First Parish in Cambridge is a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, tracing its founding to the First Church in Cambridge, organized in 1636 under Reverend Thomas Shepard. The congregation became Unitarian in 1829, and its fifth and current meetinghouse, built in 1833 adjacent to Harvard Yard, hosted Harvard's commencement ceremonies for 40 years. Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered his 1837 "The American Scholar" address there. First Parish is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association.