Looking for an Episcopal Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts
For anyone who’s been church shopping, the experience can be anything but easy. For many, church is a place where they focus on their spiritual, philosophical, psychological, and even physical well-being and decide what work they have to do and how to do it. It can be a place of great support and comfort, and therefore, the importance of finding a spiritual home that is in accord with the sustenance one is looking for from their church can be an important and complicated endeavor. Some focus on the congregation and decide if the people they meet are of a temperament or ideology to complement their experience. Some find the pastor, or minister, to be the most important component. Perhaps they will be looking for counseling or guidance and need the leader of their church to be of a particular disposition, mind set, or philosophy. Others still, may find the works of the church to be the most important factor for them. Many simply need to be compatible with all of these things.
Whatever draws one to church, what is fairly universal is that one wants to be comfortable. The things that will provide that comfort will be different for everyone, so the arduous task of church shopping is inevitable. Whether you are new to an area, are looking for a church for the first time, or no longer want to attend your current church, you can look forward to unfamiliar rites and routines, crowds of strangers milling conspicuously around you during the passing of the peace, and that most awkward of rituals for the newcomer- the dreaded coffee hour, the sharing of cookies and conversation with a roomful of people who want to make you feel far more welcome than you may want to feel in a place you may never enter again.
I have recently undergone the task in Cambridge, Massachusetts of looking for an Episcopal church. For any in the area who might be of similar inclination or need, I am happy to share my findings.
My husband and I visited two Episcopal churches in Cambridge, St. James’s in Porter Square, and St. Peter’s in Central Square. Both hold fairly faithful Rite III services and neither are to a high or low Episcopal extreme.
St. James’s is in a beautiful old stone building that dominates the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Beech Street. Inside, the building is stunning, with the traditional architecture, beams, and alter locations. The congregation is of moderate size, and our experience over several visits is that the members are warm, if somewhat reserved. The minister has a booming voice and gives a sermon that tends toward the intellectual. As a nice touch, many of the hymns come from a self-published, spiral bound book entitled “St. James’s Sings.” There is a wide variety of music in the tome, with an emphasis on multicultural hymns. One of the missions of the church is to support an outdoor ministry that holds services for the homeless in Harvard Square, in all weather, and provide them with support and assistance.
In contrast, St. Peter’s is hidden behind an entrance on the corner of a city block that is so unassuming that most people walk past never suspecting there is a church inside. The architecture is also traditional, but is far more recent than St. James’s. The congregation is also of a moderate size, and the members are extremely gregarious and welcoming, from the greeter standing on the street to the extended passing of the peace when no one sits down until they’ve hit everyone. The minister has a gentle manner, and gives a sermon that leans more toward the self-effacing and philosophical. He spends some time each Sunday talking to the children before the lessons, breaking the Gospel of the week down to ideas that the children can relate to before sending them off to Sunday School. A mission of St. Peter’s is to provide daycare for low-income families.
If you’re looking for an Episcopal church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, you’re in luck. In both churches, we found kind people, dynamic sermons, and worthy missions. Depending on weather you’re looking for something to become enmeshed in, or something a little more reserved, you may find yourself drawn more to one than the other, but out experience is that neither disappoint.
St. James’s Episcopal Church
1991 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140
Phone: (617) 547-4070
Phone: (617) 547-4408
www.stjames-cambridge.org
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
838 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge. MA 02139
Phone: (617) 547-7788
www.stpeterscambridge.org
