Park Street Church

The Park Street Church in Boston

The Park Street Church, built in 1809, is a church building in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. It belongs to the local Conservative Congregational Christian Conference and is located at the corner of Tremont Street and Park Street in the Downtown Crossing district.

History

The Park Street Church is a historic part of the Freedom Trail. It was founded on 27 February 1809 by a group of 26 Boston citizens who had previously been a member of the Old South Meeting House, for the most part. The foundation stone was laid on 1 May of the same year, and already at the end of the construction work Benajah Young (chief mason ) and Solomon Willard ( carpenter ) could under the supervision of Peter Banner ( architect), to be completed. Banner adopted for the design of the building loan of several early pattern books, the final design of the building is a reminder of one built by Christopher Wren London churches. The spire reaches a height of 217 ft (66 m) and has remained a highly visible landmark. The steeple is valid since the construction of the church as the end point of the roads Columbus Avenue and Tremont Street. The building is adjacent to the neighboring historic Granary Burying Ground. The first service was held on 10 January 1810.

The church was under the name of Brimstone Corner (sulfur - corner ) is known, partly due to the missionary nature of the church services and partly due to the large amounts of black powder, which was stored during the war in 1812 there.

Religious influence

The Park Street Church looks back on a long and strong tradition of mission linearization, evangelical teaching and the application of the Bible on social issues and has a remarkable list of preachers on. Edward Dorr Griffin (1770-1837) was the first pastor of the church and attacked in a famous series of Sunday evening sermons the New Theology by Samuel Hopkins.

1816 was the Park Street Church, together with the Old South Church, the City Mission Society, a social service in support of the poor of Boston. 1826 Edward Beecher, brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe and respected abolitionist, pastor of Park Street Church. On July 4, 1829 William Lloyd Garrison gave his Address to the Colonization Society in the Church his first public speech against slavery. From 1829 to 1831 served Lowell Mason, a respected Christian composer, in the Church as choir director and organist.

In the church of Samuel Francis Smith the written song My Country, 'Tis of Thee was sung on July 4, 1831 for the first time. The industrialist Benjamin E. Bates, who had founded in Maine named after him Bates College, was a teacher in the Sunday school and active participant in the church in the middle of the 19th century. Gleason Archer, son of the founder of Suffolk University Gleason Archer, Sr., as well as a prominent theologian and followers of the fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible, was from 1945 to 1948 deputy minister.

The Park Street Church has indicated that in addition, an American mission to the former Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii ) founded in its place today is still a church. There, the Handel and Haydn Society has its origin, and began in 1949 at the same place of the first transcontinental Crusade by Billy Graham. The renowned theologian and co-founder of the new evangelicalism Harold J. Ockenga was from 1936 to 1969 Senior Pastor. During this time he had in common with Billy Graham founder of Gordon - Conwell Theological Seminary and the co-founder of Fuller Theological Seminary, the National Association of Evangelicals, World Relief as well as of the later of the Christian publication Christianity Today.

The role of the church in the presence of

Even after 200 years, the church is still involved in current social projects. Among other things, the Park Street Church supported in 2002 the opening of the private High School Boston Trinity Academy in Hyde Park, to improve the training of residents in downtown Boston. About 70 % of students have a scholarship, more than 50 % belong to minorities. During the week there are many lessons with English as a second language, but the school also offers English language courses for international students and immigrants to.

The Church maintains and support services for the homeless, for example, the Boston Rescue Mission and the Park Street 's Starlight Ministry. In the field of unwanted pregnancy, the Church cooperates among others, the Daybreak Pregnancy Resource Center. About a device called Alive in Christ, which is a subsidiary of Exodus International and the conversion therapy represents, the Church wants "help Those Who struggle against Their homosexuality and seek Christian guidance" ( German: " help those who are struggling against their homosexuality and Christian guidance search " ).

Park Street is an international faith community with members from over 60 nations. The church attracts many churchgoers with a good education, especially those with an undergraduate degree ( undergraduate ) and a postgraduate degree ( graduate ) at the Universities in the vicinity of Boston. The Park Street Church believes in a close link between education and faith and therefore is involved in many educational institutions like the Park Street Kids and Park Street School. Likewise, the church partner of Campus Crusade for Christ, the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and the Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary -.

The Park Street Church supported in 2010 with $ 200,000 in a contest for social change.

The February 27, 2009 was proclaimed by former Boston mayor Menino on the occasion of the bicentenary of the church as Park Street Day.

Senior pastor from 1811 to today

Since the existence of the church following persons have held the office of Senior Minister: