The Outdoor Church
Encyclopedia
The Outdoor Church is an outdoor ministry to homeless men and women in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. It offers prayer
and communion services and pastoral assistance outdoors in all seasons and all weather in order to be accessible to men and women who, because of shame or embarrassment, hostility or illness, cannot or will not enter conventional churches. It takes the church
to those who cannot or will not reach it on their own. "Cambridge's newest church ministers to this flock in their own space, with only the sky for a roof."
and material sustenance. Like conventional churches, The Outdoor Church offers a broad array of pastoral services to its congregants, including prison
and hospital
visits, memorial
and other services and pastoral counseling. "The Outdoor Church is mobile. It goes to the congregants."
, under the mobile sculpture near the T station, and at 1:00 PM on the Cambridge Common
, near the tall Civil War monument and directly across from Christ Church Cambridge on Garden Street. Following the 1:00pm service, its lay and ordained ministers carry sandwiches, pastry, juice and clean white socks through Harvard Square and Central Square, where a meal and communion
are offered to any homeless people they encounter.
site for the Harvard Divinity School
. Students and seminarians from schools within the Boston Theological Institute
as well as area school undergraduates regularly accompany and assist its clergy and lay volunteers.
The Outdoor Church is non-denominational and ecumenical, using an accessible but recognizable liturgy that is based on the Book of Common Prayer
.
A fuller history of the Outdoor Church, Joseph Tuckerman and the Outdoor Church by Jedediah Mannis, examines the Outdoor Church and the Rev. Joseph Tuckerman, a Unitarian minister who created and led a street ministry in Boston, Massachusetts, between 1826 and 1839 at the behest of his friend and college roommate, William Ellery Channing. Because of Tuckerman's innovative approach to encountering and helping the poor people he met near the Boston wharves, he is considered the father of American social work as well as a prescient, dedicated, and socially active minister whose work led directly to the Social Gospel Movement. The book examines and interprets Tuckerman's theology and ministry of outreach in light of the ministries of the Outdoor Church. Joseph Tuckerman and the Outdoor Church is a unique look at a radically innovative nineteenth-century minister through the prism of the actual application of his thinking and his example to an ongoing ministry to the chronically homeless men and women of Cambridge.
, the Rev. Pat Zifcak, a vocational deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
, and the Rev. Jean Chapman, a minister in the American Baptist Churches USA
, are the ordained staff of The Outdoor Church. Clergy from churches throughout Cambridge regularly preside at its services on a rotating basis.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. It offers prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
and communion services and pastoral assistance outdoors in all seasons and all weather in order to be accessible to men and women who, because of shame or embarrassment, hostility or illness, cannot or will not enter conventional churches. It takes the church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
to those who cannot or will not reach it on their own. "Cambridge's newest church ministers to this flock in their own space, with only the sky for a roof."
Mission
It is the mission of The Outdoor Church to reach most of the homeless men and women in Cambridge who live outdoors – approximately 100 people – and to provide them with spiritualSpirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
and material sustenance. Like conventional churches, The Outdoor Church offers a broad array of pastoral services to its congregants, including prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
and hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
visits, memorial
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
and other services and pastoral counseling. "The Outdoor Church is mobile. It goes to the congregants."
Services
The Outdoor Church holds prayer and communion services every Sunday--at 9:00 AM in Porter SquarePorter Square
Porter Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts in the USA, located around the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Somerville Avenue, between Harvard and Davis Squares...
, under the mobile sculpture near the T station, and at 1:00 PM on the Cambridge Common
Cambridge Common
Cambridge Common is a public park in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is located near Harvard Square and borders on several parts of Harvard University.-History:...
, near the tall Civil War monument and directly across from Christ Church Cambridge on Garden Street. Following the 1:00pm service, its lay and ordained ministers carry sandwiches, pastry, juice and clean white socks through Harvard Square and Central Square, where a meal and communion
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
are offered to any homeless people they encounter.
Consistent Presence Outdoors
The ministry of the Outdoor Church occurs year round, in all seasons and weather. Cambridge is home to many extraordinary church communities and public and private efforts to provide material assistance to homeless peoples; even so, many chronically homeless men and women cannot or will not avail themselves of more conventional forms of church and social service. The Outdoor Church was established to bring the spiritual and material care of our supporting churches to the homeless where they are. By holding services in public spaces and walking throughout neighborhoods where many homeless people live, the ministers are able to encounter those who cannot or will not avail themselves of services that require they go into more conventional church spaces.Training for seminarians
The education and training of students and seminarians is an important part of the work of The Outdoor Church. The church is a field educationEducation
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
site for the Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
. Students and seminarians from schools within the Boston Theological Institute
Boston Theological Institute
Boston Theological Institute is the largest theological consortium in the world, bringing together the resources of universities and divinity schools throughout the greater Boston area and some of the most prestigious educational institutions...
as well as area school undergraduates regularly accompany and assist its clergy and lay volunteers.
Supporting Churches
Churches and individuals throughout the Greater Boston area support the Outdoor Church. Indoor churches contribute the sandwiches that are distributed every Sunday. In 2010, the Church expanded its meals program into Saturday; recruiting churches and student groups to prepare and distribute a meal outdoors each Saturday. Many of the supporting churches invite Rev. Mannis to preach and share stories and updates from the Outdoor Church. In conjunction with City Mission Society of Boston, the Outdoor Church regularly hosts visiting youth groups as part of Boston Urban Outreach.History
The Outdoor Church is modeled on Ecclesia Ministries’ Common Cathedral, an outdoor church for homeless men and women in Boston that has held services since 1998 each Sunday afternoon on the Boston Common. Rev. Jed Mannis was a lawyer in downtown Boston when he began offering pro bono legal services to homeless congregants at Common Cathedral. In 2003, he enrolled at Harvard Divinity School. Within a year, he and Rev. Pat Zifcak started the Outdoor Church in Cambridge, supported initially by the Harvard Square Clergy Association. In 2005, Rev. Jean Chapman joined the ministry team.The Outdoor Church is non-denominational and ecumenical, using an accessible but recognizable liturgy that is based on the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
.
A fuller history of the Outdoor Church, Joseph Tuckerman and the Outdoor Church by Jedediah Mannis, examines the Outdoor Church and the Rev. Joseph Tuckerman, a Unitarian minister who created and led a street ministry in Boston, Massachusetts, between 1826 and 1839 at the behest of his friend and college roommate, William Ellery Channing. Because of Tuckerman's innovative approach to encountering and helping the poor people he met near the Boston wharves, he is considered the father of American social work as well as a prescient, dedicated, and socially active minister whose work led directly to the Social Gospel Movement. The book examines and interprets Tuckerman's theology and ministry of outreach in light of the ministries of the Outdoor Church. Joseph Tuckerman and the Outdoor Church is a unique look at a radically innovative nineteenth-century minister through the prism of the actual application of his thinking and his example to an ongoing ministry to the chronically homeless men and women of Cambridge.
Staff
The Rev. Jedediah Mannis, a minister of the United Church of ChristUnited Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
, the Rev. Pat Zifcak, a vocational deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
Episcopal Diocese of MassachusettsThe Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America....
, and the Rev. Jean Chapman, a minister in the American Baptist Churches USA
American Baptist Churches USA
The American Baptist Churches USA is a Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainline, although varying theological and mission emphases may be found among its...
, are the ordained staff of The Outdoor Church. Clergy from churches throughout Cambridge regularly preside at its services on a rotating basis.