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{{Infobox church
[[Image:ParkStreetChurch.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Park Street Church, Boston]]
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The '''Park Street Church''' in [[Boston, Massachusetts]] is an active Conservative [[Congregational Church]] at the corner of Tremont Street and Park Street.
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| name = Park Street Church
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| image = Park Street Church - Boston, MA - DSC02622.JPG
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| caption = Park Street Church, Boston, 2014
| pushpin map = Boston
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| coordinates = {{coord|42.356911|N|71.062151|W |format=dms |region:US-MA_type:landmark_scale:2000 |display=title, inline}}
| location = Downtown Boston, Massachusetts
| country = United States
| denomination = [[Conservative Congregational Christian Conference|Conservative Congregational]]
| previous denomination =
| tradition =
| religious institute = <!-- Can be substituted with 'religious order'-->
| churchmanship =
| membership = 1200
| attendance = 2000
| website = [http://www.parkstreet.org ParkStreet.org]


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Park Street Church is a historic stop on the [[Freedom Trail]]. It was founded in [[1809]] by twenty-six local people, mostly former members of the [[Old South Meeting House]]. The cornerstone of the church was laid on [[May 1]] and construction was completed by the end of the year, under the guidance of Peter Banner (architect), Benajah Young (chief mason) and Solomon Willards (woodcarver).
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The church quickly became known as "Brimstone Corner", though whether this was for the storage of gunpowder during the War of 1812 or for the fiery sermons delivered from the corner balcony overlooking Boston Common is not entirely clear. Today Park Street Church actively opposes [[same-sex marriage]] in all forms, including non-religous civil unions and civil marriages performed by a justice of a peace.{{fact}} Members of the congregation have been active in demonstrations against gay marriage.{{fact}}
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| architect = Peter Banner
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Park Street Church has a strong tradition of missions, evangelic doctrine and application of Scripture to social issues. On [[July 4]], [[1829]], [[William Lloyd Garrison]] delivered his [http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=562 Address to the Colonization Society] at Park Street, making his first major public statement against [[slavery]]. The church also hosted the debut of ''America'' by [[Samuel Francis Smith]] on [[July 4]], [[1831]].
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Today, Park Street is a thriving congregation. Thousands of worshippers{{fact}} join together at one of the four services held each Sunday and participate in the dozens of ministries and missions and outreach programs the Church hosts.{{fact}} Park Street is an international Congregation, with members from more than 60 countries. The Church attracts many regular worshippers from among the undergraduate, graduate student and faculty at Boston-area universities.
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The church is currently pastored by [[Gordon P. Hugenberger]], and the associate minister is Daniel Harrell.
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'''Park Street Congregational Church''', founded in 1809, is a historic and active [[evangelical]] [[Congregational church|congregational]] church in [[Downtown Boston]], Massachusetts, United States. The Park Street Church is a member of the [[Conservative Congregational Christian Conference]]. Church membership records are private, but the congregation has over 1,200 members.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://hirr.hartsem.edu/cgi-bin/mega/db.pl?db=default&uid=default&view_records=1&ID=*&sb=1 | title=Megachurch Search Results - Hartford Institute for Religion Research }}</ref><ref>2021 Annual Report</ref> The church is located at [[Park Street, Boston|1 Park Street]], at the corner of [[Tremont Street]].

==History==
Park Street Church is a stop on Boston's [[Freedom Trail]]. The founding of the church is dated to 1804 when the "Religious Improvement Society" began weekly meetings with lectures and prayer.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://14beacon.org/resources/efg/efg-bpsc
|title = Boston, Massachusetts. Park Street Church. Records, 1804–1976.
|publisher = Congregational Library
|year = 2008
|accessdate = 2012-12-30
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://archive.today/20130223071753/http://14beacon.org/resources/efg/efg-bpsc
|archivedate = 2013-02-23
}}</ref> The society organized the church on February 27, 1809. Twenty-six local people, mostly former members of the [[Old South Meeting House]], wanted to create a church with orthodox [[Trinitarian theology]].

[[Image:Detroit Photographic Company (0421).jpg|thumb|left|Park St. Church, 1904]]

The church's cornerstone was laid on May 1, 1809, and construction was completed by the end of the year, under the guidance of [[Peter Banner]] (architect), Benajah Young (chief mason) and [[Solomon Willard]] (woodcarver). Banner took inspiration from several early pattern books, and his design is reminiscent of a London church by [[Christopher Wren]]. Park Street church's steeple rises to {{convert|217|ft|m}}, and remains a landmark visible from several Boston neighborhoods.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=z1EAAAAAYAAJ&q=height&pg=PA6 The preservation of Park Street Church, p. 12]</ref> The church was the tallest building in the United States from 1810 to 1828. For much of the early 19th century, it was the first landmark travelers saw when approaching Boston.

The church is next to the historic [[Granary Burying Ground]] and was site of [[granary]] building for which the burial grounds was named. The first worship service was held on January 10, 1810. The church became known as "Brimstone Corner", in part because of the fervent missionary character of its preaching,<ref>Roff, Sandra. "The Beecher Tradition: Edward Beecher." http://newman.baruch.cuny.edu/digital/2001/beecher/edward.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225050152/http://newman.baruch.cuny.edu/digital/2001/beecher/edward.htm |date=2010-02-25 }}</ref> and in part because of the storage of gunpowder during the [[War of 1812]].<ref>"Park Street Church: Our Beginnings" {{cite web |url=http://www.parkstreet.org/our_beginnings |title=Park Street Church: Our Beginnings |accessdate=2011-11-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013145053/http://www.parkstreet.org/our_beginnings |archivedate=2008-10-13 }}</ref>

Park Street Church has a strong tradition of [[missionary|missions]], [[evangelicalism|evangelical]] doctrine, and application of [[Bible|Scripture]] to [[social issue]]s, as well as a notable list of firsts. [[Edward Dorr Griffin]] (1770–1837) served as the first pastor of the Park Street Church and preached a famous series of Sunday evening sermons attacking the [[New Divinity]].<ref>[[Old, Hughes Oliphant]]. ''The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church: Volume 6, The Modern Age.'' Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007: 164.</ref> In 1816, Park Street Church joined with [[New Old South Church|Old South Church]] to form the [[City Mission Society]], a social service society to serve Boston's urban poor.

[[File:2017 Park Street Church steeple.jpg|thumb|right|The Park Street steeple in 2017]]

In 1826, [[Edward Beecher]], the brother of [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]] and son of Lyman Beecher, a notable [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]], became pastor of the church. On July 4, 1829, [[William Lloyd Garrison]] delivered his Address to the Colonization Society at Park Street, making his first major public statement against [[slavery]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Address to the Colonization Society|url=http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=562|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926215320/http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=562|archive-date=26 September 2007|access-date=|website=}}</ref> From 1829–1831, [[Lowell Mason]], a notable Christian composer, served as choirmaster and organist. The church hosted the debut of "[[My Country, 'Tis of Thee]]", also known as "America", by [[Samuel Francis Smith]] on July 4, 1831.<ref>Howe, Daniel Walker, ''What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848''. {{ISBN|978-0-19-507894-7}}, p. 641.</ref> Park Street also played a role in founding the first "Homeland" or American Mission to the Sandwich Islands (now [[Hawaii]]), where that church still stands; the [[Handel and Haydn Society]] started there. [[Benjamin E. Bates]], an industrialist who founded [[Bates College]] in Maine in 1855, was a Sunday school teacher and active attendant of Park Street in the mid-19th century. In 1857–58, evangelist [[Charles Finney]] led a revival at Park Street which led the pastor, [[Andrew Leete Stone]], to experience a spiritual awakening.

<!-- EDITORIAL NOTE: The nearly century-long time gap between the leadup to the Civil War and post-WWII needs coverage here -->
[[Gleason Archer]], a prominent [[biblical inerrancy|inerrantist]] theologian was the assistant pastor of Park Street from 1945 to 1948, and his father, [[Suffolk University]] founder [[Gleason Archer Sr.]], served as president of the Park Street Men's Club in the 1920s. In 1949, [[Billy Graham]]'s first transcontinental mid-century crusade began at Park Street. [[Harold J. Ockenga]], notable theologian and co-architect of the (Neo-)Evangelical movement was the senior pastor from 1936 to 1969, and during this time co-founded Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with [[Billy Graham]], co-founded [[Fuller Theological Seminary]], the [[National Association of Evangelicals]], War Relief (which later became [[World Relief]]), and the Christian publication ''[[Christianity Today]]''.

In 1974, the church built a Church Ministries Building at 1 Park Street beside the main edifice. Designed in a [[modernist]] architectural style by Stahl/Bennett Associates with a concrete structure, window-walls and purplish brick facing, the building is described by the Boston Preservation Alliance as follows: "The Church Ministries Building Addition to Park Street Church breaks dramatically with its surroundings in style, while relating coherently to it in materials. The building rises with large panes of glass stretching across its narrow facade and handsome red brick covering the rest of the building. The ground floor is glass and looks out to the Granary Burial Ground beyond the building to the rear".<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=202333888585678525050.00046b0f2379649e47b2b&dg=feature "Park Street Church Ministries Building Addition," ''Downtown Boston's Modern Buildings,'' google.com/maps]</ref>

In the 1990s, the church purchased the 2 and 3 Park Street buildings from [[Houghton-Mifflin]].<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20150323165701/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8769987.html The Boston Globe, December 1, 1992. Jerry Ackerman. "Park St. Church eyes 2 buildings"</ref>

==Today==
[[Image:ParkStreetChurchInterior.jpg|thumb|right|Church interior, 2007]]

The church still holds to its Statement of Faith adopted by the church in 1877 and readopted in 2003.<ref>[http://www.parkstreet.org/beliefs Statement of Faith]</ref> After 200 years, the church is still engaged in current social issues. For example, Park Street Church helped launch a [[private school|private]] [[high school]] in [[Hyde Park, Massachusetts|Hyde Park]], [[Boston Trinity Academy]], in 2002, to help address the educational needs of [[inner city|inner-city]] Boston (more than 70% of its students are on scholarship and more than 50% are [[minority group|minorities]]); it hosts many English as a Second Language classes during the week;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parkstreet.org/ministries/internationals/english-language-program/ | title= ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAM at PSC | accessdate=2024-03-29}}</ref> it has and supports ministries for the [[homelessness|homeless]], such as Boston Rescue Mission, and Park Street's HOME ministry on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parkstreet.org/cityengagement// | title= City Engagement Park Street Church | accessdate=2024-03-29}}</ref> it partners with [[crisis pregnancy centers]] Daybreak Pregnancy Resource Center and A Woman's Concern; it provides [[English language|English]] classes for [[international student]]s and [[immigrant]]s. There are many ministry focus areas: children and teens, young adults, undergraduates, international and graduate students, as well as introductory classes on Christianity and adult education classes. There is also a ministry called Alive in Christ, an affiliate of Hope for Wholeness.

Park Street is an international congregation, with members from more than 60 countries. Park Street believes strongly in education integrated with faith, so it is associated with Park Street Kids, Park Street School, and [[Boston Trinity Academy]], as well as partnering with [[Campus Crusade for Christ]] and [[InterVarsity Christian Fellowship]] for undergraduate and graduate ministries, and a long-time partnership with Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Boston Mayor Menino<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pr.com/press-release/135559 | title=Park Street Church Celebrates Its Bicentennial | date=2009-03-01 | accessdate=2009-04-20}}</ref> announced February 27, 2009, as Park Street Day in honor of its bicentennial.

Since his tenure began in 2020, current Senior Minister Mark Booker has been the center of disagreements with many of his staff and church leaders.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thewartburgwatch.com/2024/05/03/the-vicinage-council-exonerates-mark-booker-excoriates-those-who-disagree-and-appears-to-point-towards-an-implosion-of-park-street-church/ | title=The Vicinage Council Exonerates Mark Booker, Excoriates Those Who Disagree, and Appears to Point Towards an Implosion of Park Street Church| date=2024-05-03 | accessdate=2024-07-16}}</ref> Things came to a head with the firing of Associate Minister Michael Balboni, the public sharing of internal documents alleging spiritual abuse, and a months long process to petition a special meeting to review the Board of Elders' decision to fire Balboni.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://christianitytoday.com/news/2024/february/park-street-division-vote-booker-balboni-congregationalism.html | title=Park Street Divided: Congregation Asked to End Conflict with a Vote| date=2024-02-21 | accessdate=2024-07-16}}</ref> In a non-binding vote Booker garnered the support of 2/3 of members present at the 2024 Annual Meeting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thewartburgwatch.com/2024/02/26/why-the-business-meeting-at-park-street-church-to-affirm-mark-booker-reminded-me-of-warm-beer-at-a-bruins-game/ | title=Why the Business Meeting at Park Street Church to Affirm Mark Booker Reminded Me of Warm Beer at a Bruins Game| date=2024-02-26 | accessdate=2024-07-16}}</ref> The resignations of three additional ministers and testimonies of former ministers resulted in a majority of members present at a subsequent meeting rejecting the assertion that Mark Booker is not disqualified from pastoral ministry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thewartburgwatch.com/2024/06/03/a-majority-of-park-street-church-members-vote-against-affirming-mark-booker-as-senior-pastor-the-hot-potato-passes-to-the-stunned-elders/ | title= A Majority of Park Street Church Members Vote Against Affirming Mark Booker as Senior Pastor. The Hot Potato Passes to the Stunned Elders. | date=2024-06-26 | accessdate=2024-07-16}}</ref> Many of the church leadership remain steadfast in their support for Mark as their Senior Minister.<ref>https://mailchi.mp/parkstreet.org/letter-after-vicinage-report?e=c91934db67 {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref>

==Senior ministers (1811–present)==
[[Image:Park Street Church Boston 19thc.jpg|thumb|right|Park Street Church, 19th century]]

*[[Edward D. Griffin]] 1811–1815
*[[Sereno E. Dwight]] 1817–1826
*[[Edward Beecher]] 1826–1830
*[[Joel H. Linsley]] 1832–1835
*[[Silas Aiken]] 1837–1848
*[[Andrew Leete Stone]] 1849–1866<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Gleasons Pictorial |location=Boston, Mass. |url=https://archive.org/stream/gleasonspictoria0506glea#page/n161/mode/1up |title=Boston Pulpit |year=1853 |volume=5 }}</ref>
*[[William H.H. Murray]] 1868–1874
*[[John L. Withrow]] 1876–1887; 1898–1907
*[[David Gregg (minister)|David Gregg]] 1887–1890
*[[Isaac J. Lansing]] 1893–1897
*[[Arcturus Z. Conrad]] 1905–1937
*[[Harold J. Ockenga]] 1936–1969
*[[Paul E. Toms]] 1969–1989
*[[David C. Fisher]] 1989–1995
*Pablo Polischuk (''Interim'') 1995–1997
*[[Gordon P. Hugenberger]] 1997–2017
* Phil Thorne (''Interim'') 2017–2019
* Mark L. Booker 2020–

==Images==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Edward Griffin Boston.png|Edward Griffin, minister 1811–1815
File:1850 MasonicTemple BirdsEyeView Boston byJohnBachmann.png|Overview of Common, with Park St. Church (left), across from the Masonic Temple on Tremont St., 1850
File:Park Street Church, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg|19th century
File:Park Street Church2 Boston 19thc.jpg|Park St. Church, 19th century
File:HamiltonPlace Boston1885.png|Hamilton Place, with Park St. Church in distance, c. 1885
File:Boston ca1890.png|c. 1890
File:Park Street Church at Park Street and Tremont Street - DPLA - f71afe9e4d4569821772325ac3cb857c.jpg|Park Street Church, 1920
File:Streetcars diverted around Park Street station construction, November 1896.jpg|Subway construction, 1896
File:Arturus Conrad Boston.png|Arturus Conrad, minister 1903–1937
File:1909 deacons ParkStChurch Boston.png|Deacons, 1909
File:TremontSt Boston 1915.png|Tremont St. and Park St. Church, 1915
File:Park Street Church Mount Auburn lot.jpg|Park Street Church lot at [[Mount Auburn Cemetery]], 2008 photo
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=_WwUAAAAYAAJ The semi-centennial celebration of the Park Street Church and Society]: held on the Lords̓ Day, February 27, 1859 : with the festival on the following day. H. Hoyt, 1861
* Committee for the Preservation of Park Street Church, Boston. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wwUXAAAAYAAJ The preservation of Park Street Church, Boston]. Ellis, 1903.
* Arcturus Z. Conrad. [https://books.google.com/books?id=DAMZAAAAYAAJ Commemorative exercises at the one hundredth anniversary of the organization of Park Street Church], February 26–March 3, 1909. Published by the Park Street Centennial Committee, 1909.
* Rosell, Garth M. [https://books.google.com/books?id=e56lDM6WmSIC Boston's Historic Park Street Church], commissioned by Park Street Church for the bicentennial. Kregel Publications, 2009.


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Park Street Church}}
* [http://www.parkstreet.org ParkStreet.org]
* http://www.historicnewengland.org/catalog/images/pr0020_lg.jpg{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [http://www.nps.gov/bost/ Boston National Historical Park Official Website]


{{s-start}}
[[Category:Churches in Massachusetts]]
{{succession box |
[[Category:Freedom Trail]]
before=[[Massachusetts State House]] |
[[Category:Christian evangelicalism]]
title=Locations along Boston's [[Freedom Trail]] |
years= '''Park Street Church''' |
after= [[Granary Burying Ground]]
}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box|
before=[[Old North Church]]|
title=[[List of tallest buildings in Boston|Tallest Building in Boston]]|
years=1810–1867<br /><small>66 m</small>|
after=[[Church of the Covenant (Boston)|Church of the Covenant]]<!--72 m-->}}
{{S-bef|rows=2|before=[[Christ Church, Philadelphia]]<!--60m-->}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of tallest buildings in the United States|Tallest building in the United States]]|years=1810–1828}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Phoenix Shot Tower]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=Tallest building in the United States outside of New York City|years=1810–1828}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Phoenix Shot Tower]]<!--76 m-->}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1809]]
[[fr:Park Street Church]]
[[Category:Churches in Boston]]
[[ja:パークストリート教会]]
[[Category:Towers in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Clock towers in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:19th-century Protestant churches]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1810]]
[[Category:Congregational churches in Boston]]
[[Category:Conservative Congregational Christian Conference churches in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1809 establishments in Massachusetts]]

Latest revision as of 11:50, 26 October 2024

Park Street Church
Park Street Church, Boston, 2014
Park Street Church is located in Boston
Park Street Church
Park Street Church
42°21′25″N 71°03′44″W / 42.356911°N 71.062151°W / 42.356911; -71.062151
LocationDowntown Boston, Massachusetts
CountryUnited States
DenominationConservative Congregational
Membership1200
Weekly attendance2000
WebsiteParkStreet.org
History
FoundedFebruary 27, 1809 (1809-02-27)
Architecture
Architect(s)Peter Banner
Completed1809
Specifications
Height217 feet (66 m)

Park Street Congregational Church, founded in 1809, is a historic and active evangelical congregational church in Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The Park Street Church is a member of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. Church membership records are private, but the congregation has over 1,200 members.[1][2] The church is located at 1 Park Street, at the corner of Tremont Street.

History

[edit]

Park Street Church is a stop on Boston's Freedom Trail. The founding of the church is dated to 1804 when the "Religious Improvement Society" began weekly meetings with lectures and prayer.[3] The society organized the church on February 27, 1809. Twenty-six local people, mostly former members of the Old South Meeting House, wanted to create a church with orthodox Trinitarian theology.

Park St. Church, 1904

The church's cornerstone was laid on May 1, 1809, and construction was completed by the end of the year, under the guidance of Peter Banner (architect), Benajah Young (chief mason) and Solomon Willard (woodcarver). Banner took inspiration from several early pattern books, and his design is reminiscent of a London church by Christopher Wren. Park Street church's steeple rises to 217 feet (66 m), and remains a landmark visible from several Boston neighborhoods.[4] The church was the tallest building in the United States from 1810 to 1828. For much of the early 19th century, it was the first landmark travelers saw when approaching Boston.

The church is next to the historic Granary Burying Ground and was site of granary building for which the burial grounds was named. The first worship service was held on January 10, 1810. The church became known as "Brimstone Corner", in part because of the fervent missionary character of its preaching,[5] and in part because of the storage of gunpowder during the War of 1812.[6]

Park Street Church has a strong tradition of missions, evangelical doctrine, and application of Scripture to social issues, as well as a notable list of firsts. Edward Dorr Griffin (1770–1837) served as the first pastor of the Park Street Church and preached a famous series of Sunday evening sermons attacking the New Divinity.[7] In 1816, Park Street Church joined with Old South Church to form the City Mission Society, a social service society to serve Boston's urban poor.

The Park Street steeple in 2017

In 1826, Edward Beecher, the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe and son of Lyman Beecher, a notable abolitionist, became pastor of the church. On July 4, 1829, William Lloyd Garrison delivered his Address to the Colonization Society at Park Street, making his first major public statement against slavery.[8] From 1829–1831, Lowell Mason, a notable Christian composer, served as choirmaster and organist. The church hosted the debut of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", also known as "America", by Samuel Francis Smith on July 4, 1831.[9] Park Street also played a role in founding the first "Homeland" or American Mission to the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii), where that church still stands; the Handel and Haydn Society started there. Benjamin E. Bates, an industrialist who founded Bates College in Maine in 1855, was a Sunday school teacher and active attendant of Park Street in the mid-19th century. In 1857–58, evangelist Charles Finney led a revival at Park Street which led the pastor, Andrew Leete Stone, to experience a spiritual awakening.

Gleason Archer, a prominent inerrantist theologian was the assistant pastor of Park Street from 1945 to 1948, and his father, Suffolk University founder Gleason Archer Sr., served as president of the Park Street Men's Club in the 1920s. In 1949, Billy Graham's first transcontinental mid-century crusade began at Park Street. Harold J. Ockenga, notable theologian and co-architect of the (Neo-)Evangelical movement was the senior pastor from 1936 to 1969, and during this time co-founded Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with Billy Graham, co-founded Fuller Theological Seminary, the National Association of Evangelicals, War Relief (which later became World Relief), and the Christian publication Christianity Today.

In 1974, the church built a Church Ministries Building at 1 Park Street beside the main edifice. Designed in a modernist architectural style by Stahl/Bennett Associates with a concrete structure, window-walls and purplish brick facing, the building is described by the Boston Preservation Alliance as follows: "The Church Ministries Building Addition to Park Street Church breaks dramatically with its surroundings in style, while relating coherently to it in materials. The building rises with large panes of glass stretching across its narrow facade and handsome red brick covering the rest of the building. The ground floor is glass and looks out to the Granary Burial Ground beyond the building to the rear".[10]

In the 1990s, the church purchased the 2 and 3 Park Street buildings from Houghton-Mifflin.[11]

Today

[edit]
Church interior, 2007

The church still holds to its Statement of Faith adopted by the church in 1877 and readopted in 2003.[12] After 200 years, the church is still engaged in current social issues. For example, Park Street Church helped launch a private high school in Hyde Park, Boston Trinity Academy, in 2002, to help address the educational needs of inner-city Boston (more than 70% of its students are on scholarship and more than 50% are minorities); it hosts many English as a Second Language classes during the week;[13] it has and supports ministries for the homeless, such as Boston Rescue Mission, and Park Street's HOME ministry on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings;[14] it partners with crisis pregnancy centers Daybreak Pregnancy Resource Center and A Woman's Concern; it provides English classes for international students and immigrants. There are many ministry focus areas: children and teens, young adults, undergraduates, international and graduate students, as well as introductory classes on Christianity and adult education classes. There is also a ministry called Alive in Christ, an affiliate of Hope for Wholeness.

Park Street is an international congregation, with members from more than 60 countries. Park Street believes strongly in education integrated with faith, so it is associated with Park Street Kids, Park Street School, and Boston Trinity Academy, as well as partnering with Campus Crusade for Christ and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for undergraduate and graduate ministries, and a long-time partnership with Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Boston Mayor Menino[15] announced February 27, 2009, as Park Street Day in honor of its bicentennial.

Since his tenure began in 2020, current Senior Minister Mark Booker has been the center of disagreements with many of his staff and church leaders.[16] Things came to a head with the firing of Associate Minister Michael Balboni, the public sharing of internal documents alleging spiritual abuse, and a months long process to petition a special meeting to review the Board of Elders' decision to fire Balboni.[17] In a non-binding vote Booker garnered the support of 2/3 of members present at the 2024 Annual Meeting.[18] The resignations of three additional ministers and testimonies of former ministers resulted in a majority of members present at a subsequent meeting rejecting the assertion that Mark Booker is not disqualified from pastoral ministry.[19] Many of the church leadership remain steadfast in their support for Mark as their Senior Minister.[20]

Senior ministers (1811–present)

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Park Street Church, 19th century

Images

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  • Edward Griffin, minister 1811–1815
    Edward Griffin, minister 1811–1815
  • Overview of Common, with Park St. Church (left), across from the Masonic Temple on Tremont St., 1850
    Overview of Common, with Park St. Church (left), across from the Masonic Temple on Tremont St., 1850
  • 19th century
    19th century
  • Park St. Church, 19th century
    Park St. Church, 19th century
  • Hamilton Place, with Park St. Church in distance, c. 1885
    Hamilton Place, with Park St. Church in distance, c. 1885
  • c. 1890
    c. 1890
  • Park Street Church, 1920
    Park Street Church, 1920
  • Subway construction, 1896
    Subway construction, 1896
  • Arturus Conrad, minister 1903–1937
    Arturus Conrad, minister 1903–1937
  • Deacons, 1909
    Deacons, 1909
  • Tremont St. and Park St. Church, 1915
    Tremont St. and Park St. Church, 1915
  • Park Street Church lot at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 2008 photo
    Park Street Church lot at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 2008 photo

References

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  1. ^ "Megachurch Search Results - Hartford Institute for Religion Research".
  2. ^ 2021 Annual Report
  3. ^ "Boston, Massachusetts. Park Street Church. Records, 1804–1976". Congregational Library. 2008. Archived from the original on 2013-02-23. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
  4. ^ The preservation of Park Street Church, p. 12
  5. ^ Roff, Sandra. "The Beecher Tradition: Edward Beecher." http://newman.baruch.cuny.edu/digital/2001/beecher/edward.htm Archived 2010-02-25 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Park Street Church: Our Beginnings" "Park Street Church: Our Beginnings". Archived from the original on 2008-10-13. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  7. ^ Old, Hughes Oliphant. The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church: Volume 6, The Modern Age. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007: 164.
  8. ^ "Address to the Colonization Society". Archived from the original on 26 September 2007.
  9. ^ Howe, Daniel Walker, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848. ISBN 978-0-19-507894-7, p. 641.
  10. ^ "Park Street Church Ministries Building Addition," Downtown Boston's Modern Buildings, google.com/maps
  11. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20150323165701/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8769987.html The Boston Globe, December 1, 1992. Jerry Ackerman. "Park St. Church eyes 2 buildings"
  12. ^ Statement of Faith
  13. ^ "ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAM at PSC". Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  14. ^ "City Engagement Park Street Church". Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  15. ^ "Park Street Church Celebrates Its Bicentennial". 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  16. ^ "The Vicinage Council Exonerates Mark Booker, Excoriates Those Who Disagree, and Appears to Point Towards an Implosion of Park Street Church". 2024-05-03. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  17. ^ "Park Street Divided: Congregation Asked to End Conflict with a Vote". 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  18. ^ "Why the Business Meeting at Park Street Church to Affirm Mark Booker Reminded Me of Warm Beer at a Bruins Game". 2024-02-26. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  19. ^ "A Majority of Park Street Church Members Vote Against Affirming Mark Booker as Senior Pastor. The Hot Potato Passes to the Stunned Elders". 2024-06-26. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  20. ^ https://mailchi.mp/parkstreet.org/letter-after-vicinage-report?e=c91934db67 [bare URL]
  21. ^ "Boston Pulpit". Gleasons Pictorial. 5. Boston, Mass. 1853.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Park Street Church.
Preceded by Locations along Boston's Freedom Trail
Park Street Church 		Succeeded by
Records
Preceded by Tallest Building in Boston
1810–1867
66 m 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Tallest building in the United States
1810–1828 		Succeeded by
Tallest building in the United States outside of New York City
1810–1828 		Succeeded by
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