Where is OCBC?

1151 Massachusetts Avenue/400 Harvard Street (we span the block) in Cambridge, MA.

What time are services?

Sunday service is at 10:30 a.m.

What are the people like?

Racially, culturally, ethnically diverse and with a variety of sexual orientations.

How large is the worshipping congregation?

Normal Sundays range from 45 to 60 worshippers.

May I just come without being a member?

Of course!

What if I’m gay?

OCBC has been on record as openly accepting, welcoming and affirming of all sexual orientations since 1983

Are there ever services other than on Sunday morning?

Yes. During Lent and Advent there are often daily prayer services, and there are special services during the days of Holy Week.

Our Sunday worship services begin at 10:30 AM.  We are located at 1151 Massachusetts Avenue and 400 Harvard Street (our building spans the block) in Cambridge.  We are south-east of the Harvard Street T-Station, on the Central Square side of Harvard Square.

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Old Cambridge Baptist Church is a progressive and inclusive Christian community in the American Baptist tradition that seeks to answer God's call to hold fast to love and justice for all the earth and its peoples. Through our common life of prayer, worship, and spiritual development, we are enriched and sustained as we follow the example of Jesus and extend ourselves to the world, working for social, economic, and ecological justice, celebrating life through the arts, and welcoming all those who are seekers.

Some of our visitors marvel . . . "and all this at a Baptist church!" We take our theological bearings from deep within the European and British traditions of anabaptists, and hold that the Gospel, rightly interpreted, is a matter between an individual, his or her community of believers and God.

As such, we have high view of Scripture, but hold that no individual of whatever rank or degree has the right to assert his or her theology on others among us.

Rather, the Gospel and God's sovereignty upon our lives is a matter to be worked out in the context of the community as it seeks the Word of God in Scripture and in the unfolding of history.

Further, we adhere to the anabaptist principle of the autonomy of the local church, which is to say that no judicatory structure may force its interpretations or denominational policy upon congregations

Who decides what's right and wrong?
We hold that the Gospel, rightly interpreted is a matter between an individual, his or her community of believers and God.

A daughter church of First Baptist Church in Cambridge, our congregation gathered in the (then) village of “Old Cambridge” in 1844.  In 1868, the congregation constructed its present edifice at 400 Harvard Street under the direction of architect Alexander Esty.  In its earlier history, the church was the home of middle class Cantabridgians as well as ex-slaves.  A number of famous theologians and preachers, including Episcopalian Phillips Brooks (he of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” fame), Lutheran Paul Tillich, and Roman Catholic David Tracy, have spoken at the church.  Samuel Miller (who later became the Dean of Harvard Divinity School) was its pastor for many years.  The church has claimed American theologian Harvey Cox among its membership for many years, and he has often preached from its pulpit.  In the 1970’s, Yoko Ono and John Lennon sang from the church's chancel.

At about this time, the church became a center of protest in the civil rights and women’s movements and also of anti-Vietnam War activity.  Refugees from Latin America, Africa and other areas, would find a home within its walls.  The movement for the rights of gay, lesbian and bisexual people took root at Old Cambridge beginning in 1983 when the congregation officially proclaimed itself to be welcoming and affirming of sexual minority persons.

In 2001, the church began what would become a forty-year contract with the José Mateo Ballet Theatre which now finds rehearsal and office space throughout the building.  The church also leases office space to various other organizations, many of which are involved in social justice.

Visitors often ask, “How can I do Bible study at OCBC?”

For us, Bible study consists in learning not simply what a text says, but its background and history and its relationship to other parts of the Bible.  Our Adult Christian Education program addresses a variety of subjects including living a faithful life, social ethics, church history, and Bible study.  Please join us at these seminars, which are held in our chapel following worship on most Sundays.  Brunch is served, and the seminars end around 1:30 PM.