History of the church

"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20

Gathered in 1832 as the Evangelical Congregational Society of Quincy, the present Bethany Congregational Church celebrated its 175th Anniversary in 2007.

The beginnings of the church were simple, but with strong feelings About good and evil – the total abstinence of the use and sale of "ardent spirits", the observance of the Sabbath, and strict regulations on slaveholding, withholding fellowship from those who engaged in it. In 1842, when it was not only unpopular but almost dangerous to do so, the church rented the meeting house for lectures on the abolition of slavery. Over a century later, in 1954, the first black person in the history of the State Conference was elected moderator at its annual meeting convening at Bethany church.

The church owes its origins to a few persons who, in the winter of 1831-32 instituted a course of religious lectures at the Quincy Town Hall for the purpose of teaching the truths of Evangelical Christianity as maintained by Congregationalists. This led to a hall being rented for regular Sabbath services. In March 1832, fifteen people signed a paper for "measures to be taken to receive stated Orthodox preaching in this town and that a Religious Society be legally constituted to be called Evangelical Congregational Society in Quincy."

Later, an Ecclesiastical Council consisting of delegates from five invited churches met. The Rev. Warner Fay, pastor of the First Church of Charlestown, was moderator. He administered the sacrament and preached from the text: "Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."

Twenty-one persons signed the call for the council, five men and sixteen women. They became charter members of the church, presenting letters of demission from other churches.

We are in our third church building. The first was built on Hancock Street in 1834 and occupied until 1871. The second church building was built in 1871 in Quincy Square at the corner of Hancock and Chestnut Street. While in the second church, in 1896, the name was changed from Evangelical Congregational Church to Bethany Congregational Church. That site later became the home of the Granite Trust Bank and has since been a succession of banks.

This edifice, our third church home, was occupied for the first time on April 10, 1928 when parishioners processed from the old church to this, the new church. The morning papers of April 11 carried a story which read: "Traffic was halted in Quincy Center last night (April 10, 1928) as a solemn procession wound its way through the streets. Heads were bared in reverence as the marchers passed and quiet reigned except for the tolling of a church bell. It was a momentous occasion for the parishioners of the Bethany Congregational Church." On the 50th Anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone, Bethany members reenacted the march. There was a brief service in front of the (then) South Shore National Bank and we marched over to Bethany for a service, dinner and organ recital on our wonderful cathedral organ. We have been in this church building for 80 years. In 1961 Bethany became a member congregation of a new denomination, the United Church of Christ.

As part of our outreach program, we have several tenants. The one of longest standing, thirty years, is the Quincy Teen Mothers Program which is part of the Quincy Public Schools. The young mothers and babies come to school three days a week. The program requires three nurseries, The Infant Room, the Cruiser & Crawler Room and the Toddler Room. In addition on the second floor of the Parish House are classrooms for the young mothers and offices for the staff. Bethany is used morning, noon and night for a wide variety of activities, many church connected and many secular activities.

And – an abiding thought which developed in a Bible Study years ago: "Bethany was a place of retreat and hospitality for Jesus. May Bethany Church be so for all who come here."