Majority of Old Ship Members Support Sale of Parish House

Photo provided by Nina Wellford
Photo provided by Nina Wellford

November 19, 2020 by Carol Britton Meyer

The Board of Trustees of Old Ship Church called a parish meeting Tuesday night to obtain authorization from members to sign a purchase and sale agreement with Atlantic Development for the Parish House across the street from the meetinghouse, which sits on a three-acre parcel.

However, according to Nina Wellford, Old Ship treasurer and board of trustees member, the negotiations have not yet wrapped up.

"The parish continued to show their support for the sale [at this week's meeting], with the overwhelming majority giving their vote of approval," she told the Hingham Anchor. "When we have a final agreement to discuss -- in a week or so -- the board will meet again." Old Ship Church includes about 160 active members.

Negotiations with the Hingham Affordable Housing Trust are happening on a parallel track but are not as far along, Wellford reported. Part of the overall proposal is to sell a small portion of the land to the Trust for an expansion of the Lincoln School Apartments senior housing. There are currently more than 50 people on the waiting list.

Looking back, at a Special Parish Meeting on Oct. 13,  members of Old Ship Church gathered remotely to vote on two articles: to allow the board of trustees to negotiate with Atlantic Development for the sale of land and the Parish House at 107 Main St. and to allow the board to negotiate with Hingham’s Affordable Housing Trust for the sale of a portion of the property.

After nearly two hours of discussion, the first article passed with a vote of 98 to 9. The second passed with a vote of 103 to 2.

Check back for updates.

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