First RP Church of Cambridge

Location: Cambridge, Mass.

Presbytery: Atlantic

Organization Date: July 9, 1895

Membership: 86 communicant, 29 baptized

Pastor: Christian Adjemian

Websites:

www.reformedprescambridge.com; www.berkshirepresbyterian.org; www.providencerpc.com

Our History

When a family of Irish Reformed Presbyterians arrived in Boston, Mass., their plan was not to linger, but to join friends in the farmlands of Illinois. However, finances forced them to settle in Boston, and four years later, in 1854, the First Boston Reformed Presbyterian Church was born.

Forty years later, after the formation of the Second Boston RPC, a small group of First Boston RPC members began a mission church in Cambridge. Twice the growing group petitioned the New York Presbytery for organization as a congregation, and twice they were rejected. They took the unusual step of appealing to Synod, where it was decided by a nearly unanimous vote to form the Cambridge congregation, making them the only RPCNA congregation started by an act of Synod. On July 9, 1895, the First RPC of Cambridge enrolled its first 17 members. The next year, they built the building on Antrim Street that is still used today.

Our Work

Since the 1800s, Cambridge has changed from a factory town to a multi-ethnic college city so full of liberal activists that it bears the tongue-in-cheek nickname of the “People’s Republic of Cambridge.” As a church in a major university center, we have been a revolving door for many students and researchers. Many members drive in from a variety of suburbs around the city, so fellowship after church is precious; we have been tagged “the church that won’t go home.”

God has blessed our congregation unstintingly in recent years. At the moment, we have three midweek meetings. Our mothers’ group began in answer to a bumper crop of babies (20 born in the last five years). Since 2001, we have hosted the Cambridge Reformed Conference each spring. We have a small but active youth group and have sent several young people on RP Missions trips and to the Theological Foundations for Youth program. This year God provided the funds to, at long last, waterproof the sodden basement and finish the first phase of the installation of some extra rooms. We decided to install a couple of extra deacons, too, and they have been even more useful than the rooms!

Most of all, we are overjoyed by the recent launching of two mission churches. In September 2003, worship services started in the rolling mountains of Berkshire County. This April, Licentiate Brent England began two years as a resident-in-training, first in Cambridge, then at the Berkshire Mission. On Jan. 1, the Providence Mission met for its first worship service in East Providence, R.I. Licentiate Daniel Howe is among those providing preaching for the group, and he will be moving with his family to the area at the end of summer. In both missions, we have seen encouragement through visitors and fitting worship locations.

In spite of the upheaval that comes with planting churches and renovating our building, we have been blessed with great peace and unity among the diverse members of our body. It is still a challenge to keep our finger on the changing pulse of our city, but we pray for the discernment to do so in order to more successfully meet its needs.

Prayer Requests

• That elders will be raised up to join our hard-working session of three men.

• For the Lord to build up the Berkshire and Providence Missions.

• For strength for those who remain as we “give” members to our mission churches.

• For a smooth phase two of our building renovation.

• That we would learn the needs of our urban community and meet them effectively.