boston haunts: brookline church of christ

When we told our Abilene friends we were moving to Boston, everyone who had lived, worked, gone to school or even traveled here said the same thing: “You’ve got to try Brookline.”

Nate and Abi, who arrived a month before we did, were already plugged in at Brookline by the time we arrived – and so we took little convincing, on our first Sunday in Boston, to come to the tiny, adorable church in the heart of Brookline:

I’ve been at big churches all my life – the last three churches I’ve been a member of have each had more than a thousand members. Brookline is tiny by any standard – just 30 or 40 souls in the pews each Sunday. And yet I love it. It’s a tightly knit community, people of all ages, races and backgrounds coming together to sing some hymns and share communion, to listen to a sermon and then thoughtfully discuss it. The singing is a cappella, a nod to its Church of Christ heritage, but there’s some liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer, which reminds me of my beloved St Aldates Oxford. There’s always a prayer for the church and the world, which I love because the church can never afford to forget about the world, and each Sunday night a bunch of us gather at Amy and Ryan’s for dinner, singing and fellowship.

Don’t get me wrong: I miss Highland deeply. I miss singing on Sunday mornings and looking out over the congregation as part of the praise team; I miss standing next to Jeremiah as he leads worship (though of course we stand next to each other in the pew). I miss eating doughnuts, giving and receiving hugs, listening and laughing in Sojourners class. I miss our Lifeteam every day, but especially on Sunday nights. I miss my coffee ladies – oh, how I miss them. (Thank God that sweet Abi is here with me.)

But I love Brookline already. This feels like a thoughtful, compassionate community dedicated to seeking out God’s work in the world. We’ve been welcomed in with open arms; we have a place to come, to worship, to serve, to be nurtured, to be loved. And I am, above all else, so thankful.