Minister & Staff

In July of 2025, following a standard two-year search under an interim minister, the congregation happily welcomed pastor Jonathan Pierce to First Parish. Jonathan graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 2006 and aspires to be ordained as a UU minister. He served Norwell VNA and other agencies as a hospice chaplain for fifteen years, and has most recently been serving as minister at Second Congregational Church in Cohasset. Committed to pastoral care for the spiritual but "non-practicing," Jonathan provides funeral, memorial, and wedding ceremony support to people not connected with religious/faith community, as co-owner of Pierce Brothers with his brother David. He is perhaps best known locally as the lead organizer of Mindfulness Plus, a mindfulness practice facilitated in approachable and non-religious terms, which holds together a diverse and engaged community of practitioners; it nurtures support and kindness that is extended to others via community service and volunteer opportunities. Jonathan is married to Doreen and is step-dad to two teenage boys.

At our 381st Annual Meeting in May 2015, our congregation voted to honor the Rev. Mr. Richard M. Stower with the title of Minister Emeritus. This is the first Minister Emeritus in our church’s long history and we are happy to recognize him for his long and respected service to our community and congregation.
Rich Stower received a Ministry of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School in 1990. He was ordained at the First Parish in Concord, MA and has served as a part-time minister in Andover, NH and as interim minister in Keene, NH before serving First Parish, Scituate from 1992-2011. He is the author of A History of the First Parish Church in Scituate, Massachusetts: Its Life and Times, which won the 2013 Congregational History Award from the Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage Society. Rich is married to Nancy Richards-Stower, an employment law attorney. In 2016, Rich and Nancy retired to Yarmouth, ME. 

Emily S. joined us in May 2025. She grew up in Norwell, MA, and after a decade on the west coast moved back to Scituate in 2007, where she lives with her husband, son, rescue dog, and chickens. Her career has consisted of a variety of administrative support and communication roles with nonprofit organizations. We are very happy she is steering the Old Sloop to keep us on course!  

Danica A. Buckley joined First Parish Scituate in 2025. She brings to her role as Music Director a lifelong love of choral music and deep roots in both sacred and community singing and conducting.
She previously served as Music Director at First Parish Brookline (2005–2009) and First Parish Brewster (2013–2021). Beyond church music, Danica is well known for her leadership in community choruses. From 2006 to 2023, she served as Music Director of the Simmons University Chamber Choir, and she just celebrated 20 years as Artistic Director of the Choral Art Society of the South Shore (CAS). She travels internationally to sing and conduct. In addition to her conducting work, Danica is a longtime adjunct professor of English literature and composition, currently teaching at Wentworth Institute of Technology and other Boston-area universities. She holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Boston Conservatory.
Being raised in and around multiple faith traditions shaped her musical path and ignited a passion for diversity and community. That spirit of collective purpose led her to found Sing for Good on Cape Cod, an initiative that brings choirs together to raise money for organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. She looks forward to making more music together at First Parish Scituate, and to sharing the joy, beauty, and connection that choral singing can bring.