Founders' Day Service @ Old South Meeting House

Old South Church Founders' Day Service
at the Old South Meeting House
Sunday, November 18, 2012, 11:15 am

On November 18, 2012, join one of Boston's oldest churches for worship in the same building where Samuel Adams signaled the start of the Boston Tea Party. Once a year, Old South Church in Boston returns to the Old South Meeting House, their congregation’s ancestral home which has been an independently-owned museum since 1877, for the Founders’ Day Thanksgiving Worship Service. The service begins at 11:15 am. Prelude music begins at 10:45 am. Music will include the great Thanksgiving hymns, the Old South Church Choir under the direction of Minister of Music Harry Huff, the Old South Ringers handbell choir, brass, percussion, and piano. Senior Minister Rev. Nancy Taylor will preach, and the Governor’s Thanksgiving Proclamation will be read. And as a special treat, Old South Church member and MIT Professor David Vogan will welcome worshippers by ringing the Meeting House's 1801 Paul Revere Bell!

Old South Church in Boston was gathered in 1669 when Boston was still in its infancy and the British Crown an undisputed authority in the colonies. Their first building, the Cedar Meeting House, was surprisingly large given its quaint name. But as their church grew, the meeting house seemed to shrink. In 1729, Old South Church built a new house of worship, the Old South Meeting House, today a museum and National Historic Landmark on Boston’s Freedom Trail. Old South Church continued to grow and in 1872 relocated a mile away to Boston's freshly filled Back Bay. Old South Church sold their 1729 Meeting House, but the building was saved from demolition in New England’s first successful historic preservation effort. Old South Meeting House opened as an independently owned and operated museum in 1877. While Old South Church has prospered over the last 135+ years in Copley Square, they have never forgotten their roots. Every year since 1955, the church returns to their ancestral home, Old South Meeting House, for worship.

All are welcome to attend this Christian worship service of the United Church of Christ. The museum is closed to visitors during the worship service and will reopen in the afternoon for regular museum visitation.

For directions to Old South Meeting House, visit www.osmh.org.

ABOUT OLD SOUTH CHURCH:
Old South Church in Boston is a congregation of the United Church of Christ (Congregational). Gathered in 1669, Old South is one of the oldest religious communities in the United States. Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty ignited the Boston Tea Party from a meeting held at their former home, the Old South Meeting House. They continue to embrace that legacy of free speech and dissent and remain committed to the causes of freedom and justice. All are welcome to this house of God for many nations where they embrace a progressive Christianity that is deeply engaged in the world around us. Worship services are held each Sunday at 9 am, 11 am, and 6 pm. Jazz Worship is held Thursdays at 6 pm. Old South Church's doors and Sanctuary are open to the public seven days a week (except for national holidays). For more information, visit www.oldsouth.org or call 617-536-1970. Old South Church is located at 645 Boylston Street, at the intersection of Dartmouth Street, at the Copley Square T station in Boston, MA 02116.

ABOUT OLD SOUTH MEETING HOUSE:

Old South Meeting House is a non-profit museum and National Historic Landmark dedicated to continuing its proud tradition of free speech and assembly. Built in 1729 as a Puritan meetinghouse, this historic site is a living symbol of our country's quest for freedom and justice. It was here in this famed National Historic Landmark that Liberty found her allies and the American Revolution gained its voice. Within the walls of Old South Meeting House, meeting by meeting, vote by vote, a revolution began. Explore the rich history of the Meeting House through rare artifacts, such as a vial of tea from the Boston Tea Party and a 3-D historic model of colonial Boston. Open seven days a week, the museum’s hours are 9:30 am to 5 pm from April 1 - Oct. 31, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Nov. 1 - March 31. Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. For more information, visit www.osmh.org or call 617-482-6439. Old South Meeting House is located at 310 Washington Street, at the intersection of Milk Street, in Downtown Crossing, Boston, MA 02108.