house on May 12, 1734, Phillips preached from John 14:31 1.c. "Arise, let us go hence." He preached the first sermon in the new meeting house on May 19. Again in 1788 another meeting house (pictured above left) was built in a nearby location after receiving complaints of a long walk by members of the parish living west of the Shawsheen River. Despite the complaints, the new meeting house remained east of the river, only about "six to eight rods" (1 rod = 16.5 feet) away from the meeting house of 1734. During construction, the Trustees of Phillips Academy invited the parish to attend mass in their meeting hall up the hill. On December 5, 1826, the West Parish Church was built for those west of the Shawsheen River under the same Confession of Faith and Covenant. A total of 56 members of the South Church left to join the West Parish Church. The current structure (pictured above right) was built in 1860 on the same spot as the meeting house of 1788 and dedicated on January 2, 1861. The church, a Romanesque Revival, was designed by John Stevens and cost about $19,000. Today, according to the church's website, its mission is to be "a Christ-centered fellowship which celebrates the love of God." Cemetery A cemetery adjacent to the church was established soon after the founding of the parish. The first person to be buried there was Robert Russel in December 1710 however the earliest surviving inscription is on Mrs. Ann Blanchard's stone, who died on February 29, 1723. Over time the cemetery grew through purchasing and receiving land from neighbors. In the early 18th century it was custom for the bearers to carry the dead, often miles, from their place of death to the cemetery. Funeral sermons were rarely given in the Parish. Reverend Phillips introduced practices that gave bearers white and later purple gloves while carrying the coffin to the grave. For his funeral in 1771, six clergyman wore rings as pallbearers. All ordained ministers in attendance and those who gave gratis in the months leading to his death wore gloves. These practices came to an end during the Revolutionary War. At the time of the second pastor Johnathan French's death in 1809, the Church led the family in their mourning and draped the pulpit in black. In addition, the Church ordered a Day of Fasting and Prayer