My constant and local-to-DC readers might be interested to note that I will be preaching this Sunday, Easter, at the Church of the Holy City (Swedenborgian) at 11 am. The church is at the southwest corner of 16th and Corcoran Streets, NW, Washington.
Parking is poor, but there is easy S2 and S4 bus access from McPherson Square (from the south, less than 10 minutes) and Silver Spring (from the north, thirty minutes or more) stations, or walk about six blocks east from the north exit of the Dupont Circle Metro station.
Scott: whatever happened re: the law suits happening amidst that congregation?
Cheerfully, Roger Kuhrt
That was the one in Boston, and I don’t know.
are the swedenborg’s a national denomination? there is a swedenborg chapel here in cambridge ma
According to the Swedenborgians national magazine the law suit was settled out of court. The minister of the Boston church was removed from the ministerial roles of the denomination; the Boston church was voted out of the Massachusetts Association of the New Jersusalem; and some financial agreement was made. The denomination has since tightened its standards for disposal of property and endowments in the event of church closure and dis-affiliation. What the church (now called Church on the Hill) has done since then is unknown to me. I don’t even know if they still worship, or if they sold the building to a developer.
The Swedenborgian church is a national denomination (albeit a very small one) with churches in the USA and Canada. They are headquartered in Newton, Mass; and maintain a Divnity house at Pacific School of Religion in California. The Swedenborgians have a theology that might be described as modalistic non-Trinitarianism (but not true Unitarianism either), and a modified form of Christian Universalism. They have a strong interest in non-literal Biblical understandings, Christian mysticism, and the afterlife. Their website is at http://www.swedenborg.org .
Church on the Hill (Boston, MA) mentioned in the above post from me, is indeed alive and well after the lawsuit. It is functioning as an independent Swedenborgian church, and has committed to remaining in its property on Beacon Hill. This property is fascinating. The building has the church on the lower floor, and apartments on floors above. I have it on good authority that the apartments generate a substantial income for the church. You can visit Church on the Hill at http://www.churchonthehillbostonboston.org .
woops it’s http://www.churchonthehillboston.org