Organizations Against Gender-Based Violence in the Church

Organizations Against Gender-Based Violence in the Church 

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

Do you feel called to help survivors of gender-based violence (domestic abuse, sexual assault, etc.)? See these recommended local and national organizations and see how you may be able to get involved.

Casa de Esperanza

This organization helps to develop effective responses to domestic violence and facilitates support systems in the lives of Latinas where they live.

Christian Coalition Against Domestic Abuse

This organization’s mission is to empower the community and its leadership by bringing awareness to the issue of domestic abuse so that through prayerful collaboration, education and intervention we end and prevent abusive behaviors.

Faith Trust Institute 

FaithTrust Institute is a national, multifaith, multicultural training and education organization with global reach working to end sexual and domestic violence. provides multifaith and religion-specific intervention and prevention training, consulting, and educational materials for national, state, and community faith-based and secular organizations in the following areas:

• Domestic and Sexual Violence

• Healthy Teen Relationships, Preventing Teen Dating Violence

• Child Abuse, Children and Youth Exposed to Domestic Violence

• Healthy Boundaries for Clergy and Spiritual Teachers, Responding to Clergy Misconduct

• Trafficking of Persons

FOCUS Ministries - Faith-Based Domestic Violence Help for Women and Families

The two purposes of Focus Ministries are (1) To help women and families who find themselves in these difficult circumstances. The organization offers counseling by phone, email, or in person; FOCUS support groups; educational material, including a website with resources.

(2) To educate and train churches, organizations, support group leaders, and concerned friends and family members about the dynamics of domestic violence and abusive relationships.

Futures Without Violence 

“Futures Without Violence is a health and social justice nonprofit with a simple mission: to heal those among us who are traumatized by violence today – and to create healthy families and communities free of violence tomorrow.

From domestic violence and child abuse, to bullying and sexual assault, the organization’s groundbreaking programs, policy development, and public action campaigns are designed to prevent and end violence against women and children around the world.”

The website contains a large number of resources including audio webinars, blog articles, and materials which can be ordered as free downloads or free plus shipping (see “Resources”).

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence 

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) is the voice of victims and survivors. We are the catalyst for changing society to have zero tolerance for domestic violence. We do this by affecting public policy, increasing understanding of the impact of domestic violence, and providing programs and education that drive that change.

National Domestic Violence Hotline- 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

The National Domestic Violence Hotline connects individuals to help in their area by using a nationwide database that includes detailed information about domestic violence shelters, other emergency shelters, legal advocacy and assistance programs, and social service programs.

The RAVE Project

RAVE is an initiative that seeks to bring knowledge and social action together to assist families of faith impacted by abuse. This website includes online training sections, links to resources including videos.

Restored 

Restored is an international Christian Alliance that aims to transform relationships and end violence against women (VAW) by working through and with the church and Christians worldwide. The website offers many free resources including the following:

Aune, Kristin, and Rebecca Barnes. In Churches Too: Church Responses to Domestic Abuse: A Case Study of Cumbria. Cumbria, Eng.: University of Cumbria, University of Leicester, 2018.   The research report, In Churches Too, provides a helpful literature review and reference list, along with conclusions and recommendations that can have general application.

Ending Domestic Abuse: A Pack for Churches. (By Restored. 2016.) Although this material has sections that are specific to the United Kingdom, some parts are equally relevant in other countries (available in seven languages including Spanish & French).

VAWNet 

For over two decades, the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence has operated VAWnet, an online network focused on violence against women and other forms of gender-based violence. VAWnet.org has long been identified as an unparalleled, comprehensive, go-to source of information and resources for anti-violence advocates, human service professionals, educators, faith leaders, and others interested in ending domestic and sexual violence.

What Are We Missing?

Homelessness by the Numbers: 2017 Boston & Beyond

Homelessness by the Numbers

2017 Boston & Beyond 

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

For the first time since 2010, US homelessness went up slightly in 2017. A one-night count in January 2017, found 553,742 people across the country living outside or in shelters.

To reduce homelessness among our fellow Massachusetts residents, we must have a clear picture of who is currently affected by homelessness. If we understand the Who? of homelessness, we are one step towards understanding the Why? and the How is this best addressed?

Who is currently experiencing homelessness in our local area? The numbers below might surprise you—they may not represent who first comes to mind when you hear the word 'homeless'. 

MASSACHUSETTS

17,565 people

Total number of people experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts in January 2017

21,112 students

Number of students identified and served by Massachusetts public schools during the 2016-2017 school year who had experienced homelessness in the past year.

3,580 families

Number of families with children, including pregnant women, in Massachusetts’ Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter program in September 2017. About 51 of these families were living in motels as of August 31.

 

BOSTON, MA

2,379 single adults, 3800 people in families

6179 people were found to be experiencing homelessness in the 2017 City of Boston Homeless Census. This includes 2,379 single adults and 3,800 people in 1,239 families.

Boston Homelessness Winter Trends

Data from City of Boston Annual Homeless Census Reports (point-in-time counts).

Cambridge, MA

463 people in shelters, 67 people sleeping on the street

530 people were counted in the 2017 Census of the homeless population in Cambridge, comprising 135 people in families, and 395 single individuals. This included 67 unsheltered people (on the streets).

Take Action to End Homelessness

"We believe that better cooperation amongst churches and community organizations could better serve the current need," writes Rev. Cynthia Hymes-Bell of EGC's Starlight Ministry. 

"Our vision is that every church and Christian group in Greater Boston who wants to engage people affected by homelessness will be equipped to do so wisely." 

Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent & End Homelessness

Volunteer / Intern with Starlight

Connect with Starlight Ministry

Connect with Starlight Ministries

Contact Starlight Ministries

Gender Based Violence & the Church [Resources]

Gender Based Violence and the Church [Resources]

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

The Church has a critical role in prevention, intervention, and healing from gender-based violence (GBV). GBV includes domestic abuse, sexual assault, incest, human trafficking, and other forms of abuse, most often directed towards females.

GBV happens in every corner of the U.S., and it happens in church families. Church leadership can equip themselves to respond with wisdom and skill when we become aware of GBV in our church or community.

Healing the Wounded Heart, 2017

See also the companion workbook and conference audio of the same title. See also the Allender Center website for information and resources. 

The mission of The Allender Center is to "foster redemption and healing in individuals, couples, and communities by helping them tell their stories with awareness and integrity while also training leaders and professionals to engage the stories of others with courage, artistry, and care."

Religion & Intimate Partner Violence, 2017

Because this book is based on many years of research, it can give evidence and illustrations for its many insights, principles, and proposed solutions.

Each chapter presents key findings in numbered points with detailed descriptions and illustrations, followed by proposed solutions and practical applications based on extensive research and experience.

The chapters deal with ministry with victims/survivors, and also with abusers (based on additional research). Another chapter explores the complex dynamics within the congregation as a whole when dealing with domestic violence ministry.

Two final chapters cover the need for more training for church leaders, with specific suggestions, and the importance of collaborative community responses.  This very readable study is perhaps the most comprehensive, research-based, and practical book on this topic.

Broken Vows

FaithTrust Institute

Broken Vows, 1994

This film is a two‐part (37 minutes and 22 minutes) documentary that presents the religious perspectives on domestic violence including Jewish, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical Christian. There is also a Spanish language version.

Domestic Violence: What Churches Can Do

Faith Trust Institute

Domestic Violence: What Churches Can Do, 2009.

This is a 20‐minute video to be used with a 24‐page study guide and brochures in a one hour educational program. Offers basic information on domestic violence, as well as concrete ideas about how congregations can become involved in prevention and offer a safe space for battered women.

 

RESOURCES BY TOPIC

General

Storkey, Elaine. Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women.  Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2018.

Domestic Battery / Wife Abuse / Intimate Partner Violence

Alsdurf, James, and Phyllis Alsdurf. Battered Into Submission: The Tragedy of Wife Abuse in the Christian Home. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 1998. (originally- Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1989).

Basham, Beth, and Sara Lisherness, editors. Striking Terror No More: The Church Responds to Domestic Violence. 2nd edition. Louisville, Ken.: Bridge, Resources, 2006. Although written with Presbyterian churches in mind, this book with its essays, worksheets, and workshop lesson plans can be used in other churches.

Broken Silence: A Call for Churches to Speak Out—Protestant Pastors Survey on Sexual and Domestic Violence. Washington, DC: Sojourners and IMA World Health, 2014.

Cooper‐White, Pamela. “Intimate Violence Against Women: Trajectories for Pastoral Care in a New Millennium.” Pastoral Psychology 60, no. 6 (2011):809-855.

Ellison, Christopher G., and Kristin L. Anderson. “Religious Involvement and Domestic Violence among U.S. Couples.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 40 (2001): 269-286.

Gaddis, Patricia Riddle.  Battered But Not Broken: Help for Abused Wives and Their Church Families. Valley Forge, Penn.: Judson Press, 1996.

Kroeger, Catherine Clark, and Nancy Nason-Clark. No Place for Abuse: Biblical and Practical Resources to Counteract Domestic Violence. Revised ed. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2010.

Miles, Al. Domestic Violence: What Every Pastor Should Know. Rev. ed. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011.

Murphy, Nancy. God’s Reconciling Love: A Pastor’s Handbook on Domestic Violence. Seattle, Wash.: FaithTrust Institute, 2003.

Nason‐Clark, Nancy. The Battered Wife: How Christians Confront Family Violence. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1997.

Newton, Dorothy J. Silent Cry: The True Story of Abuse and Betrayal of an NFL Wife. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2015. Although her life appeared successful to outsiders, Dorothy Newton was being treated abusively by her husband, who was a Dallas Cowboy football star. This is a story of pain, survival, hope, recovery, and new life in relationship with Christ.

Family Violence

Branson, Brendan, and Paula J. Silva. Violence Among Us: Ministry to Families in Crisis. Valley Forge, Penn.: Judson Press, 2007.

Fortune, Marie M. Violence in the Family: A Workshop Curriculum for Clergy and Other Helpers. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1991.

Kroeger, Catherine Clark, Nancy Nason-Clark, and Barbara Fisher-Townsend, editors. Beyond Abuse in the Christian Home: Raising Voices for Change. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2008.

Miller, Melissa. A.  Family Violence: The Compassionate Church Responds. Scottdale, Penn.: Herald Press, 1994.

Sexual Assault / Abuse

Broken Silence: A Call for Churches to Speak Out—Protestant Pastors Survey on Sexual and Domestic Violence. Washington, DC: Sojourners and IMA World Health, 2014.

Pellauer, Mary D. Sexual Assault and Abuse ‐ A Handbook for Clergy and Religious Professionals. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987.

Culture-Based Resources

Choi, Y. Joon. “Korean American Clergy Practices Regarding Intimate Partner Violence: Roadblock or Support for Battered Women?” Journal of Family Violence 30 (2015): 293-302.

Eugene, Toinette, and James Poling.  Balm for Gilead: Pastoral Care for African American Families Experiencing Abuse. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998.

White, Evelyn C.  Chain, Chain, Change: For Black Women in Abusive Relationships, 2nd edition. Seattle, Wash.: Seal Press, 1994.

Church/Religion-Based Studies

Cooper‐White, Pamela. The Cry of Tamar: Violence against Women and the Church’s Response. 2nd edition. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012.

Ellison, Christopher G., Jenny A. Trinitapoli, Kristin L. Anderson, and Byron R. Johnson. “Race/Ethnicity, Religious Involvement, and Domestic Violence.” Violence Against Women 13, no.11 (2007)): 1094-1112.

Heggen, Carolyn, H.  Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1993.

Horton, Anne L., and Judith A. Williamson, editors. Abuse and Religion: When Praying Isn’t Enough. Lexington: Lexington Books, 1988. This extensive anthology is one of the most comprehensive.

Interrogating the Silence: Religious Leaders Attitudes Toward Sexual and Gender Based Violence.   Cambridge, Mass.: Science, Religion, and Culture program, Harvard Divinity School, 2015. Online at- https://src.hds.harvard.edu/files/srcp/files/rla-sgbv_final_report.pdf  Sojourners and IMA World Health, on behalf of WeWillSpeakOut.US, commissioned a survey of Protestant pastors’ views on sexual and domestic violence.

Johnson, Andy J., editor.  Religion and Men's Violence against Women.  New York: Springer, 2015.

Nason-Clark, Nancy, Barbara Fisher-Townsend, and Victoria Fahlberg, eds. Strengthening Families and Ending Abuse: Churches and Their Leaders Look to the Future. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2013.

Volcano Press Staff, compilers. Family Violence and Religion: An Interfaith Resource Guide. Volcano, CA: Volcano Press, 1995.

For Women

Fortune, Marie M.  Keeping the Faith: Guidance for Christian Women Facing Abuse. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1995.

Holcomb Justin S., and Lindsey A. Holcomb.  Is It My Fault?: Hope and Healing for Those Suffering Domestic Violence. Chicago: Moody Press, 2014.

Holcomb, Justin S., and Lindsey A. Holcomb. Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault.  Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2011.

McCaig, Mari, and Edward S. Kubany. Healing the Trauma of Domestic Violence: A Workbook for Women. Oakland, Calif.: New Harbinger Publications, 2004.

Nason-Clark, Nancy, and‎ Catherine Clark Kroeger. Refuge from Abuse: Healing and Hope for Abused Christian Women. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2004.

Abusive Men

Nason-Clark, Nancy, and Barbara Fisher-Townsend. Men Who Batter. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Christian Leadership & Pastor Resources

LeRoux, Elisabet. “Men and Women in Partnership: Mobilizing Faith Communities to Address Gender-based Violence.” Diaconia  8, no. 1 (Apr 2017): 23-37.

Nason‐Clark, Nancy. “Clergy Referrals in Cases of Domestic Violence.” Family and Community Ministries 23, no. 4 (Winter- Spring 2010): 50-60.

Nason-Clark, Nancy, Catherine Clark Kroeger, and Barbara Fisher-Townsend, editors. Responding to Abuse in Christian Homes: A Challenge to Churches and their Leaders. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2011.

Reed, Lou. “When Domestic Violence Knocks: It's All Too Common but Rarely Acknowledged. How to Minister Wisely and Well when It Shows up in your Congregation.” Leadership 30, no. 4 (Fall 2009): 74-78.

WeWillSpeakOut.US. Sacred Spaces. A Resource for Faith Communities to Prevent and Respond to Sexual and Gender Based Violence. Available online https://wewillspeakout.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Sacred-Spaces-.pdf

Tron, Claudia. “Challenges for the Life and Mission of the Churches: Our Lived Experience of Gender-based Violence.”  Reformed World 66, no. 2 (2016): 26-36.

Zust, Barbara L., Jaclyn Housley, and Anna Klatke. “Evangelical Christian Pastors’ Lived Experience of Counseling Victims/Survivors of Domestic Violence.”  Pastoral Psychology 66, no. 5 (Oct 2017): 675-687.

Theology & Preaching

Adams, Carol J., and Marie M. Fortune, editors. Violence against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook. New York: Continuum, 1998.

Anderson, Kenton C.  “Preaching that Encourages Peace and Safety in the Christian Home.” Preaching.com, accessed April 2018.

Bussert, Joy M.K. Battered Women: From a Theology of Suffering to an Ethic of Empowerment. New York: Division for Mission in North America, Lutheran Church in America, 1986.

Cummings, Chloe. What Would Jesus Do about Domestic Violence and Abuse towards Christian Women?  A Biblical and Research-based Exploration for Church Leaders, Counselors, Church Members, and Victims. N.p.: Booklocker.com, Inc., 2010.

Kroeger, Catherine Clark, and James R. Beck, editors. Women, Abuse, and the Bible: How Scripture Can Be Used to Hurt or to Heal. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1996.

McClure, John, and Nancy Ramsay, editors. Telling the Truth: Preaching About Sexual and Domestic Violence. Cleveland: United Church Press, 1998.

What Are We Missing?

What Is Homelessness?

What Is Homelessness?

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

Life can be destabilizing for those who don’t have a permanent place to live.

To address local homelessness, we need a clear picture of whom we seek to help. You may be surprised by who qualifies as part of the homeless population. What follows is an overview of how homelessness is defined in the U.S.

Pine Street Inn, New England's largest homeless shelter in Boston

Who Defines Homelessness in the US?

Definitions of homelessness vary due to differing political and program purposes:

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has a somewhat narrow and precise definition aimed at determining eligibility for housing assistance.

• Advocates for homeless programs often have broader definitions to access more care resources.

• People and programs seeking to prevent homelessness among at-risk people include in their definition people who are in unstable or irregular housing. For example, some definitions include families who are doubled up or people sleeping on couches, both of whom are without permanent housing.

• Health centers most often use the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) definition in providing health services.

 

Homelessness in Detail

For a quick look at the practical realities, observe the precise way HUD defines a state of homelessness. The HUD definition includes four qualifying situations: 

1. “An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” (including people who are sleeping in a car, a park, abandoned building, station, or who are sleeping in a shelter, transitional housing, or motel paid for by government or charitable organization).

2. “An individual or family imminently (within 14 days) losing (being evicted from) their primary nighttime residence with no subsequent residence identified and the household lacks the resources or support networks to obtain other permanent housing.”

3. “People, including unaccompanied youth or families with children and youth, with persistent housing instability evidenced by several characteristics.”

4. “Any individual or family who is fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other life-threatening conditions, and has no other residence or resources to obtain other permanent housing.”

Not all Homelessness is created equal

The experience of homelessness follows many paths and forms, and each person has a unique story. But Kuhn et al. have identified three main types of experiences in the US.

Shelter Guests by Life Situation

• Transitional Homelessness
• Episodic Homelessness
• Chronic Homelessness

• Transitional Homelessness
• Episodic Homelessness
• Chronic Homelessness

Data from Kuhn, R. and D.P. Culhane, Applying Cluster Analysis to Test a Typology of Homelessness by Pattern of Shelter Utilization: Results from the Analysis of Administrative Data. American Journal of Community Psychology, 1998. 26(2): p. 207-32.

1. Transitional Homelessness — an individual spends a short time in a shelter before transitioning into permanent housing 

2. Episodic Homelessness — an individual who is frequently in and out of shelters and stays for a short time

3. Chronic Homelessness — an individual who has been homeless for 12 consecutive months or has had four or more episodes of homelessness totaling 12 months over three years and has a disability. In Boston, chronic shelter guests are even lower, only about 6%.  But the chronic homeless typically use half of all shelter days over the course of a year.

Take Action to End Homelessness

According to U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, ending homelessness is achieved when individuals who fall into homelessness experience it as a brief crisis and quickly move forward on a path to housing.

"We believe that better cooperation amongst churches and community organizations could better serve the current need," writes Rev. Cynthia Hymes-Bell of EGC's Starlight Ministry. "Our vision is that every church and Christian group in Greater Boston who wants to engage people affected by homelessness will be equipped to do so wisely." 

Volunteer / Intern with Starlight

Connect with Starlight Ministry

Connect with Starlight Ministries

Contact Starlight Ministries

Understanding Jamaica Plain Today: Overview + Resources

Understanding Jamaica Plain Today: Overview + Resources

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

Affectionately known as "JP", Jamaica Plain's reputation includes diversity, friendly community, unique businesses, socially-conscious activity, increasing gentrification, and natural beauty.

JP is in a period of rapid growth. Hundreds of new residential units are recently completed or underway. The JP/Rox Plan for the Washington Street and Columbus Avenue areas is likely to bring additional changes in the coming years. While Jamaica Plain continues to transition into the future, its beautiful green spaces will keep it true to its nickname as the “Eden of America.”

Copper European Beech Tree at Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain, MA. Photo licensed for public use.

JP AT A GLANCE

Residents by Race

• White
• Black / African American
• Hispanic
• Asian
• Other Races

• White
• Black / African American
• Hispanic
• Asian
• Other Races

Total Population - 39,240. Data from Boston By the Numbers, 2017.

Residents By Age

• 0-9 years
• 10-19 years
• 20-34 years
• 35-54 years
• 55-64 years
• 65+ years

• 0-9 years
• 10-19 years
• 20-34 years
• 35-54 years
• 55-64 years
• 65+ years

Data from Boston Planning and Development Agency, "Boston in Context: Neighborhoods, American Community Survey - 2011-2015." Boston: B.P.D.A., January, 2017

Educated   More than 63% of Jamaica Plain residents 25 years or older have obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher. This is much higher than the percentage for the U.S. (30%) or Boston (45%).

Increasingly Young   The proportion of 25-34 year olds in Jamaica Plain has risen from 23% in 2000 to 27% in 2015. The percentage of young adults aged 20 to 34 in Jamaica Plain is exactly the same as in Boston - 34.7%  (a very high proportion).  The median age of Jamaica Plain residents is 33 years compared to 39 years for Massachusetts.

Family Friendly   Jamaica Plain had 6,719 children under the age of 18 years (6th highest number of children out of 22 Boston neighborhoods).

“Jamaica Plain has been a wonderful neighborhood for our family. JP is rich in diversity, full of green space, and yet densely urban and teeming with energy. It’s a neighborhood that cares a lot about the world and about building stronger community.
”

— Pastor Brice Williams

Rev. Brice Williams spent two years researching JP as a church planter. He lives in JP with his family and is the new pastor of the South End Neighborhood Church.

Language Diversity  8,611 Jamaica Plain residents speak Spanish at home (23.4% of the population); 765 residents speak Chinese at home; 586 speak French or Haitian Creole; 382 speak Portuguese or Cape Verdean Creole. About 23% of the population – 8,879 residents – are foreign born.

Income Inequality  The poverty rate in Jamaica Plain is 18.3% with 7,039 people living below the poverty line. However, the median household income is a relatively high $76,968, which indicates significant income inequality between a large number of low income residents and many high income residents. Almost 63% of the neighborhood’s employed adults have occupations in management, business, science, and the arts.

“With all of its beauty, JP is also a neighborhood burdened with gentrification, miscommunication, and fragmentation. Be a cultural anthropologist. Be a community member before a Christian leader. Listen well and learn from men and women who have lived and built the story of JP as we see it today, no matter their religious background or bent. 
”

— Pastor Brice Williams

Bike-Friendly  Although most residents commute to work by car or subway, 1,318 people commute by bicycle, and 1,292 walk to work.

Natural Beauty

Jamaica Pond, Jamaica Plain, MA.

Jamaica Pond

One of the attractions of this neighborhood has always been Jamaica Pond, which is surrounded by a biking/walking trail. Beginning in the early years of the neighborhood’s history, residents built homes and summer estates which overlook the pond to this day. 

In the past, ice skating was a popular recreation at the pond, while boating, fishing and jogging or walking continue to be enjoyed by many. In the late nineteenth century, the pond became a part of the Emerald Necklace designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. One popular activity today is the annual Lantern Festival.

Lantern Festival, Jamaica Pond, Jamaica Plain, MA.

Small pond within Arnold Arboretum. Photo by Daderot, English language Wikipedia.

Arnold Arboretum

Founded in 1872, the arboretum has one of the largest and best documented collections of woody plants in the world. More than 15,000 plants from some 4,000 species grow here. Among these are about 400 lilac bushes of 179 types featured every spring on Lilac Sunday. The arboretum’s 281 acres are managed by Harvard University and have been designated a national historic landmark. The residents of Jamaica Plain as well as Boston enjoy the unique beauty of the arboretum in all seasons. 

 

Recommended Resources

Plan JP/Rox – Boston Planning and Development Agency

The PLAN: JP/ROX document provides recommendations and strategies around affordable housing, jobs and businesses, guidelines for urban design, and suggestions for improvements to transportation, connections, open space, sustainability, and the public realm in Jamaica Plain. 

Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council

The Jamaica Plain Gazette 

Getting to Know Your Neighborhood: Jamaica Plain

Understanding Roxbury Today

Understanding Roxbury Today

(header photo: Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, the new headquarters for Boston Public Schools, in Dudley Square, Roxbury. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

Boston's Roxbury neighborhood is home to many of the city’s African American and Hispanic residents and offers many historic and contemporary assets to the city as a whole.

Community culture is celebrated through visual and performing arts, and in many houses of worship. Several parks, including Franklin Park with its Zoo, greenspace, and Golf Course, offer recreational outlets to the community. The Reggie Lewis Center offers space for exercise and a world-class track and field venue.

Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Boston – The Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME) and Resurrection Lutheran Church in Dudley Square

As a result of several stages of community development and renewal, this neighborhood at the geographic center of the city is on the rise. New business and housing initiatives are renewing the Dudley Square and Grove Hall districts. Blue Hill Avenue is no longer a street full of vacant lots.

Like many Boston neighborhoods, Roxbury is in transition. Long-term residents seek to benefit from positive changes, while preventing displacement and other negative effects of development and potential gentrification.

First Church of Roxbury

Franklin Park, Hole #6, on the William J. Devine Golf Course

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Roxbury Voice: Life in Roxbury 

“I love it. I love living in Roxbury. I love the location. God created an optimum situation for us to move [here]. It’s worked for us as a family, as well as for ministry."

—Pastor Cynthia Hymes Bell, Director of Starlight Ministries

Pastor Cynthia Hymes Bell, Director of Starlight Ministries of Emmanuel Gospel Center

Cynthia moved into Roxbury in 2005 and has been deeply involved in the community up to the current day.

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Residents of Roxbury

Residents By Race

• Black
• Hispanic
• White
• Asian
• Other

• Black
• Hispanic
• White
• Asian
• Other

Total population – 51,714

Total Population – 51,714

Population Growth – Roxbury grew by 23% from 2000 to 2016, (doubling Boston's growth of 12% over the same time period).

Children – 29% of Roxbury residents are children (aged 0-19 years), higher than the 21% of Boston as a whole.

Female Householders – 34%. Roxbury, along with Mattapan, has the highest percentage (34.3%) of households headed by a female householder with no husband present of all Boston neighborhoods. The percentage for Massachusetts is 12.5%.

Foreign-born population – 14,006, or 27.1% in 2016, (up from 20.2% in 2000).

Language – 26% of Roxbury residents speak Spanish in the home.

Income – The median household income in Roxbury in 2016 was $26,883, which is less than half the Boston median of $58,769.

Black Culture – With over half of its residents identifying as Black/African Americans (compared to Boston’s 23%), Roxbury is still considered by many to be the heart of Black culture in Boston.

Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts website

The Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA) is a gateway that "fosters and presents the finest in contemporary, visual and performing arts from the global Black world. " 

The Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts opened in 2005, and continues to celebrate the culture of the community through visual and performing arts.

The Roxbury International Film Festival is the largest film festival in New England that annually celebrates people of color.

The Roxbury Cultural District "identifies and recognizes Roxbury's cultural assets and establishes the tools, strategies, resources, and spaces that elevate the community of Roxbury as a living repository of arts and cultural expression—past, present, and future."

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Roxbury Voice: Advice to Christian Leaders

“I’m planning to get more involved with my neighborhood association this year...to understand different viewpoints and political standpoints in regards to development...[housing and failing schools]...to show up at meetings and to have a voice."

— Pastor Cynthia Hymes Bell, Director of Starlight Ministries

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New Academy Estates

Housing – Roxbury has an unusually large percentage of its housing units that are renter-occupied (80%) compared to owner-occupied (20%). This is the highest rate of any non-student neighborhood in the city. (The U.S. proportion of renter-occupied units is 36%.)

Roxbury has the third highest number of housing units of any Boston neighborhood – 20,779. 

Roxbury’s growth is poised to continue, with 2,711 new units of housing approved from 2010 through 2017 (including new residential units being added to the Whittier Choice Neighborhood project). In addition, 626 additional residential units have been proposed and are under review. If all 3,337 units are built, this could add 8,500 or more new residents to the Roxbury neighborhood.

Roxbury Community College is a state-supported two-year coed liberal arts institution, founded in 1973.

Educational Attainment – From 2000 to 2016, the share of adult residents without a high school degree fell (32% to 25%) while the share with a bachelor’s degree rose (13% to 20%). Even though the percentage of college graduates increased, it is still the second-lowest of any neighborhood and far lower than the percentage of college graduates in most neighborhoods and Boston as a whole (46%).

(Primary source of data in this section: Boston in Context: Neighborhoods, Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA), March 2018, based on the 2012-2016 American Community Survey (ACS), U.S. Census.)

The Shirley–Eustis House is a National Historic Landmark, built in Roxbury as a summer residence between 1747 and 1751.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Roxbury – Boston Planning and Development Agency

This site provides a short overview of Roxbury's history, as well as comprehensive details on the city's projects—past, present, and future. 

Roxbury Historical Society

To learn more about Roxbury's extensive history, visit this site. The Roxbury Historical Society headquarters are located at the Dillaway Thomas House in the Roxbury Heritage State Park.

Understanding Dorchester: Overview + Resources

Understanding Dorchester: Overview + Resources

By Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

Sometimes divided into North Dorchester and South Dorchester, this massive area of Boston includes many sub-neighborhoods, shown above. Grove Hall, Glover’s Corner, and St. Marks also are sometimes identified as sub-neighborhoods of Dorchester.

Dorchester is Boston’s largest and most populous neighborhood. In fact, Dorchester was a separate town from 1630 until 1870, when it voted to become a part of the city of Boston. If Dorchester’s population was separated from Boston, the community would be the fourth largest city in Massachusetts!

Dorchester reflects the diversity of Boston in its varied churches, people, business centers, buildings, and landscapes. The community has a long and rich history with many significant personalities, including activists Lucy Stone and William Munroe Trotter. Today Dorchester also has a rich mixture of diverse people groups ranging from Cape Verdeans to Hispanics and Vietnamese, as well as Irish, African Americans, and immigrants from the Caribbean.

Caleb McCoy, hip-hop artist and producer for OAK music group, was born and raised in Dorchester, MA. Caleb is also the development manager at EGC in the South End.

"Growing up in Codman Square has been a rich experience for me. So much of my story has been influenced by what this town has to offer. From the danger to the diversity, and everything in between, I take pride in being from Dorchester." - Caleb McCoy

Dorchester today: Top Ten Distinctives 

1. Size  

Dorchester has the largest population of any neighborhood in Boston – 124,489.

2. Immigration  

More than one third of Dorchester’s residents are foreign born (41, 685).

3. Higher Education  

Twenty-five percent of Dorchester residents aged 25 older had bachelor’s degrees or higher, compared with 45% of Boston residents.” This grew from 18% in 2000 to 25% in 2015.

4. Income 

The 2015 median household income for Dorchester was more than $12,000 lower than the Boston median income.

5. Housing  

Dorchester’s population is likely to experience future growth since 1,244 new housing units were approved in  2016 as a part of nearly two million square feet of new building development. Currently another 512 new housing units are approved or in the pipeline at the Boston Planning and Development Agency, including about 700,000 square feet of development in a dozen new projects.

6. Languages  

Dorchester residents speak a variety of languages at home:

• 16,918 residents speak Spanish

• 9,395 residents speak Vietnamese

• 4,045 residents speak Portuguese or Cape Verdean Creole

7. Children and Youth   

Dorchester has 15,841 children age 0 – 9 years and 16,428 young people age 10-19 years, which is significantly higher percentage of children and youth than that of Boston as a whole.

8. Poverty   

The poverty rate for Dorchester is about 23% compared with 21.5% for the city and 11.6% for the state.

9. Elders  

Dorchester has 11,879 residents 65 years and over, which reflects Boston as a whole.

10. Ethnic Diversity  

Dorchester is one of Boston’s more diverse neighborhoods with many Vietnamese, Cape Verdean, African American, Caribbean, White, and Hispanic residents.

Ethnic Makeup of Dorchester, MA

• Black / African American
• White
• Latino / Hispanic
• Asian
• Other Races

• Black / African American
• White
• Latino / Hispanic
• Asian
• Other Races

Population over 2012-2017. Source: Boston Planning and Development Agency, Boston in Context: Neighborhoods, January 2017, p. 12.

A BRIEF History of Dorchester

English Puritans  from Dorsett County in the West of England first settled Dorchester in June 1630. The organizer of this group, Rev. John White, and a number of the immigrants were from Dorchester, England.

In the early years these settlers built a church and school along with their homes. Two 17th century homes, the Blake House and the Pierce House, can still be visited in Dorchester.

The large area of the town developed as several village centers with farmlands in between and mills along the Neponset River. After the town agreed to be annexed by Boston in 1870, it experienced rapid growth with real estate developers and rail and streetcar lines proliferating. Triple-deckers housed the growing population, as churches, industries, businesses, and cultural activities grew and thrived.

The population peaked in the mid-twentieth century, and then went through several transitions as African Americans, Cape Verdeans, West Indians, Hispanics, Vietnamese and others moved in to replace earlier residents who had left for the suburbs.  Recently, new churches, businesses, and housing developments have taken root to serve the community.

Baker Chocolate Factory, Dorchester, MA. Photo by Mark N. Belanger, 2009.

Some Dorchester Firsts

• Oldest Congregation The First Parish Church of Dorchester is the oldest congregation in present day Boston.

• First Public School The Mather School, founded in 1639, was the first tax supported, free public elementary school in America.

• First Town Meeting  Dorchester held the first recorded town meeting in American history, on October 8, 1633.

• First Chocolate Dr. James Baker and Irish chocolatier, John Hannon began the first chocolate factory in America in 1764 in Lower Mills, Dorchester. The Baker Chocolate Factory became world famous.

Ashmont Station, Dorchester, MA.

Recommended Resources 

Dorchester TODAY

68 Blocks: Life, Death, Hope in Boston’s Most Troubled Neighborhood. Irons, Meghan E., Akilah Johnson, Maria Cramer, Jenna Russell, and Andrew Ryan.Boston: Boston Globe, 2013.

Reporters living in the neighborhood wrote a series of in-depth articles which were combined into the feature 68 Blocks. 

MyDorchester is an initiative to build civic engagement and social capital in Boston's largest and oldest neighborhood, Dorchester.

MyDorchester: Twitter / MyDorchester: Facebook

Books & Booklets on Dorchester today

Streets of Glory: Church and Community in a Black Urban Neighborhood by Omar McRoberts, 2003. McRoberts studied the relationship between churches and the community in the Four Corners area.

Mitchell, Rudy. Theresa Musante, and Elizabeth Spinney. Geneva-Bowdoin. Boston: Emmanuel Gospel Center, Youth Violence Systems Project, 2009.

Mitchell, Rudy, with Tamecia Jones. Uphams Corner. Boston: Emmanuel Gospel Center, Youth Violence Systems Project, 2008.

Dorchester HISTORY

www.dorchesteratheneum.org is an excellent collection of material on Dorchester history, including maps, pictures and articles.

 

BOOKS on Dorchester History

Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell. Dorchester. 2 vols. Images of America Series. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 1995, 2000.

The notable people, attractions, houses, churches, and other buildings of each section of Dorchester are covered in turn by this illustrated history using many old photographs.

The second volume has chapters covering the periods before and after Dorchester was annexed to Boston. These sections, like late 19th century county histories, focus on prominent citizens and their houses or businesses. This second volume also illustrates the history and various modes of transportation and the history of Carney Hospital. 

The two volumes give a good visual impression of selected aspects of Dorchester’s past history, but not a coherent and full narrative history of the neighborhood.

Taylor, Earl. Dorchester. Postcard History Series. Charleston, S. C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2005.

Edward Taylor’s Postcard History Series book on Dorchester, also by Arcadia Publishing, is basically the same type of illustrated history, but with a slightly different selection of pictures. 

Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell. Dorchester: A Compendium. Charleston, S.C.: The History Press, 2011.

Unlike Sammarco's other three volumes on featuring historical photos with detailed descriptions, Dorchester: A Compendium is a collection of historical essays.

The first chapter traces the development of various parts of Dorchester while describing early leaders, buildings, and landowners.  Later chapters cover the many interesting men and women who have lived in Dorchester:

• Lucy Stone, abolitionist and women’s rights activist

• William Monroe Trotter, African American civil rights activist who helped found the Niagara Movement, a precursor to the NAACP

• Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, matriarch of the Kennedy family

• Edward Everett, famous orator

• Theodore White, historian, Pulitzer Prize winner

Sammarco's Dorchester: Then and Now, 2005.

The Then and Now books on Boston neighborhoods compare and contrast photographs of the same scenes and buildings in the past with more current ones. Different sections of this book feature schools, churches, and houses with their many changes.

In the case of Dorchester, many impressive houses and churches of the past have been lost over the years. Blayney Baptist Church, Baker Memorial Church, and Immanuel Baptist Church for example became parking lots. Fortunately, the stately buildings of the First and Second Churches of Dorchester still overlook Meeting House Hill and Codman Square respectively.

Dorchester is still home to many vibrant congregations even though many of them occupy more humble buildings today. To the probing mind, some of these pictures may raise the question, why did these churches grow, decline, and in some cases die?

Warner, Sam Bass, Jr. Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston (1870-1900). 2nd edition. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1978.

Streetcar Suburbs is a very insightful study of how the urban systems of transportation (streetcars) and housing interconnected in the rapid growth of Boston neighborhoods like Dorchester, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.

This book is still relevant in Boston’s new wave of growth because transportation centered housing development is still important and because the book’s discussion of class divisions and inequality continue to be major issues in the city.

Orcutt, William Dana. Good Old Dorchester. A Narrative History of the Town, 1630-1893. Cambridge: John Wilson & Son, University Press, 1893. (Amazon.com)

Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society. History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts. Boston: Ebenezer Clapp, Jr., 1859.

What Did You Think?

Christianity in Boston 2030: What's The Church's Vision?

Christianity in Boston 2030: What's The Church's Vision?

by Rudy Mitchell and Steve Daman

The City of Boston has released “Imagine Boston 2030,” a comprehensive vision to prepare for an expected population surge by the city’s 400th anniversary in 2030. Can the church articulate a similar vision for what the Kingdom of God could look like in Boston 13 years from now?

“Boston needs dreamers.”

Rev. Ralph Kee, veteran church planter and animator of the Greater Boston Church Planting Collaborative at EGC, thinks Boston needs dreamers. “God has a big dream,” he says, “and people have dreams. When people start to share their dreams, that builds enthusiasm.”

THE TASK AHEAD

Imagine Boston 2030 has articulated goals in the social, economic, cultural, and physical realms. Through the Prophet Jeremiah, God instructed exiled Israelites to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Urban Christians can seek the prosperity of our city and the success of these goals, finding ways to join in.

At the same time, we have the privilege and mandate to discern together goals and desires God has for our city.

Population growth alone should get our attention. With significant growth in Boston’s population recently and projected into the future, Boston’s churches will need to consider how to expand their outreach and service, as well as replication into new congregations.

Between 2010 and 2030, Boston could add from 84,000 to more than 190,000 new residents. Reaching and serving that many new people would require growing our present churches and planting new ones.

Image from Imagine Boston 2030 draft, p. 19; data source: ACS 1-Year Estimates (2011-2015), U.S. Census Bureau; BPDA Research Department, September 2016

DREAM INNOVATION  

What church solutions would best fit the city in the coming decades? More meeting spaces would be a must—though many new churches may never own a building.

Learn More About Space Sharing: Under One Steeple

“More meeting spaces would be a must—though many new churches may never own a building.”

New churches could take a variety of forms, including small groups, house churches, and cafe churches. Larger traditional churches could meet in a variety of traditional and nontraditional spaces and contexts.

A collaborative of churches could own or rent some multi-use space in Boston’s new neighborhoods. Some developers may already be creating community meeting spaces in new neighborhoods that could be rented by local church groups.

Can we start to envision the possible? What would it take to make the dreams happen?

“Should we convene Christians to talk about Boston 2030,” Ralph Kee asks, “including bankers, architects, real estate agents, construction executives? Can these leaders get together? The city is going to grow. Even what was Suffolk Downs is going to be a mini city. How are we going to get churches there?”

TAKE ACTION

What is your vision for Christianity in Boston in 2030? Would you weigh in by filling out a brief survey? We’d love to hear from you!

Share your Thoughts

Share Your Thoughts

Contact Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher, to continue the conversation.

Connect

Contact Rudy Mitchell

Get to know veteran church planter Rev. Ralph Kee and plan to visit the next Greater Boston Church Planting Collaborative gathering.

Tips for Developing Church Leadership

Tips for Developing Church Leadership

by Rudy Mitchell and Steve Daman

Starting a new church, but short on leaders?

A few years ago, we interviewed a number of Greater Boston’s church planters to ask how they were developing new leaders for their churches. Here are some of their tips for raising new leaders.

1. Pray first. While you might be thinking you need people with particular skills, what you really need are people with spiritual maturity and Christ-like character. These foundational qualities take time to develop and time to discern. Lining up leadership should not be rushed. Do what Jesus did before he chose his team. Get up on the mountain and pray.

2. Examine and test. You don’t want to rush into appointing someone as a leader until you have thoughtfully and prayerfully assessed their potential and discovered their passion. To get there, you’ll need sufficient face time to begin to listen to their hearts.

• Motives: Ask them to tell you their story about their calling to serve Christ and his church, and see if you can discern their motives for accepting a leadership role.
• Beliefs: Are their beliefs sound and consistent with Scripture and with the church’s vision?
• Character: Are they teachable? Faithful? Humble? Do they love Jesus?
• Skills: Talk openly about the candidate’s strengths and potentials, but also weaknesses and limits. (You might go first in this one.)
• Vision: Ask them about their vision for the position and brainstorm together what it might look like for them to take leadership over a particular ministry. See how that conversation goes.

Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to implement this type of assessment as it may save both you and the candidate much pain and difficulty if, in fact, it turns out they are not the right person for the job. For scriptural precedent on testing, read 2 Corinthians 13.

3. Make disciples. Developing leaders can look exactly like making disciples.

• Replicate yourself: Move beyond the rigid supervisor/supervisee relationship and consider that your goal is to replicate yourself, to pass the torch to others who can learn to do the work even better than you do.
• Spend time together: Training, discipling and mentoring require that you and the emerging leader spend time together and become part of each other’s lives in a deep and meaningful way.
• Lean in: Lean in to the relational aspect of leadership development. Make yourself available. Listen well. From listening will grow understanding, spontaneous prayer, love, and maturity.
• Huddle up: Add a regular Bible study time with your mentee with an eye toward applying what you learn reflecting on Scripture to ministry and life situations. This kind of intentional discipling can be one-on-one or in small huddles of three or more.
• Grow yourself: With humility, remember that iron sharpens iron, and through this relationship, you’ll be changing and growing, too.

4. Learn together. Add to the essential, relational side of leadership development some formal training and exploration. Look for opportunities to gain knowledge and insight together.

• Create training opportunities: Learning can happen in regular leadership meetings, special training sessions, or on retreats. Listening, vision casting, and discussion can all help.
• Pick resources: Choose books or articles, and maybe online resources or video series that your team can study and discuss.
• Flex scheduling: If team members seem too busy or have conflicting schedules, you might be able to provide some training through virtual online meetings, one-on-one or in groups.
• Back to school: See what’s available at local Christian colleges, Bible institutes, and seminaries. Encourage your emerging leaders to pursue and gain academic credentials along with practical knowledge. The learning and the credentials may open doors for them for even more effective ministry.

5. Do and reflect. When it comes to raising up leaders, nothing can substitute for hands-on-experience and on-the-job training. Perhaps your church or ministry can offer internships, residency, or apprenticeship training. In the same way that Jesus’ disciples watched and followed, listened and asked questions, and then were sent out, follow that pattern.

• Show and send: After instruction in and modeling specific skills in real life ministry with your mentees along for the ride, start delegating responsibilities and monitor how it goes. Let them lead a small group, or teach a lesson, or get out and get dirty serving.
• Reflect and send again: Observe, supervise, and coach. Give feedback. Reflect together what happened. Pray together. Send them out again.

A couple final hints:

• Articulate roles and responsibilities: Make sure the new leaders can articulate back to you their responsibilities and what they are accountable for so that your expectations and theirs are always in sync.
• Shepherd their hearts: Periodically discern if the leaders find joy and fulfillment not only in doing the work of ministry, but in learning to do it better.

SOURCE: In 2014, the Emmanuel Gospel Center’s Applied Research team completed 41 in-depth interviews with Boston area church planters of various denominations, ethnic groups, and church planting networks. This article was derived largely from responses given by these church planters regarding their own practice and view of leadership development, with added insights from the EGC Applied Research team.

TAKE ACTION

Connect with church planters: Visit the Greater Boston Church Planting Collaborative.

Top 6 Books For Understanding The South End

Top 6 Books For Understanding The South End

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher, Applied Research and Consulting

The South End has undergone a dramatic transformation in this generation. Christian leaders in the South End can benefit from these recommended resources for foundational and ongoing learning about this dynamic community.

The books I've selected are not just informative — they also illustrate methods of researching a neighborhood or community. These methods include historical research, biographical research, the use of documents and photographs, interviews, and participant observation. The books also represent different time periods from the 1890s settlement house research to very recent studies. 

Once Upon a Neighborhood: A Timeline and Anecdotal History of the South End of Boston

by Alison Barnet

While Barnet’s history of the South End is not a continuous narrative, it is by far the most detailed study of the neighborhood. The book is arranged chronologically by year, with many years having multiple entries of a paragraph for each fact or anecdote. The history from the 1960s on is especially detailed since the author lived in the South End during that period. This work covers all types of businesses, publications, organizations, and churches. It does an excellent job of covering the rich diversity of groups and individuals which have lived in the South End. Some entries are associated with a founding date or initial activity, but also describe later developments up to the twentieth century. On the other hand anecdotes sometimes also review past history from the associated date. You can dive into this book at any point and find a fascinating mix of people, events and issues from a cross-section of neighborhood life.

Boston’s South End: The Clash of Ideas in a Historic Neighborhood 

by Russ Lopez

The South End is a complex neighborhood which has experienced many waves of change. This is the only full length book to narrate and interpret the overall history of this diverse community. Lopez notes some truth in the standard narrative of the neighborhood rising, declining, and gentrifying, but says the fuller story is more multifaceted and nuanced.  Since this has been a multi-racial, multi-ethnic neighborhood for over 125 years, it offers many lessons in conflict resolution and community organizing for other urban neighborhoods. The chapter on religion in the South End describes several major institutions, but fails to cover some of the largest Protestant churches. Although the book contains occasional factual errors, it is the most comprehensive history of the South End.  

A Block in Time: History of Boston's South End Through a Window on Holyoke Street

by Lynne Potts

See also by the same author, Faces of a Neighborhood: Boston’s South End in the Early Twenty-first Century.

Lynne Potts, a long term resident, writes with flair and adds a personal touch to her concise history of the South End. She also gives those interested in the research process glimpses of her own research methods including trips to archives and libraries as well as detailed first hand observations and interviews. Although the book includes enough general information to understand the neighborhood’s development and trends, its unique contribution is the author’s personal perspectives and experiences woven into the general narrative. The approach of studying a neighborhood beginning with an in-depth look at one typical block works well here because the people, events, and experiences described are representative of the larger neighborhood over the last several decades.

Boston’s South End

by Anthony Mitchell Sammarco

See also by the same author, Boston’s South End: Then and Now.

The Arcadia Images of America Series books are full of historical photos with detailed descriptions and introductions for each of the towns and neighborhoods covered. While these do not give full histories of the communities, they do help the casual reader absorb a visual sense of the history and learn many detailed facts. Photos are organized in chapters about churches, schools, hospitals, businesses, libraries, transportation and other institutions. Many of the photographs show buildings, but quite anumber also include groups of everyday people. By learning about the history of your neighborhood you can join with others interested in history, have common ground for conversations, and gain an understanding of community identity.

Legendary Locals of Boston's South End

by Hope J. Shannon

While a neighborhood like the South End has many historical buildings, its current and past residents are the most interesting and important aspect of what makes it a community. Hope Shannon presents short, illustrated biographies of women and men of the past and recent times who have made significant contributions to the community and wider world. Shannon selects famous, infamous, and everyday people from many walks of life for Legendary Locals. The biographies range from Alexander Graham Bell, Louisa May Alcott, Rev. A.J. Gordon, and Cardinal Richard Cushing to former Mayor James Michael Curley. People who have lived in the South End of Boston over the last several decades will enjoy reading about historical figures and familiar faces, while newer residents and future generations will benefit from the careful research behind all of these biographies.

The City Wilderness: A Settlement Study

by Robert A. Woods, (editor)

In the 1890s the South End House was established as a settlement house, and the residents and associates began living in and researching the neighborhood. This classic book was the result of that research. Although the language and views were shaped by the culture and ideas of that time period, the research opens a window into the lives of South Enders at the turn of the century. The topics covered include history, description of the population, public health, employment, politics, “criminal tendencies,” recreation, the church, education, social agencies and charitable organizations (including an analysis of their methods). The most fascinating elements of the book are three color coded maps indicating for each block, the types of buildings, the nationalities of residents, and the types of employment of the workers. The book can be accessed online at Google books.

Other more specialized books on the South End

South End Character: Speaking Out on Neighborhood Change

by Alison Barnet

While the book Legendary Locals of Boston's South End highlights South Enders who achieved some prominence or fame, in contrast South End Character gives us a window into the lives of the lesser known “old South Enders.” Barnet also contrasts the perspectives and lifestyles of long-time residents and wealthier newcomers. Many of the chapters are reflections and sketches of people and life in the 1960s and 1970s. These short essays originally appeared as columns in the South End News. The look backward is not just a nostalgic reminisce, but an examination of values and issues in a changing neighborhood. Alison Barnet has also written several other books including South End Incident: A True Story.

Faces of a Neighborhood: Boston’s South End in the Early Twenty-first Century

by Lynne Potts

In this second book on the South End, author Lynne Potts interviewed 24 diverse neighborhood residents. The interviews draw out insights on contemporary issues facing people living in the city today. The 24 South Enders included people from different age groups, economic groups, as well as people who were long-time residents and newcomers.

Boston’s South End

by Lauren Prescott

This annotated collection of South End related postcards covers the period from the late 19th century to the mid Twentieth century. This is not a complete history, but it does have extensive notes with its many pictures of South End churches, hospitals, charity organizations, and businesses. For example, the book gives details on Rev. Edgar J. Helms’ development of Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, as well as historical notes on the Salvation Army, the Union Rescue Mission, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, the YWCA, and the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society (founded in the South End). Other chapters cover schools and education; hotels and recreation; and businesses and industry.

Villa Victoria: The Transformation of Social Capital in a Boston Barrio

by Mario Luis Small

Villa Victoria has been a national model of community development. This study looks at the relationship of poverty and social capital, finding in Villa Victoria that poorer urban communities are not necessarily lacking in social capital.

Good Neighbors: Gentrifying Diversity in Boston's South End

by Sylvie Tissot, (translated by David Broder and Catherine Romatowski)

A French Marxist’s perspective on gentrification in the South End based on participant observation and interview research in neighborhood associations and networks.

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History of Revivalism in Boston

History of Revivalism in Boston

Resources for the urban pastor and community leader published by Emmanuel Gospel Center, Boston

Emmanuel Research Review reprint
Issue No. 24 — January/February 2007

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher, Emmanuel Gospel Center, Boston

Read the full version online here.

Executive Summary

“Revivalism,” according to the Dictionary of Christianity in America, “is the movement that promotes periodic spiritual intensity in church life, during which the unconverted come to Christ and the converted are shaken out of their spiritual lethargy.” David W. Bebbington, professor of history at the University of Stirling in Scotland and a distinguished visiting professor of history at Baylor University, describes revivalism as a strand of evangelicalism, a form of activism (which he identifies as one of evangelicalism’s four key characteristics), where a movement produces conversions “not in ones and twos but en masse.”

Dwight L. Moody revival meeting in Boston

In this 2007 study, EGC’s Senior Researcher Rudy Mitchell traces Boston’s key evangelistic revival movements from the First Great Awakening in Boston in 1740–1741 through the Billy Graham campaign in Boston, starting on New Year’s Eve in 1949. With 23,000 attending services on the Boston Common in 1740 to hear Whitefield (without the benefit of electronic amplification) to an estimated 75,000 gathered at the same spot in 1950 to hear the same Gospel preached by Rev. Billy Graham, the story of revivalism in Boston gives color and texture to the waves of revival.

Rudy introduces us to a few of the key players, remarkable crowds, recorded outcomes, while weaving in familiar faces and places, from Charles Finney, Dwight L. Moody and Billy Sunday to Harvard Yard, Park Street Church and the Boston Garden. We sense history coming alive as we read how God moved in remarkable ways through his gifted evangelists and preachers, and we gain a deeper appreciation for Boston’s vibrant Christian history.

“History of Revivalism in Boston” was first printed in the January/February 2007 issue of the Emmanuel Research Review, Issue 24. It was subsequently published in New England’s Book of Acts, a collection of reports on how God is growing the churches among many people groups and ethnic groups in Greater Boston and beyond.

Table of Contents (with key themes and names added)

Revivalism
First Great Awakening in Boston

George Whitefield

The Revivals of 1823-24, 1826-27

Second Great Awakening, growth of evangelicalism, church planting, Rev. Lyman Beecher

The Revival of 1841-1842

Rev. Edward N. Kirk, Charles Finney, Elder Jacob Knapp, resulting church growth

The Revival of 1857-58

“The Prayer Revival,” noontime businessmen’s prayer, daily prayer meetings by and for women

The Dwight L. Moody Revival Meetings in Boston

YMCA, Ira Sankey, A.J. Gordon, social justice, temperance, 1877-78

The 1916–1917 Billy Sunday Revival

celebrity status, campaign prayer events, mass rallies, businesswomen’s luncheon, 64,000 declarations of faith, 133 sermons delivered

The 1950 Billy Graham Revival

Harold J. Ockenga, Boston Garden, New England-wide follow-up rallies

Learn More

Read the full version of “History of Revivalism in Boston”

Contact Rudy Mitchell with questions, or to request a printed copy.

Email Rudy

Contact Rudy Mitchell

Jamaica Plain's Journey Through Time: History + Resources

Jamaica Plain Over Time: History + Resources

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

From progressive education policies in the late 1600s, to the arrival of immigrants and industry in the 1800s, to the establishment of diverse housing projects and churches up to the present day, Jamaica Plain's colorful and action-filled past is worth exploring as part of Boston's unique history.

Some Jamaica Plain Firsts

THEATER  The Footlight Club of Jamaica Plain is the oldest community theater in the country.

ANIMAL WELFARE  In 1868 George Angell published the first magazine on the humane care and welfare of animals, “Our Dumb Animal Friends: We Speak for Those Who Cannot Speak for Themselves.” He was also the founder of the M.S.P.C.A. whose animal hospital is on South Huntington Avenue.

MEDICAL  On Oct. 16, 1846, Dr. John C. Warren, a Jamaica Plain resident, performed the first surgery publicly demonstrating the use of ether on a patient.

Historical Overview

Map of Jamaica Plain showing sub-neighborhoods. Boston Redevelopment Authority, Jamaica Plain District Profile…, Boston, 1979, 5

Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood was a part of the separate town of Roxbury from 1630 until 1851. An influential center of West Roxbury, the town was annexed in 1874 to the city of Boston. Early settlers, like William Curtis who built his house in 1639, were mostly farmers and fruit growers.

The Eliot School was established in 1676 with a grant of land from the Thomas and Ruggles families and later an endowment from Rev. John Eliot, Apostle to the Indians. The donors “stipulated that the school be open to all children, white, black, and Indian.” [1] The current Eliot School building dates to 1832.

The first church in Jamaica Plain, the Third Parish in Roxbury, was established in 1769. Rev. William Gordon, its first pastor, served as chaplain in the Provincial Congress in 1775. 

The Loring-Greenough House was built in 1760 for Joshua Loring, a British Naval Commodore and loyalist appointed to the governor’s council. In 1774 after opposition from his neighbors, Loring fled from his house to join with the British in Boston. The home was later used by Washington's troops as a hospital during the Revolutionary War.

[1] Eugene Green, Jamaica Plain. Boston 200 Neighborhood Series (Boston: Boston 200 Corp., 1976), 7.

Early Infrastructure: Water Supply & Transportation Systems

In 1796 after the Revolutionary War, the Jamaica Plain Aqueduct Company developed an important water supply system from Jamaica Pond to Fort Hill serving Boston’s water needs. The system used gravity flow from the pond through miles of wooden pipes. 

Transportation developments in the 19th century influenced the growth of Jamaica Plain. The Boston and Providence Railroad was constructed through Jamaica Plain in 1834 with a station at Green Street opening in 1841.

By the 1870s horse drawn street cars were serving the growing community, and later electric streetcars took their place. For more insights on the impact of these on neighborhood development see Sam Bass Warner’s book, Streetcar Suburbs.

Early Factories

Also during the late 19th century and early 20th century various factories and 24 breweries were built in Jamaica Plain, mostly in the Heath Street and Stoney Brook areas.

In 1876 the B. F. Sturtevant fan company expanded and moved to Jamaica Plain, and by 1901 it was employing 650 men and manufacturing many products.

The Thomas G. Plant Shoe Company had one of the world’s largest shoe factories on the site of the current Stop and Shop plaza from 1896 to 1976. In the 1920s the Moxie soft drink company developed a factory complex called Moxieland nearby at the site of today’s Bromley Heath Housing Project. In those days Moxie outsold CocaCola.

Iglesia Metodista “San Andres” (St. Andrew’s Methodist Church)

Immigration, Population Growth & Churches

Immigrant groups from Ireland, Germany, Latvia, and other countries contributed to neighborhood growth and provided workers for these industries. 

Several large churches and many smaller ones started up to serve the spiritual needs of the growing population. The German churches included the First German Baptist Church (now River of Life Church), the German Methodist Episcopal Church (now St. Andrew's Methodist), and the German Reformed Christ Church. Other churches started during the 1800s including St. John’s Episcopal (1841), Central Congregational (1853), Boylston Congregational Church (1879), First Baptist (1842), Blessed Sacrament Church (1891), and St. Thomas Aquinas Church (1869).

Jamaica Plan: Population vs. Year

• Population

• Population

Boston Redevelopment Authority Research Division, Historical Boston in Context: 1970-2000 Decennial Census, Boston: B.R.A., 2015. 2010 information from 2010 U.S. Census, STF 1, B.R.A. Research Division analysis. 1950 and 1960 data from B.R.A., Jamaica Plain Profile, 1988 (boundaries may vary from later boundaries). 2015 data from “Neighborhood Profiles,” August 2017.

Although the population of Jamaica Plain continued to grow during the first half of the 20th century, many of the factories and breweries experienced declines, fires, closures, or relocation. The elevated Orange Line tracks along Washington Street had a negative impact on nearby businesses and residences. The 1930s Depression and later redlining also had negative impacts on housing and housing construction in the community.

An important new development in housing took place with the opening of the Heath Street public housing in 1942 and the Bromley Park housing project in 1954. Although Bromley was opened with some fanfare and tours in 1954, it later developed a variety of problems. 

Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana was started in 1975.

By the 1960s and 1970s many Spanish speaking immigrants from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other places were moving into Jamaica Plain. These new residents started many small businesses along Centre Street and Washington Street. 

Spanish speakers also added vitality to the spiritual life of the neighborhood by starting many new churches, including Primera Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal (1969), Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal “Roca de Consolacion” (1969), Iglesia Metodista “San Andres” (1971), Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana (1975), and Iglesia Comunitaria de Boston (1988).

 While Jamaica Plain’s population was becoming more diverse during the 1960s and 1970s, it was also declining during that period.

Jamaica Plain IN RECENT DECADES: Current & Future Developments

J.P. Licks ice cream shop

In recent decades the elevated Orange Line was taken down. The scars left from demolition for the never-built Southwest Expressway were healed with the Southwest Corridor Park and new building development.

These physical changes along with other improvements have brought renewal in Jamaica Plain. Some older industrial buildings have been renovated, and newer businesses like J.P. Licks (ice cream shop and café) have made Centre Street an attractive and lively neighborhood center.

The future Jackson Square Recreation Center.

Recently, transit-oriented housing developments have sprung up around the Forest Hills MBTA train station. Hundreds of new residential units have been completed or are under way.

The JP/Rox Plan for the Washington Street and Columbus Avenue areas is likely to bring additional changes in the coming years. While Jamaica Plain continues to transition into the future, its beautiful green spaces will keep it true to its nickname as the “Eden of America.”

Map of Jamaica Plain, Boston Planning and Development Agency

Recommended Resources

Green, Eugene. Jamaica Plain. Boston 200 Neighborhood Series. Boston: Boston 200 Corporation, 1976.

This 24 page booklet weaves oral histories together along thematic lines and adds some early history of Jamaica Plain. Pictures and illustrations from many eras enhance the text.

When the interviews were made over 40 years ago, the protests to stop the Southwest Expressway were fresh in people’s minds. This and other issues of those days are brought to life in the oral histories recorded here.

Hirsch, Kathleen. A Home in the Heart of the City: A Woman’s Search for Community. New York: North Point Press, 1998.

Kathleen Hirsch's first-hand account of Jamaica Plain in the 1990s is well-written. The author writes about finding and building community in an urban neighborhood, as well as many perennial concerns like balancing career and parenting.

Although Hirsch encounters and writes about the diverse aspects of Jamaica Plain, her perspective is basically that of a professional from the Back Bay who is trying to connect with the everyday life of a gentrifying neighborhood. Some of her writing explores the spiritual dimension of community, at least in a general way.

She writes, “When I moved here, I didn’t expect that my quest for community would lead me to craftsmen, much less drug dealers or humble Xerox-shop managers, or that a world of Mondays would come to echo the wisdom of the Psalms” (86).

After getting a coffee on Sunday morning at Sorella’s café, she reflects on the meaning of Sabbath rest, “To be at rest is to observe the bones of God’s work through man in the world laid bare. To be at rest is to see with clarified vision. And this vision forces me to contemplate not what I am meant to do with my days in this place on earth, but what I am meant to be. To what, here and now, am I to be faithful” (79)?

Hoffman, Alexander von. Local Attachments: The Making of an Urban American Neighborhood, 1850-1920. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1994.

No other book presents such a detailed historical and social analysis of any Boston neighborhood as Hoffman’s Local Attachments does for Jamaica Plain. The author concludes, “if ever we are going to cope with the problems of our cities, we need to understand better the historic neighborhood and how it functioned within the urban system of late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries” (248). 

The book mines many primary sources including church records to develop a full picture of the social networks and civic spirit that composed a strong sense of local community and public culture in this neighborhood. Its historical perspective “traces the dramatic transformation of Jamaica Plain into a modern urban neighborhood” (xxii).

Hoffman explains and documents  how “the most important voluntary institutions in any late nineteenth-century American community, and especially in the historic land of the Puritan, were those connected with religion” (122).

While Jamaica Plain has continued to change significantly in the last twenty years, this book is still essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the neighborhood.

Von Hoffman, Alexander Carl. The Making of the Modern City: The Development of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, 1632-1920. Ph. D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1986.

Rogovin, Janice. A Sense of Place/ Tu Barrio: Jamaica Plain People and Where They Live. Translated by Yolanda Rivas. Boston: Mercantile Press, 1981.

The text (in English and Spanish) is by various JP residents, with editing and photos by Janice Rogovin.

Many of the stories bring to life the experiences of residents in the late 1970s up to 1981 as they reflected on community life, their homes, and being forced to move when new people bought the buildings they were living in. The book includes many photos and glimpses into the lives of families who were facing difficult times.

Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell. Jamaica Plain. Images of America Series. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 1997. Reissued in 2004.

Topics covered in the chapters of these books include churches, schools, natural features, community service organizations, transportation, early settlers and their estates and houses. Pictures of the early years of the Boston Children’s Museum illustrate the valuable educational role it played in the community.

At one time German groups, clubs, and churches served immigrants working in the neighborhood. Clubs such as the Jamaica Club and the Tuesday Club were once more prominent than today. Churches also sprouted up all over the neighborhood as the population grew. Other important institutions documented with pictures include hospitals such as the Faulkner Hospital and the Veteran’s Administration (VA) Hospital.

If you are curious about the history of the Loring-Greenough House or Curtis Hall or you wonder about the origins of Jamaica Plain names like Spring House and Peter Parley Road, these books will give you brief answers.

Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell. Jamaica Plain: Then & Now. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.

The pictures in this volume often repeat the ones in Sammarco’s Images of America book on Jamaica Plain. However, as the title suggests, this work also pairs up old photos with modern photos of more or less the same view.

Whitcomb, Harriet Manning. Annals and Reminiscences of Jamaica Plain. Cambridge, Mass.: The Riverside Press, 1897. 64 pages.

Whitcomb shares many details of pioneering families and their homes in Jamaica Plain. In the process she connects the community to many historical events in Boston and America.

Hay, Ida. Science in the Pleasure Garden: A History of the Arnold Arboretum. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1995.

This well illustrated and comprehensive work details every aspect of the arboretum and its history. The book touches on both science and history in tracing the development of one of North America’s most important arboretums.

WEB SITES

Remember Jamaica Plain blog – http://rememberjamaicaplain.blogspot.com/

Jamaica Plain Historical Society – www.jphs.org

Christian Leadership Web Sites [Resource List]

Christian Leadership Web Sites [Resource List]

by Rudy Mitchell

CTPastors.com

Offers new resources for pastors and church leaders, and contains the 145 issue archive of Christianity Today's Leadership Journal.

Leadership Network

Seeks to foster innovation movements that activate THE CHURCH to greater impact for the Glory of God’s name. What began in 1984 with 20 leaders now serves over 200,000 leaders all over the world. 

Life and Leadership

Many resource guides and book reviews on Christian leadership, especially relating to the church. 

christian-leadership.org

The Christian Leadership website of Claybury International offers articles on Christian leadership. In addition, their free Christian Leadership Academy online courses examine what it means to be a Christian Leader modeled on the character and teaching of Jesus. This international ministry is based in England.

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