Saint Paul's Episcopal Parish, Malden, Massachusetts

Saint Paul's Episcopal Parish, Malden, Massachusetts


Pillars & Foundations documents an exploration of communities, as well as faith through religious institutions. My intent is to share experiences, and spread the positivity that I observe. The hope is to provide a window into these organizations allowing those who might not other wise venture in to appreciate these thoughtful, often intimate groups in our midst. Faith centers embody a drive to make a difference which they deliver upon, regardless if it is with one person looking for hope & community, or a recipient of their expansive charitable work.


Building & History

This church certainly has an Anglican, medieval air about it, and it certainly is small, and yet it feels sort of grand when you are sitting in the pews between the massive columns holding up the nave. The parish dates back to 1861 and the current church had its cornerstone laid in 1913. I'm thankful to St. Paul's website for providing details such as the architect, Ralph Adams Cram, who was a prominent neo-gothic architect. It is worth taking a look at his Wikipedia page, he was prolific, designing many churches, some highly regarded, university buildings on campuses such as Princeton, and locally designing the Lucius Beebe Memorial Library in Wakefield MA. I found a link that suggests that the organ is a W. W. Kimball op 6943, built in 1927, but installed at Saint Paul's in 1954 with some modifications.


The Congregation

The church defines itself as "Welcoming and serving all in Christ's name," which is an expression of the intent to lead an inclusive parish. Saint Paul's certainly seemed to be a close community as I noted people intermingling and greeting each other prior to the service. They also had a coffee hour afterwards. Perhaps due to the parish being in an urban setting, it was easy to maintain solitude in this church if that is your preference. I was greeted but quickly and casually. I also was not the only visitor.


The Service

The organ was played before the official start of the service, and was featured prominently throughout. Classic hymns such as Love Divine, All Loves Excelling were featured with Rev. Mary Jane Donohue singing strongly and encouraging the parish by example. Readings were Job (1:1, 2:1-10), A Letter to the Hebrews (1:1-4; 2:5-12), and Mark (10:2-16). The Job passage speaks to the idea that faith should not be only present during good times, but rather despite hardship, setbacks, dark times, faith in goodness should remain strong. The excerpts from the Letter to the Hebrews seem to remind that Christ intended to be relatable to people, to be amongst them.  The Mark passage spoke of avoiding divorce. Rev. Donohue's sermon expressed a desire that people try to seek unity, to avoid division, with reference to the unfortunate divisiveness existing in today's environment. An analogy was made that we are divorced as a society and must avoid this for the sake of all.

I found the plaster finish on the walls seemed to add to an old English feel I see in many photos of chapels and churches in the British countryside





Outreach

The Saint Paul's Facebook Page details some of their activity outside of church services. Events like a recent flea market serve as community building activity at the church. A video is posted that includes some congregation members participating in advocacy for immigrants at the Massachusetts state house. Several postings on the page demonstrate a continued effort towards this cause.

In addition to service as a spiritual center, Saint Paul's works to improve Malden and the surrounding community from beyond its walls.


Text and photographs by George Parks
Sources are embedded in links

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First Congregational Church, UCC, Melrose, Massachusetts

Image
First Congregational Church, UCC, Melrose, MA Pillars & Foundations was started as an effort to explore my surrounding communities through their religious institutions, and to share my experiences at them with my neighbors and beyond. These organizations that are both social and spiritual, leave lasting impressions on the communities that they are in, and I find in my experiences that I've taken them for granted, and I suspect I'm not alone. What strikes me what all of these institutions strive to do is make a difference, and they do, regardless if it is one person looking for hope & community, or a with recipient of their charitable work. Building & History People who pass by the low profile octagonal church in Melrose should not be fooled by the contemporary campus. This organization has a long history ( information on FCCM website ) in the community dating back to 1848. The new building was constructed in 1970 following a fire tha
Read more

Saint Athanasius Parish, Reading, MA

Image
Saint Athanasius Parish, Reading, Massachusetts I intend to explore and experience the services of many different churches, predominantly near where I live in Massachusetts. Discovering all of these different faith communities builds my knowledge of the neighborhoods around me and the people who live there. These institutions are important, often overlooked and even misjudged centers of our communities that seek to make a positive impact on their participants, as well as others through their generosity and public service. It is possible that through this activity I may eventually consider a long term relationship with one of these pillars and foundations of the community, however I am eager to do a lot of exploring first. History & Building I was pleased to find that Saint Athanasius has an excellent write-up on their web page about their parish history. The parish is fairly new when compared to many I have visited, establishing in 1960, and their unusual, modern ch
Read more

Mount Hood (Slayton Memorial) Tower, Melrose, Massachusetts

Image
When talking about pillars and foundations maybe a tower, like the Slayton Memorial Tower truly encapsulates both. Truly a hidden gem that locals know about, but transplants like myself can easily miss. It took me years to learn about its existence and years more to finally dedicate the time to walk through the Mount Hood Park & Golf Course to see this incredibly unique structure, hidden away in the far corner of tiny Melrose.  My photographs do not do this view out to the Boston skyline and the Atlantic Ocean justice. There’s been a few write ups on the tower through the years, so my post is far from original, however I do think in the course of our busy lives we take for granted what is in our back yard, and that is true for me and Mt. Hood. I write this with a focus on the tower, but really the whole area is quite beautiful with its ponds, trails, and a golf course that you’d expect to be private country club with a quick glance, when in fact it is open to the public (while bei
Read more

First Lutheran Church, Malden, MA

Image
First Lutheran Church, Malden, MA As part of this blogging effort I intend to explore and experience the services of many different churches, predominantly near where I live in Massachusetts. These institutions are important, often overlooked and even misjudged centers of our communities that seek to make a positive impact on their participants as well as others through their generosity and public service. It is possible that through this activity I may eventually consider a long term relationship with one of these pillars and foundations of the community, however I am eager to do a lot of exploring first. The Building and History: First Lutheran Church of Malden is one of the oldest church structures still operating in Malden, Massachusetts. This congregation dates to the 1890s, with the structure being built in 1897 on the corner of Church and Waite St. in Malden. While some of the church’s original features have perhaps been covered in vinyl flooring and siding, b
Read more

Adams Free Library, Adams, Massachusetts

Image
While much of my focus in Pillars & Foundations had focused on places of worship and more recently, cemeteries, community cornerstones such as libraries has always been on my radar to feature. Undoubtedly the have an enormous impact on communities serving as fountains of knowledge and centers to organize activities that benefit the community they reside within. On an early summer trip to western Massachusetts we stopped in Adams, wandered around the town center, and took time to visit the prominently located public library. It's yellow/tan bricks make it stand out as it looks down upon McKinley Square. A statue of William McKinley stands in the center of the square. McKinley was the 25th president of the United States until he was assassinated in 1901 by Leon Czolgosz , an anarchist who saw the action as a protest against social inequity. Theodore Roosevelt ascended to the presidency ushering in the modern Progressive era. McKinley's connection to Adams, MA, was that he la
Read more