the church.
“She is a gem—beloved, respected, a team player, and inspirational,” said Susan Parker, a parishioner at First Parish, which dates back to 1716. Parker said the ceremony marks the true beginning of Schofield’s covenant with the church.
“The whole ceremony is about relationship,” Parker said. “She makes a covenant with us, the congregation, and we do the same with her. Everyone is a participant, and love and joy were the emotions of the day.”
Reverend Schofield’s journey to ministry reflects both personal inspiration and the evolving role of women in the Congregational tradition.
“At 17 or 18, I had a real moment where I knew I could choose my own path,” she said. “I wanted to walk with people through both good times and bad.”
After undergraduate studies at Hamilton College, she attended seminary in Chicago, where she met her wife, Adeline. Her first call was as assistant pastor and campus minister at the University of Southern California, where she served for four years.
Over the next decade, Schofield built meaningful relationships in ministries across the country — from First Congregational Church of Wareham to Memorial Church at Harvard University. In 2019, she joined Boston’s Old South Church, a 600-member congregation known for its progressive stance, serving as associate minister under Rev. Dr. Nancy Taylor, a key mentor. Taylor’s guidance, especially during Covid, left a lasting imprint.
Clearly the feeling was mutual. Two months later, it was official. Schofield would be the new minister at the First Parish Church, and before long she and her family—Adilia, their son, Eliot, and two-year-old daughter, Rosie—would become fixtures on Sunday in Manchester. By January 2024, she was officially called to lead. “The congregation is my boss,” she laughs.
On Sunday, a standing-room-only crowd filled the church, including Schofield’s family, friends, past congregants, and mentors. Rev. Dr. Nancy Taylor offered a sermon on the meaning of names and shared that Katherine was named after Kate, the heroine in Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew.” Even her hometown church minister from Dennis, Rev. Dr. Connie Bickford, participated in the service.
“One of the things I enjoy most is finally being a member of the community that I’m also serving in as pastor,” said Schofield. “My family is close, I’ve joined the MAC and rediscovered tennis, my children go to local schools. We’re part of a larger community, where people check in on each other and bring casseroles if someone is sick. It helps me to better understand how to minister to the needs of the congregation and the wider town.”
First Parish has always played a civic and spiritual role in the town. After all, the lineage of its current building overlooking the Town Green is one of community engagement. In 1809, long before Manchester became a wealthy enclave, parishioners saved up for more than a decade to build their Asher Benjamin designed church, which was an exact replica of the Universalist Church Meetinghouse up the street in Gloucester, at the time a far wealthier town. Once built, the new church served as a public space for both secular meetings of government (like Town Meeting) and the community, as well as, yes, a house of worship.
Carrying on that spirit, Rev. Schofield is already making an impact, working with her parish on strategic community engagement. She says there’s a new energy among the congregation on where they’re going and prioritizing how to make an impact in the larger community — with children, interfaith dialogue, or the creative arts, or something else. Wherever it leads, Schofield will walk alongside them.
