Since its founding, First Parish and its members have been fully engaged in the civic culture of the community. In many ways First Parish was where it all began for Taunton, serving as the community's first meeting house and first school.

In living its UU principle of promoting "world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all" and its mission to "reach out and provide service to others in our community," First Parish has taken an active role in civic and social life of Greater Taunton by:

• Hosting the annual Liberty & Union celebration, commemorating the raising of the first flag in protest of British tyranny and celebrating the city's rich history
• Serving as a rehearsal and performance venue for the Industrial Theatre, which brings Shakespeare alive in Taunton
• Serving as the location of the Dress to Impress program sponsored by SEMA-VAV and GATHER (See description below)
• Opening the doors of the church to groups such as the Taunton Garden Club and self-help groups
• Serving as a major venue for the Taunton River Folk Festival in October

Dress to Impress is a special program which provides business attire to qualified residents within the Greater Taunton and Attleboro communities who are entering or re-entering the workforce by providing off-the-rack quality business attire. This public service is at no cost to the referred client, coordinated by volunteers and fills a much-needed gap in resources.

The program is sponsored by Southeastern Massachusetts Voices Against Violence (SEMA-VAV) and Greater Attleboro/Taunton Health & Education Response (GATHER). The program opened in October 2006. For more information, visit http://www.semavav.org on the web or call 508.824.3227 and leave a voice message.