Are you touring New England now or in its incomparable autumn season? There’s more than leafy color, quaint inns and tranquil landscapes to relish. The region runneth over with stops rooted in America’s Christian heritage – like colonial meetinghouses cum churches, ancient burial grounds and towers hung with bells crafted by Paul Revere.
I’m including a few stops here to whet your appetite. There are many more. Jana Riess’ The Spiritual Traveler Boston and New England is a great source for more touring ideas and history.
Boston
African Meetinghouse is the oldest-surviving black church building in the U.S. Built in 1806 with community donations from former slaves, it served free blacks as both a worship and community center.
Christ Church/Old North Church: The city’s oldest-standing house of worship made history April 18, 1775, when a warning about British invaders was sent from its spire: “One if by land, two if by sea. . .”
Christian art, including stained glass windows from a Milan cathedral, is prominent in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where there’s also a Spanish cloister for contemplation and admiration.
In Cambridge, the 1759 Christ Church welcomed worshipper George Washington in 1775 and later luminaries like President Theodore Roosevelt.
Don’t miss the fascinating God’s Acre/Old Burying Ground (dating to the mid-1600s) next to the church, where many early famous sons and daughters repose.
Plimoth Plantation
Plymouth Rock may be a must-see, but more fascinating is the circa 1627 Plimoth Plantation living-history museum. Actors in period costumes talk about their Puritan faith and lifestyles. The meetinghouse is where they gathered twice each Sabbath for worship.
New Hampshire
Congregationalist churches from the early days are in most towns and cities throughout the state, but other denominations such as Quakers, Baptists and Shakers also put down roots here.
Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury Lake was active for two centuries and retains an intact 18th-century Meetinghouse and Dwelling House among its historic buildings. Crafts demonstrations and Shaker-inspired lunches in Greenwoods Restaurant are part of the experience.
Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge honors America’s fallen soldiers and contains the Altar of the Nation made of stones from all 50 states.
Maine
New England’s largest land mass, Maine has a religious Congregationalist and Roman Catholic heritage, particularly in its north.
New England’s oldest-surviving Catholic church is St. Patrick’s in Damariscotta. Built in 1808, it has brick walls a foot and a half thick, and Paul Revere bells in its belfry.
Sabbathday LakeShaker Village in New Gloucester is a National Historic Landmark containing 1,800 acres of forested land and what is likely the world’s last Shaker community. Visitors welcomed.
Rhode Island
Founded by Roger Williams (a 1635 religious outcast from Puritan Massachusetts), Providence was the first New England town to offer religious tolerance to all.
Williams also founded The First BaptistChurch in America on College Hill in Providence in 1638. Completed in 1775, the church building is regarded as one of the country’s finest examples of Georgian architecture.
Vermont
Ah, the land of white steeples and rolling green pastures. Picturesque Congregational and Roman Catholic churches accent the landscape and testify to religious heritage rooted in the 17th century.
Old First Church in Bennington was restored in the 1930s with funding from poet Robert Frost, who is buried with his family in the cemetery.
St. Anne’s Shrine on Isle LaMotte at the northern end of Lake Champlain echoes the state’s 17th century Catholic heritage, brought by Jesuits from Quebec. Services in the chapel and an outdoor pavilion occur by schedule.
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