Church History
Greenwood Memorial United Methodist Church has its early roots in Roxbury. The first record of a successful movement to organize is April 24th, 1838, when a meeting was held in someone’s home, resulting on May.6, 1838 in the preaching of a sermon in a hall located in Roxbury on Washington St.
At a meeting on June 25, 1869, a board of trustees was appointed and the Boston Highlands Methodist Episcopal Church was declared legally incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and regular services were instituted.
In the year of 1900, the members of Boston Highlands Methodist Episcopal Church joined to form Highlands Methodist Episcopal Church. Also joining the merger was a small group from an Independent “Grove Hall Church”. In May 1900, ground was broken for a new building to house newly formed congregation and the excavation was completed by June of that year. The cornerstone was laid on December 3 1901. On September 23 1913, the name of the Highlands Methodist Episcopal Church was officially changed to Greenwood Methodist Church in memory of Sarah Greenwood, the mother of Charles Henry Greenwood, a liberal contributor and benefactor of the church. Although the name and location of the church have changed many times, Greenwood UMC has been in continuous service to the Roxbury/Dorchester community for well over 100 years.
We have been serving in our current edifice since it was built in 1900. In additions to our religious activities, we also sponsor and support a number of outreach activities and community organizations. We provide space to another community organization, and regularly permit to use of the facility by a variety of other community groups for meetings such as AA and other functions.
We have had a long history in the Dorchester community and have survived a number of fires, as well as the many transitions, which have occurred in the life of the community and the church.
Greenwood Memorial United Methodist church is a both a physical and spiritual anchor of the Five Corners area of Dorchester the church and parsonage were built in 1900 to house a congregation whose roots are the First Methodist Church of Roxbury, established in this part of greater Boston in 1847. Since moving to the corner of Washington and Dakota Street, the congregation has witnessed and survived changes to its composition, retaining some of its original members while embracing newcomers to the neighborhood. The present congregation is recognized for its level of ethnic diversity, being represented by people from many lands: The United States, Africa, and Central America, Caribbean islands, to name a few. We area diverse community and seek ways to celebrate our diversity and our unity. We welcome all people to be a part of our rich tapestry of colors, cultures and heritages.
Since the church is an anchor to its community, a major improvement project for it can give confidence to others to make investments in the homes businesses around it. This neighborhood has potential historic significance because most of its buildings date from 1900 and before and are of a good quality design and construction. Without private investment multiplying from the church’s improvement project, they may be lost.
Greenwood is committed to and willing to invest in the battlement of this area. We view our efforts as serving to boost the self-esteem of the community, and helping it to realize that both either the city, state or church has given up on it. The work we would be able to accomplish could add much needed impetus to the current economic and community development efforts that are currently underway. We as a church are committed to those efforts, and want to be able to play a significant role.
This urban community is in great need of economic revitalization and community development. It would be a tremendous witness to the community if Greenwood Church could be at the forefront of those efforts.
At Greenwood, we seek to be a servant church. We are situated in the midst of a continuously changing community which today is experiencing the effects of a variety of social ills: drugs, violence, and unemployment. We at Greenwood seek to be a source of hope and healing in the midst of the destabilizing forces.
The church building is a good example of shingle style interpretation of Gothic. It had a simple massing with a west elevation articulated with steeple, tracery windows, and an octagon bay. The foundation and base of the steeple and bay are split to face granite masonry, battered about 12 inches. The shingle faced frame walls are also battered. The result is a distinctive profile, characteristic of the style, which roots the building onto its sloping site. The west elevation is more elaborately ornamented than the other three.
Like many urban churches, Greenwood experienced declining numbers in its congregation and smaller collection to contribute to the upkeep of the building. Although the congregation is growing again, its size is not large enough to support the level of capital work the building needs now.
Greenwood has been maintained as well as possible, however, with a result that the majority of its original, historic fabric is still intact. This material is at the early stages of irreversible deterioration. Immediate action will ensure an extended life without a significant cost. Basically, a judicious rehabilitation project at this time will eliminate the need for a much more expensive one in the future. March 8, 2002 Greenwood Memorial United Methodist Church was registered as a National Historic Place by the Massachusetts Preservation Society.
Greenwood preservation of the Steeple began in March 2003 and was completed September 2004, by Contractor Michael O’Connor from West Roxbury. The Steeple project has uplifted the Dorchester community, to become a Beacon of Hope. The total cost of the project was $324,594 funded by grants and donation from the fallowing sources: Massachusetts Preservation, Historic Boston Incorporated, Sudbury UMC, Greenwood redemption of stocks, Loan from UMFNE and congregation contributions. In 2001 major repair for the parsonage was also completed for a cost of $57,000 most funds came from the UMFNE Loan.