Gethsemane Window Appeal!
Since 1910, Our Saviours Lutheran Church has been a place of refuge for Boston’s newest and most dispossessed residents—sailors on leave, refugees, immigrants, fire victims, the unhoused and the hungry. Known throughout the community as “the place with the beautiful window”, Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane towers above the street, welcoming everyone. Time and vandalism have damaged the window. The lower panel recently fell out, so the window was boarded up to prevent further damage. The Church is a hub of activity, but from the street appears to be closed. Quotes for window restoration exceed $53,000. We have raised $25,500 so far, and have a grant application pending. Your support will help us move that much closer toward realizing this restoration project!
Visit our Go Fund Me page by clicking the button below or send us check.
Our Saviour's Lutheran Church
28 Paris St.
East Boston, MA 02128
YOU SHALL ALSO LOVE THE STRANGER, FOR YOU WERE STRANGERS IN THE LAND OF EGYPT.
Deuteronomy 10:19
HISTORY
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, East Boston was founded in 1911 by Norwegian immigrants, originally as a Seamen’s Mission.
During World Wars I and II, dances and social gatherings were held in our community hall.
In the 1980s, together with a community organization housed in the basement of the church, we became the center of work with thousands of refugees and immigrants from Cambodia and Vietnam. Out of this work grew two organizations who still serve thousands of people in and around East Boston, now from their own buildings: East Boston Ecumenical Community Council (EBECC)s, and the Neighborhood Organization of Affordable Housing (NOAH).
In the last decade, we have served as an emergency shelter for families displaced by the collapse of a neglected apartment building and provided space at no cost or low-cost to numerous organizations and groups seeking redress for issues from housing displacement to immigration.
Among the groups that currently call our building home is the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen. This organization serves nutritious food weekly to approximately 300 local neighbors and families. They also serve as a link for many of their guests to housing and health services in and around the city. All of this is done with a spirit that insists on dignity and love for each person that visits.
Throughout these changes the center of our congregation’s life has been Sunday worship. In the early twentieth century we worshiped in English and Norwegian; today, in English and Spanish.
VISION
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church’s mission is to be a place of refuge and welcome so that all—especially those who have felt unwelcome in other places—may find acceptance and compassion in our community.
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La misión de la Iglesia Luterana de Nuestro Salvador es ser un lugar de refugio y acogida para que todos—especialmente los que no se han sentido bienvenidos en otros lugares—puedan encontrar aceptación y compasión en nuestra comunidad.
FRIENDS AT OUR SAVIOUR'S LUTHERAN CHURCH
Our building at 28 Paris St. is the East Boston home for these organizations.
Click on the image for each to be brought to the group's website.
EAST BOSTON COMMUNITY SOUP KITCHEN
The East Boston Community Soup Kitchen opens every Tuesday at 9AM to provide free food for all who enter the doors. They strive to provide a sense of community to those affected by hunger, homelessness, and difficult life circumstances, while offering the humane treatment and compassion many struggle to receive in their everyday lives.
SITE BUILD IN PROGRESS
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GIVE TO OUR BUILDING OR GENERAL FUND
Our church at 28 Paris St. acts as a community center in East Boston. It is home to the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen, City Life/Vida Urbana, MassCOSH, two other Christian and one Muslim worship communities, and other neighbors who share our vision of a welcoming space and community. Our congregation and the Friends of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church has launched a campaign to renovate the community hall, kitchen, and bathrooms, repair and restore the beautiful stained glass windows, add ADA-compliant access, and repoint the brick walls.
Select "Building Fund" in the dropdown to give to these efforts.
Or select "General Fund" and your donation will be used for general church and building operations and ministries.
Our Saviour's Lutheran Church is a registered 501(c)(3) organization and either type of donation is tax-exempt.
CONTACT OUR SAVIOUR’S LUTHERAN CHURCH
28 Paris St, East Boston, MA 02128, USA
(617) 569-6236