1151 Massachusetts Avenue and 400 Harvard Street, Cambridge
Founded in 1844, the Old Cambridge Baptist Church (OCBC) has a deep tradition of work in support of peace and justice.
From its opposition to slavery and protesting of the Vietnam War to its early support for LGBTQ rights, OCBC has played a prominent role in a variety of progressive social movements. One area in which the church has been particularly active is sanctuary.
OCBC was the first house of worship in Massachusetts to declare itself a sanctuary for Central American refugees fleeing U.S. government-backed repression in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras during the 1980s. On December 4, 1984, the church received “Estela Ramirez,” a Salvadoran trade unionist who had fled her homeland after authorities had murdered her husband and subsequently arrested and tortured her on numerous occasions. Congregants took turns staying with her over the weeks she remained there to prevent arrest by U.S. immigration authorities. (Eventually, Magdalena Rivas—her real name—received political asylum and U.S. citizenship.) Because of its activism challenging U.S. policy—OCBC housed numerous antiwar, anti-imperialist, and solidarity organizations in its basement—it came under FBI surveillance and experienced numerous break-ins during the years of the Reagan Administration. More than 30 years later, the OCBC continues to support illegalized migrants threatened by U.S. authorities.
Since 1992, OCBC has also championed sanctuary of a different sort—for the area’s homeless population. For more than 25 years, the church has served as headquarters of the Homeless Empowerment Project and its biweekly newspaper, Spare Change News. Sold by about 100 vendors who receive 75 percent of the two dollars charged for each copy they sell, the paper is a platform for news and analysis by members of the area’s homeless and low-income population, and an income source for economically disadvantaged individuals.
Today, the OCBC characterizes itself as a “progressive peace and justice congregation.” It strives “to follow the example of Jesus and to work, through active nonviolence, for social, racial, economic and ecological justice, and for peace.”
Getting there:
Red Line to Harvard Station.
To learn more:
Surbrug, Robert .Beyond Vietnam: The Politics of Protest in Massachusetts, 1974-1990, Amherst: University of Massachusetts Pres, 2009.
Image: “This is for the Sisters”: Feminist parade marchers outside church, 1969. Photo by Spencer Grant.