Old South Church

Old South Church is one of the popular spots to visit in Boston, also one of the historical placesin Boston. It was designed in the Gothic Revival style, Established in the year 1669, it is also one of the older religious communities in the United States. also because of the location of it, made it not so different to find and hang around.
From the architecture perspective, the church is quite different with most of the churches I have visited back in Europe. The style, the choice of color. It is quite special. The church isn’t so big, but it surely worth to pay a visit.

A Boston landmark and right on the Freedom Trail, this is a must see for anyone who’s in the city, especially history buffs. The architecture is amazing and needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. Along with a large amount of historical importance in the city itself, the reenactors are a great touch.

The first night orchestra was amazing. It was our first time in Boston doing the first night and we came in for the performance with our family. I highly recommend it. They have one of the most amazing organs in the country and the entire orchestra was playing magically.

Old South Church was an easy choice for our Boston wedding venue. We had a very Boston wedding and with its rich heritage, nothing gets as Boston as being in the heart of Copley Square at Old South Church.
We had a small, intimate wedding of about 75 guests so the Gordon Chapel was the perfect location for our wedding ceremony. The room holds up to 165 guests. We also had an option to have our wedding ceremony in the Main Sanctuary, which is gorgeous, but at a capacity of 850 guests, was way to big for us.
Gordon Chapel is designed in the gothic style complete with beautiful stained glass windows on two sides, vaulted arches, and an organ. As soon as I stepped into the room, I knew it would be perfect for our wedding.
Our wedding package also came with an organist, wedding hostess, and minister. Just remember that wedding dates fill up fast! We booked about 16 months in advance but wish we had done so sooner. Thank you Old South Church for a beautiful wedding location!

Ligaya’s review (below) provides an excellent history of this beautiful church, so I won’t go into details about its architectural or culture background. Suffice it to say, this church is famous, old and centrally located in the heart of the Back Bay.
Two things struck us about this church:
–the stained glass windows are absolutely gorgeous. The colors are gem tones and the brochures say they’re reminiscent of Chartres Cathedral in France (which they are, if you’ve been there, you know). The vibrancy of the colors is unreal, especially if you are lucky enough to visit when the sun’s rays hits the windows.
–my kids and I really liked how this church made a point of letting visitors know that ALL people are welcome there, that they believe that LGBT folks are in God’s image and nobody is ever turned away here. This was boldly advertised on a brochure prominently out on display along with all their other brochures. My family is Jewish, but I truly believe this philosophy is what all religions are supposed to embrace, and it was so nice for me to show my kids that there are lots of churches out there that DO believe this and are welcoming of all.

As an international student, this church has been my family and my home for three years. There is no word I can use to say how much I love here.

Beautiful church for certain — can’t spring for a 5 as just a spectator.

Listening to the incredibly full sounding organ and gazing at century old surroundings. Amazing step off of Boylston Street in to a time long passed.

While I will leave off details related to my spirituality, I will say that I am not a parishioner at this church, But I am familiar with the Christian Faith.
This is a Protestant/​UCC church.
I love how they keep their doors open practically year-​round as a «Sanctuary in the City» as they call it. It is a lovely place for meditation, rest, or quiet reflection. If you need to talk to someone, the ministers there are really great too!
Finally, they periodically have music events, such as on Halloween and New Year’s, they have a pipe organ inside, and a talented Minister of Music (organist). Concerts are free, and always awesome.
Finally, a beautiful, large historic church in the middle of a city is not something that is found particularly commonly.
If you live in Boston, or are visiting from far away, if you are Protestant, or not, In recommend stopping in, and taking it all in.

ATTENTION: Future Brides Considering Old South Church
I was hoping to get married at Old South in 2014 and so I called to make a reservation for the time and date that I wanted. I was assured by the woman over the phone that this date was held for us and that they would be waiting for our deposit.
Right after my fiancée and I scheduled our venue, band etc. around the church, we called to let them know that the check was in the mail. The woman on the phone told us she had given our date away because she «forgot» about us.
Here’s my suggestion…
Don’t lie to brides and tell them that they are holding the date for you. The church is clearly not capable of holding reservations. I wouldn’t recommend working with forgetful vendors.

I’ve been to this church a couple of times. The first time was just to see the inside, which is gorgeous. The second time I went to the Sunday Festival service. A beautiful service with nice music and a good sermon.
I really like that they focus on loving thy neighbour rather than focusing on the differences between people. It’s fantastic that they don’t discriminate, which is what church really should be about.

An urban church that makes Boston feel more like a village. Here is a generous hearted and smart congregation that manages to avoid politics and instead keep a focus on loving your neighbor and leaving the world better than we found it.
The Thursday night Jazz service, Sunday 9:00 am communion, and Sunday 11:00 «Festival» service are all worth a look if you’re looking to balance the human made world with the sacred.

Ligaya T’s review pretty much sums it up but I just wanted to give Old South Church some love with the 5 star treatment it deserves. We have been members there for a year and love the members and ministers. They are so welcoming and open to all walks of life. If you have not toured the sanctuary, please do. It is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen, inside and out.

«In art the heart, the head, and the hand of a man come together.» — John Ruskin, inspiration behind Old South.
This great church has stood on the northwest side of Copley Square since 1873 so it’s had more than enough time to garner attention from us Unilocalers yet has apparently been overshadowed by the BPL and Trinity Church. Though it’s stature is not as impressive, it’s lineage is just as strong and is absolutely worth a gander completing a wonderful trifecta of history with its said neighbors.
Originally founded on Washington and Milk Streets in 1669, its pews supported the bums of many a notable figure: Samuel Adams, Ben Franklin, Dave Chappelle (Okay, maybe not. Just seeing if you’re really reading.) And has since committed to urban ministry with relatively liberal notions on race, class and sexuality, drawing a diverse and lively congregation. Currently the minister is female and the church is thriving.
Erected by the same duo to create the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the structure as a similar Venetian aesthetic indicated by the arches on the 250 ft high campanile and the ornate wrought iron work but incorporates local materials like Roxbury puddingstone.
Crazy fact: the bell in the steeple weighs over a TON. Imagine the reverberations. I just wonder how the hell they got it up there. Also notable to the art buff, Louis Comfort Tiffany (of the stained glass fame though he bit the work of La Farge) did an entire interior revamping at the turn of the century which was later removed and restored to it’s more simple original state which is nice, but not incredible.
Okay, enough commentary. Onto the practical: they’ve got a cool jazz service on Thursday nights, a soulful choir that practices in the summer (open to all), an amazing organ with 7,600 pipes in the chancel, church school and Bible study. So do your thing if you’re into all that (gobbledygook), or wander over to whet your appetite for Trinity.
(Lordy. It’s almost 3am on a Sunday night and I’m writing about the architecture in churches. I am my father’s daughter.)