Presbytery of Boston
| Presbytery of Boston | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Territory | Boston; Worcester County; Norfolk County; Suffolk County; parts of Essex County |
| Ecclesiastical province | Synod of the Northeast |
| Headquarters | Clinton, Massachusetts |
| Statistics | |
| Churches | 26 |
| Congregations | 24 |
| Members | 2,993 (2010) |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Presbyterian Church (USA) |
| Established | 16 April 1745 |
| Website | |
| www.presbyteryofboston.org | |
The Presbytery of Boston is the regional governing body for congregations located in the Greater Boston area affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Established in 1745 and headquartered in Clinton, Massachusetts, the Presbytery of Boston currently includes 24 member churches located in Worcester, Norfolk, and Suffolk counties, and parts of Essex County. The Presbytery of Boston is one of 22 presbyteries that comprise the Synod of the Northeast, which oversees 1,130 churches in New Jersey, New York, and the New England states.
History
In the mid-18th century, the Presbytery of Londonderry was the sole presbytery in New England. On 16 April 1745, the Presbytery of Boston was established by three local ministers. In 1748, the Rev. Jonathan Parsons, minister of Salem Presbyterian Church, joined the presbytery. By 1768, the presbytery had 12 ministers.
As of 2015, there were 25 member congregations and 27 individual churches. That number decreased to 24 on 15 January 2017, when the members of Newton Presbyterian Church voted, as a corporation, 107-26 in favor of withdrawing from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and joining the Evangelical Covenant Church. Newton Presbyterian Church was the largest congregation in the Presbytery of Boston, and its withdrawal decreased the presbytery's membership by nearly 300 members.
Demographics
| Membership of the Presbytery of Boston, 2002-2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Members | ±% |
| 2002 | 3,103 | — |
| 2005 | 3,087 | −0.5% |
| 2010 | 2,993 | −3.0% |
| 2015 est. | 2,707 | −9.6% |
In 2002, the Presbytery of Boston had 3,103 members and 23 congregations. By 2010, there were 2,993 members, a 3% decline, and 25 churches.[1] In 2010, the Presbytery of Boston was 61% White, 21% Asian, 13% African American, 4% Hispanic, .3% Native American and .3% Middle Eastern.
Member churches
There are 27 active congregations in the Presbytery of Boston.[2]
- Pilgrim Church
- Gateway Church
- Church of the Covenant, Downtown Boston
- Fourth Presbyterian Church, South Boston
- Hyde Park Presbyterian Church, Hyde Park
- Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispana de Boston, Jamaica Plain
- Roxbury Presbyterian Church, Roxbury
- Shekinah Presbyterian Church in Brockton
- First Presbyterian Church
- Korean Church of Boston
- Burlington Presbyterian Church
- First United Presbyterian Church
- Clinton Presbyterian Church
- Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
- Hartford Street Presbyterian Church
- Shekinah Presbyterian Church in Natick
- Needham Presbyterian Church
- Taiwan Presbyterian Church of Greater Boston
- First Presbyterian Church
- Quincy Young Sang Presbyterian Church
- Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church
- Sudbury Presbyterian Church
- First Presbyterian Church
- United Presbyterian Church of Whitinsville
- First Presbyterian Church
- Christaller Presbyterian Fellowship
Former churches
- Federal Street Church, Downtown Boston (became Congregationalist in 1786)
- First Presbyterian Church, Boston (founded 1853, now closed)[3]
- First Presbyterian Church, East Boston (founded 1853, closed 1996)[3]
- First United Presbyterian Church, Boston (founded 1846, now closed)[3]
- Fort Square Presbyterian Church, Quincy (joined the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO) in 2016)
- Hanover Street Church, Boston
- Newton Presbyterian Church (voted to change their affiliation to the Evangelical Covenant Church in 2017)
- Second Presbyterian Church, Boston
- Third Presbyterian Church, Boston (founded 1870, now closed)[3]
Notable clergy
- Lyman Beecher (1775-1863) was pastor at Hanover Street Church in Boston from 1826 to 1833
- Jonathan Parsons (1705-1776) was pastor of the Presbyterian church in Newburyport and a supporter of the American Revolution (at the time Newburyport was part of the Presbytery of Boston)