Question: What does the round window above the entrance to
the Church mean …
the one with the angel’s wings and eyes?
ANSWER: The circular stained glass window above
the wooden doors at the entrance to Old South
Church on Boylston Street represents Revelations 4:8, “And the
four beasts had each of them six
wings about him and they were full of eyes within; and they rest not
day and night, saying, “Holy,
holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”
By Starr Rice
QUESTION: What is the Parish House?
ANSWER: It is the building between the sanctuary
and the Gordon
House. It was completed in 1933. The rooms include the
Gordon Chapel, Mary
Norton Hall, the Guild Rooms, church school rooms, and ministers offices.
The
tower of Old South Church was rebuilt on top of this new Parish House.
The former
tower had to be demolished because it was leaning out over Boylston
Street.
QUESTION: What is the Children’s Chapel?
ANSWER: It is the small chapel off of the Gordon
Chapel where children’s
services were held during the years between 1933 and the 1960’s (we
think).
Worship in the Children’s Chapel was discontinued as the congregation’s
philosophy moved toward inclusion of the children in the worship service
in the
main sanctuary. It is currently used for storage.
 |
ANSWER: This is the tower that we look up inside of when we are seated in the sanctuary. It is called the Lantern or the Cupola. The gold stars on the deep blue background represent the firmament of God. It was designed by the church’s architects Charles A. Cummings and Willard T. Sears. The slats at the top of the structure could be opened during the hot summer months, providing a primitive form of air conditioning. These slats are now permanently close. |
QUESTION: Why does the church have two rooms for worship, the sanctuary and the Gordon Chapel?
ANSWER: The Gordon Chapel provides a space
for small services, where as the
sanctuary is for larger gatherings of the congregation.
QUESTION: What were the church school rooms originally used for? How were they named?
ANSWER: The church school classrooms were part of the 1933 Parish
House
addition. They were built as classroom space. The rooms
are painted in bright
colors that appeal to young people. Each room is named according
to the color of
the décor of that room (blue, green, and red). A
pre-school is housed in this area of
the church during the week.
By William Sablove
QUESTION: Why do we have three kitchens at Old South Church
and why is there
an elevator in the 4th floor kitchen?
ANSWER: The kitchen on the first floor of the church is off of
the Gordon
Library, which is located in the old parsonage (now know as the Gordon
House).
This section of the church was the home to the senior minister and
his family until it
was converted to rooms for parish work in 1929. This small kitchen
is used during
coffee hour and meetings to prepare light refreshments.
The large kitchen in the
Mary Norton Hall was and is used as a kitchen to feed many people for
church
gatherings. At one time this space was used as a soup kitchen.
The 4th floor
kitchen is used for meetings and pancake breakfasts. It has an
elevator in it that was
built as a service elevator and is used only by the sextons.
QUESTION: Why do we have two churches (the Meeting House and Old South Church)?
ANSWER: Mary Norton gave the land to build the Cedar Meeting
House on the
corner of Milk St. in the southern part of Boston in 1669. In 1729
the wooden
structure was torn down and the Old South Meeting House was built out
of brick on
the same site. This building is our ancestral home and is a historical
museum 364
days of the year. On Thanksgiving Sunday the congregation returns
to this church to
worship and remember our heritage. In 1875 the congregation
moved to the “new”
Old South Church that we worship today because the downtown location
of the
Meeting House was too noisy and speakers could not be heard due to
street noise.
QUESTION: Why is the church called “Old South Church”?
ANSWER: The church is called Old South because our ancestral
home, the Old
South Meeting House, was located in the southern part of what was then
Boston
(before Back Bay was filled in). When the church moved
to the Back Bay location
it became the new “ Old South”.
QUESTION: What was here, at the current location of Old South Church, before the church was built?
ANSWER: It was vacant swampland. The church was built on the recently filled in Back Bay.
QUESTION: What else is Old South used for besides church services?
ANSWER: Old South is not a Sundays-only church. The Old
South
pre-school meets in the classroom space Monday–Friday. The theater
classes of the
Muriel Snowden High School and the Boston Children’s Theater use the
stage. The
Boy Scouts and Alcoholics Anonymous hold meetings at the church.
The Poor
People’s United Fund has an office at Old South. Chorus Pro Musica
rehearses and
performs here. There are nine standing committees of the
church that meet
regularly throughout the week, as well as numerous sub-committees.
By Ginny Nolan
Question: What do the words, “Behold, I Set Before Thee An Open Door”, mean?
ANSWER: For the people who come to Old South Church
this phrase has a couple of meanings. The first meaning has to do
with worship and action. There are a wide variety of opportunities
for education, mission and social action, enrichment,
religious and artistic expression, and fellowship at the Old South
Church of Boston. A number of these activities are listed each
Sunday in the pages of bulletin under the heading “Behold I Set Before
Thee An Open Door.” It means come in, join us, and participate!
The second meaning of this phrase can be found in the Note of the Inclusive Dimensions of God’s Grace (text below).
The Old South Church in Boston, in the name of its host, Jesus Christ, and in the spirit of Christ’s invitation carved into the stone of this church’s portico, “Behold I Set Before You an Open Door,” welcomes all who seek to know God and invites everyone to join in our common life and mission through participation and leadership in this congregation. Following the one who we believe is Sovereign and Savior, we affirm each individual is a child of God, and recognize that we are called to be like one reconciled body with many members, seeking with others of every race, ethnicity, creed, class, age, gender, physical or mental ability, and sexual identity to journey together toward the promised realm of God. On the threshold of Christ’s open door, we rely upon the healing, unconditional nature of God’s love and grace to be our help and guide as we all move forward with the work of this church in the world.
Question: If I would like to get married at Old South Church, what is the procedure?
ANSWER: the Old South Church in Boston proclaims the equal rights
of all people including the
legal right for individuals to marry the person of their choice.
For other wedding policies, procedures and contacts, please see the
section on weddings
in our Building
Use and Rental Section (click here)
Question: I would like to know if Old South has any records of my ancestor, who I think was a member of Old South Church.
ANSWER: Unfortunately, we cannot easily accommodate the many
requests we get for ancestral records
as they are not easily accessible and to answer all these questions
would require much effort on the behalf of our volunteer historian.
However, many of our earlier records are on microfiche at the Boston
Public Library and we suggest you might be able to find your answers
there.
Also, the Congregational Library
is an
invaluable treasure and resource for all such information, so that
is another avenue for you to research.
And as always, the major text on early Old South history that we rely
on is Hamilton Andews Hill's three volume set,
History of the Old South Church (Third church) Boston, 1669-1884,
(one volume includes a listing of names of early members). This book
is available at the Boston Public Library.
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