Presbyterian Meeting House 1770s – Methodist 1828

4 N Bennet St

According to Pelham’s 1775 map there was a Presbyterian Meeting House here. This was most likely Puritan’s version of Calvinist Presbyterianism. There is very little left of the record for this site. Methodism fractured in multiple schisms into varying fractions and sects. There were also divided during World War 1 & 2 on how to respond to war.

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The meeting house at this spot became the second home of the Methodists in the North End from 1828-1849. The building was on North Bennett Street, on the right side of Hanover Street, two streets down from the Paul Revere Mall toward the city. The church seems to have been located on the second lot on the right-hand side of the street, now condominiums.

By 1876 it had been rebuilt 3 times in the same location already. This prompted laws to help minimize the damage by fires and other catastrophes. Parts of the brick walls of this building may be from the original church. (See First Methodist Church for Revolutionary details)

As for World War 1 & 2 – the uniting of America and Britain as the Allies, the Methodist Federation did call for a boycott of Japan and when war came in 1941, the vast majority of Methodists strongly supported the national war effort, but there were also a few conscientious objectors.

Methodist Tradition has deep rooted differences between those who accept the possibility of a "just war" and others who believe that a commitment to absolute pacifism is the only possible response to the teachings of Christ.

The last link is to a book that examines how British Methodists responded to the horrors of the First World War that broke out in 1914. (Starting on pg 316)

The group itself continues to fracture with a recent schism in 2022 forming the Global Methodist Church separate from the United Methodist Church.

(For more on Methodist start against Puritan popularity see First Methodist Church and King’s Chapel as it stemmed from Anglican roots)

What fruitage did these spiritual leaders produce? Mt 7:15-20. Consider John 17:16 vs Acts 20:29, 30. What would Jesus have said seeing this?

-Source Links-

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/siege-of-boston-map.htm

https://www.bu.edu/sthlibrary/archives/neccah/heritage-trails/

https://guides.bpl.org/bostonfires

https://archives.gcah.org/bitstream/handle/10516/6554/MH-2002-October-Hughes.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Methodism_in_the_United_States