Sunday 29 June – Boston, Massachusetts – The Freedom City

Breakfast starts at 8.00 am on weekends in this hostel, and we're down there straight away, as we're going to Old South Church, Boston – and the service starts at 9.00 am.

It's not too far to walk if we keep a brisk pace, and we arrive just in time. The church building is Victorian (1873); but we learn that the church itself is celebrating its 350^th anniversary in 2020 -it started in 1670, meeting in the Cedar Meeting House, then moved to the Old South Meeting House in 1730, which we visit later in the day, as it's on the “Boston Freedom Trail”. This old meeting house is a fascinating place, much bigger than John Wesley's chapel in Bristol (the world's first Methodist church), but very similar in style, with its box pews and high central pulpit, all built of wood, and quite minimalist – no ornate décor of carvings.

The church congregation is not Methodist, however – we are told that the closest equivalent in the UK would be the United Reformed Church.

We chose this church this morning because it isn't too far to walk to from the hostel, but also because we like what it said about itself on the internet – it's an inclusive church, welcoming everyone, no matter who they are. In fact the church is pro-actively welcoming to gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender people. A leaflet I pick up at the church entrance reads as follows:

“Skeptic. Certain. Confident. Fearful. Gay. Straight. Bisexual. Married. Divorced. Single. Jesus didn't turn people away. Looking. Partnered. Female. Male. Trans. Saint. Sinner. A little of both. Immigrant. Native. Strong. Weak. Got-it-together, Lifelong screw-up. Long-time member, Just walked in the door, Parent. Child. Housed. Homeless. Believer. Questioner. Questioning believer. Doubter. Sports junkie. Tree Hugger. Geek. Cool kid. Loner. Rich. Poor. Just barely making it. Neither do we.”

There's also a big poster, advertising a series of meetings, which says in huge letters,

Gay.

Church.

Chillax.

Why we're out and proud.

A preaching series, Thursdays, 6 pm.

There are about 60 or 70 people at the 9.00am service, where the singing is accompanied by the piano. There's a choir, which meets half an hour before the service to practice an anthem. Anyone at all can just come along at 8.30 am and take part in the choir anthem for that day. (Those in the choir sit amongst the congregation,and just come out to the front of the church when it's time for the anthem).

There is more traditional, I would say more formal worship at 11.00 am (although it's the same minister doing the same sermon) and evening worship at 6 pm, which takes the form of a reflective service, led by different members of Old South Church.

Reg and I really enjoy this worship. There is a broad spectrum of ages – 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, and much older people too. There's a few babies in the service, with their parents, and towards the end, more children join the service from their own classes.

This service is only 45 minutes long (although the sermon is 15 - 20 minutes of that). We learn that the hymns are only changed every 4 weeks; obviously, the sermon and bible reading change every week (there is only one bible reading – it's from Jeremiah, so no gospel reading this week), and the prayers and the choir anthem change week by week. The Lord's prayer is included in the service.

The service starts with the congregation singing “O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise” - which I know. Then there's the welcome and announcements, followed by the sharing of the peace. Next, the bible text is read by a member of the congregation. After this the choir sing a beautiful version of Psalm 23, but unusually the Lord is referred to as “she” not “he”. This is followed by the sermon (called “reflection” in the service sheet).

The reflection, by an ordained woman minister in her 30's who did her training at Old South Church some years ago, is brilliant. She has a script, but the sermon is lively and relevant, with humour, and with a strong message for today. I like the way she delivers, in a non-antagonistic way, a challenging message about working for justice.

After the reflection the whole congregation gustily sing “Every time I feel the Spirit”, which I don't know, but it's easy to join in. If you can read music, the music for all the hymns is printed on the service sheet.

There are no prayers of adoration or confession; but we have prayers of intercession (prayers for ourselves and others) and then the congregation sing “Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me,” which I love. Then there's the offering; but I notice that when the basket is passed around, most people don't put any money in – is this because they pay by direct debit?

There's Holy Communion, but it's a very informal affair, which the minister calls “sip and dip”. She makes it clear that the wine is grape juice, and that there is gluten-free bread available. After taking communion, you are free to light a candle if you wish to, on a table at the back of the church, presumably to pray for someone; I do this.

This is all followed by The Lord's Prayer, and a closing hymn, “There's a sweet, sweet spirit in this place,” which I don't know, but it's another easy hymn to sing.

The service concludes with the blessing. Then there's refreshments – they even have green tea (as well as black tea and coffee) and “cookies”. Before this though, Reg and I talk to a couple of members of the congregation about the church. They tell us they have been an inclusive church since the 1600's when they broke away from the mainstream Protestant church in America. They were one of the first churches in America to a perform a gay marriage ceremony, which became legal in the USA in 2013.

The atmosphere in this church is warm and welcoming. It's important to note that there are many “straight” families in the congregation, who have chosen to belong to this church because they believe in inclusiveness. We are told that the church has over 600 members, 500 of whom attend regularly, at one or other of the services. We're told that the reason for the depleted congregation today is that it's holiday time … in fact some churches actually close for a few weeks in the summer in America, but this church doesn't.

An added interesting fact is that they are a rich church, partly because they owned 2 original copies of a very old (1640) “Bay Psalm” book, which was the first book to be printed in North America – published 20 years after the Pilgrim Fathers landed in America. Old South Church were directed by the powers-that-be to keep one copy of this precious book, but were allowed to sell the other; it sold for $14 million! What a shame our church can't find an old book like that in the cupboard!

The church do give some money to the national body of the church, “The United Church of Christ” , but not nearly as much in proportion as we do. The man we're talking to tells us that although they are using some of the $14,000,000 to renovate the church, they are intending to pay back as much as they can through donations.

Our overall impression of this church? We both feel it is a friendly, welcoming church, and Reg in particular is interested in its history. Massachusetts is well-known for being a liberal state; we love the fact that this church not only says it's inclusive of all types of people – but it truly is – and it's willing to advertise this fact in its literature. I appreciate that people reading this will hold different views on gay marriage (there's no doubt it's still a “hot potato” for discussion), but one thing is certain; Jesus never turned anyone away.

If we adhere strictly to what the bible says (1 Corinthians 14:34), why do we now let women speak in church? At this time, the Church of England, and the Methodist Church in England, are not allowed to conduct same sex marriages in church, because their governing bodies have not voted to allow this. Yet.

We decide to follow the “Boston Freedom Trail”, a walk around Boston which celebrates and honours people, buildings and places involved in the Boston fight for American Independence from British Law. Luckily, Bostonians are very friendly towards us Brits today - but friction between the Americans and their British rulers came to a head during the War of Independence (1775-1783); the Americans won, and they now celebrate this every 4 July on Independence Day (we'll be in New York later this week for these celebrations). We learn all about the Boston Massacre (1770) and the Boston Tea Party (1773).

We spot a bar/cafe called the “Hub Pub” and in fact it is very like an English pub. We have a lunch of fish and chips, one between us as the publican warns it will be a huge portion – and it is plenty for us both. Reg orders an American cider which he enjoys. We sit at the bar and engage in conversation with the publican and 2 Americans, while on the television screen above, Netherlands proceed to beat Mexico 2:1 in the World Cup.

We follow the Freedom Trail for a bit longer but are wilting; it's very hot. We walk back to the hostel for a rest, then finish the day at an Italian restaurant, with salad (Reg) and macaroni cheese (me) of which I can only eat half. Once again we chat to an African American sitting next to us, and to the lovely young waitress who wants to get into journalism, and who is far from her home – Miami, in Florida.