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Seventh-day Adventist Church Mission Statement
We’re happy that you have found us! Boston Temple Seventh-day Adventist Church is an active group of caring, committed people. We come from many countries, cultures, and backgrounds. We are truly a Christian church family serving our community with spiritual, educational, personal assistance and social ministries. Our unique location, just two blocks from Fenway Park - Home of the Boston Red Sox Baseball Team, places us in an ideal spot to minister to the needs of the many university and college students here in Boston. We offer lots of activities to students through our Young Adult/University Ministries programs. Our adult members contribute valuable leadership at our church, making the Boston Temple an ideal place that welcomes all ages. So, do explore our website, and come and visit us in person. And please feel free to contact our staff. You’ll find lots of contacts here in our website.
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What We Believe:
We believe the Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the written Word of God. In the Word, God has committed to man the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Bible is the infallible revelation of His will. We believe in one God, expressed in three - God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit. We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and He is the only way possible for salvation from sin. We believe He can and does forgive sins and give eternal life to anyone who accepts Him as their personal Savior. We believe that His life, death, and resurrection are the most vitally important event in human history. We believe in the personal, literal, and imminent return of Christ. We believe that Saturday is the Sabbath, and that we show our loyalty and love to Christ by observing it as His holy day. We believe that Jesus taught His followers to love our neighbors, seeking their good. Seventh-day Adventists have been part of the Boston Community Since 1870. On May 1, 1870, M.E. Cornell in Dorchester Bay performed the first Seventh-day Adventist baptism. The four men and seven women immersed in the cool salty waves afterward joined with six other church members to sign the first “Covenant of the Church.” We hereby associate ourselves together as a church, taking the name Seventh-day Adventists and holding meetings in South Boston, covenanting to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The Boston Adventists immediately pooled their resources and found a meeting place, Berea Hall, at 815 Washington Street, Boston, which they rented for $300 a year. A little over a year later, they officially allied themselves with the fledgling Seventh-day Adventist Church with J.N Andrews and L.N. Haskell presiding at the organizational meeting. In April 1879, the little church family moved to a new meeting place at 176 Tremont Street, right across the street from the Boston Commons. Boston Hall, as it was called then, would be their home for six years. But the little group struggled for it was difficult for people to get to church each week. Transportation to and fro was difficult at best. But soon electrified public transportation came to Boston.
In 1888 the first wires were hung over the iron tracks on Beacon Street. The Tremont Street subway opened in 1897 - the first in the United States. An elevated electric train began construction in 1898 making easy access to the center of Boston possible. Soon small groups who had been meeting in the suburbs found their way to the Boston church and the membership finally began to grow. In 1921, the congregation rented an attractive Baptist church on the corner of Warren and West Canton Streets; then, a few months later, learned that it was for sale. They voted to purchase it, and named it the Boston Temple Seventh-day Adventist Church. On November 18, 1922 for $45,000 they became 'home owners' for the first time. Seating for a thousand, a large pipe organ, stained glass windows, and enough classrooms for a school - the Warren Avenue church is still fondly remembered by those who belonged to the congregation then. By the 1930’s the Warren Street church was in need for extensive repairs and redecoration. After re-assessing the congregational needs and the adequacy of the building, the congregation decided to sell the church for $30,000 in September, 1940. Looking for a new home, the church family rented Brattle Hall in Harvard Square for short time until they heard of an attractive Unitarian church for sale on the corner of Peterborough and Jersey Streets. The Church of the Disciples had been erected on the outskirts of a new and fashionable neighborhood in 1904. The Boston Landmarks commission describes the structure as “blending elements of classical and Georgian Revival styles . . . a solid example of early twentieth century Boston church design.” Designed by architect James Purdon, the brick structure, with its white cast stone columns and trim, cost $80,000 (total cost, including land, furnishings, landscaping and architect’s fees, came to $115,000). It included a large lighted library (the present Powery Hall) and a 3-manual, 2000 pipe organs installed by Hutchings and Volney in 1907. It was a wonderful church; but by 1941 the Unitarian congregation had dwindled to only a handful of members, and could no longer afford to keep up such a large building. Boston Temple pastor, Theodore Carcich, negotiated the purchase of the church on May 10, 1941 for $35,000. When they moved into their new church home, Temple members found a “floating” floor in the basement, composed of perpetually damp boards that eventually warped. There was no baptistery, and the second floor, though it contained a large lofty room, lacked the children’s classroom needed for the full program the Temple already had. Soon volunteer skilled labor rearranged the plumbing, put up partitions and finished the building to provide a workable church facility for the many ministry events and programs at the Temple. Today, Boston Temple stands as a cornerstone to the Boston Fenway community.
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Boston Temple - Seventh-day Adventist Church Purpose Statement
BT is all about reaching out to the community, ministering to young adults and university students, as well as mature adults and seniors, and providing a place for personal spiritual growth in Christ. The church family is improving the facilities with an extensive renovation project that will keep the historical value that Boston Temple Church brings to the community while opening up ministries and programs for all.
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