The morning of January 14, 1697, was a special one in the life of the Old South Church in Boston. It was a day of fasting and prayer for several churches in the city, including Old South. As the Reverend Samuel Willard walked towards the pulpit at the beginning of the service, Old South member Judge Samuel Sewall passed him a note.
The first person who came up to me was a woman pushing a carriage with one-year-old twins. It seemed probable to me that she was not the little ones’ mother, but rather their care-taker. She smiled as I spoke to the children and offered a brief prayer, in lieu of the ashes, asking God’s blessing.
This journey of ours often takes us in new and challenging directions: a different slant on a text, a new life experience, another year added to our lives or, as Robert Frost would have it --- ‘divergent roads’ --- and we are off on a new and uncharted leg of that journey.
A peek into the preaching of Rev. Russell Henry Stafford.
The staff at the Congregational Library have long been stewards of the documents that tell the 355-year story of the Old South Church in Boston. Among Old South’s early treasures, you will find a record of Benjamin Franklin’s baptism at the Old South Church and a copy of Mary Norton’s deed that gifted our first members with the land that housed our first house of worship.
The Reverend Thomas Prince enjoyed a long, productive pastorate at the Old South Church. Called to Old South as our fifth senior minister, Prince served as a co-pastor with the Reverend Joseph Sewall from 1718-1758.
The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem’s stable is a wonderfully celebrative event. That is as it should be. It is what Christmas is all about. But I fear we have domesticated it and sanitized it way too much.
On July 14th of that year, 66-year old Samuel Adams Jr became a member of the Old South Church. The membership record indicates that he had transferred his membership from the Brattle Street Church. This was a surprise to me. I had always assumed that Samuel Adams was a life-long member of Old South because of his family’s long involvement with the church.
No discussion of Dr. Stafford’s ministry is complete without talking about the role he played in building Old South’s governance, building, and community. He established the Board of Trustees and several committees, including an early version of the Christian Service & Outreach Committee.
The morning of June 19th, 2022 was a special one for the Old South Church in Boston. Members gathered to dedicate the newly named Phillis Wheatley Room in honor of one of our celebrated members and the country’s first African American published poet.