Week 7 - Boston
During week seven of the Shaftesbury Fellowship, the First Liberty Institute took the Fellows to Boston, Massachusetts for a historic and cultural tour of this city which has played so intimate a roll in our country's history.
Although we were only in the city for a little over three full days, we had the opportunity to experience much of what Boston has to offer. On Sunday, we visited the historic Park Street Church, just off the Boston Common, where we worshipped together. Park Street Church was founded in 1804 and is one of the longest standing churches in America which has consistently taught sound, evangelical doctrine. Along with having welcomed some pivotal speakers throughout its history, the church is the location of the first performance of the song "My Country 'Tis of Thee" on July 4th, 1831. The service was beautiful, but I particularly enjoyed singing some of the grand old hymns out of physical hymnals, a treat that I do not often encounter.
Some photos from my visit to Park Street Church.
After attending the worship service, we took some time to tour the Granary Burying Ground, which is right next door to the church. The cemetery is the final resting place to many heroes in our nations history including Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams — as well as the victims of the Boston Massacre.
Some photos from the burying ground.
Paul Revere's final resting place.
Later in the afternoon, the Shaftesbury Fellows participated in one of America's favorite pastimes, a baseball game at Fenway Park. The Red Sox were playing the San Diego Padres and it was quite the game. We saw a home run, sung, "Sweet Caroline," and even witnessed a wedding proposal on the big screen. Furthermore, the Red Sox won the game! Although I still do not find myself a hardcore baseball fan, I am growing to love attending baseball games because of the way that they embody the patriotic spirit of the country I love.
Some photos from the game.
In the evening, the Shaftesbury Fellows split off to explore the city. The girls found one boulevard lined with flags, which somewhat resembled Childe Hassam's "Fifth Avenue" painting. We also ventured into Chinatown for boba tea and enjoyed the historic buildings along the way.
Some photos from our evening adventures.
Later in the evening, I took a walk through the Boston Common with another one of the Fellows and discovered the little island that was the inspiration for Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings. After passing the island, we located the statue of the well-loved ducklings following their mother, and all robed in Celtics gear.
The famous ducklings and the island which was the inspiration for the book.
George Washington at twilight.
A few photos from the Boston Common.
Next, we stopped at the Massachusetts State House, a building which has served as the seat of government in Massachusetts since 1798.
The Massachusetts State House.
We had already visited Park Street Church and the Granary Burying Ground, so we passed by those to go to King's Chapel and to peak in the King's Chapel Burying Ground. The chapel was founded in 1686 as the first Anglican church in America.
King's Chapel.
The King's Chapel Burying Ground.
Near the King's Chapel, we also passed by the site of the Boston Latin School. The school was founded in 1635 and is the oldest public school in America. Many of the founding fathers, included Benjamin Franklin, were educated in the school.
A statue of Benjamin Franklin.
Site of the Boston Latin School.
A brief walk further down the trail, we passed by the Old Corner Bookstore. It was constructed in 1718 and was home to Ticknor and Fields, the publishers of many classic American titles, including Hawthorne's Scarlett Letter and Thoreau's Walden. Now, it is a Chipotle.
Old Corner Bookstore, aka Chipotle.
The Old South Meeting House.
The Old State House.
At that point, we headed back to the hotel for lunch and planned to save the rest of the freedom trail for Tuesday.
The afternoon held one of my favorite parts of the Boston trip: the Museum of Fine Arts. While I am a novice in the world of art appreciation, I was enthralled by the magnificent array of art in the museum. The Shaftesbury Fellows had about an hour and a half to explore the museum on our own at first. I visited the Greek and European art sections at first. I also briefly looked at some ancient Christian art and was ecstatic to find a rich collection of pieces by Monet.
Some favorite pieces from the Museum of Fine Art.
During the second half of our visit to the museum, we had the pleasure of being guided through several key pieces of art by Brooke Dimsdale, the wife of CRCD's executive director. We looked at some interesting examples of Puritan artistry, a silver bowl crafted by Paul Revere to memorialize a political moment, and an enormous painting portraying Washington crossing the Delaware.
A model of a Puritan home.
Washington Crossing the Delaware.
My favorite piece of art that we looked at with Mrs. Dimsdale was a painting by Childe Hassam. This artist, who keeps coming up in my life, actually lived in an apartment only a few blocks away from our hotel near the Boston Common. He painted "Boston Common at Twilight" at the end of the nineteenth century. I purchased a print of it in the museum store to keep as a momento of my time in Boston.
Boston Common at Twilight.
In the evening, we joined the rest of the First Liberty tour at a lovely little Italian restaurant, where I had the opportunity to try both lobster and cannoli for the first time. I discovered that I do not like the former, but the latter is one of my new favorite desserts.
Scrumptious Italian food for dinner.
We concluded the evening by walking to North End to see the place where Paul Revere started his famous ride and then we walked down to the harbor to watch the sunset.
Old North Church
The New England sunset.
I had the opportunity to touch the salty Atlantic for the first time.
On Tuesday, after breakfast and morning prayer, we enjoyed the sixth of our ten seminars in the Shaftesbury Fellowship. This seminar was led by Rev. Dr. Richard Turnbull, director of the Centre for Enterprise, Markets, and Ethics in Britain. He led us through a discussion of religious interpretations of national identity, looking at imperialism, colonialism, and the idea of American exceptionalism. Although I was not intimately familiar with these topics, I found the seminar to be engaging and enjoyed hearing from Rev. Dr. Turnbull.
The Shaftesbury Fellows hopped over to my favorite East Coast restaurant, a South African coffee shop called Tatte's, for lunch and took our meals over to the Boston Common for a picnic.
Tatte's Coffee Shop.
A sunny day on the Boston Common.
In the afternoon, we spent a couple hours to meet with Dr. Jordan Ballor, the director of our research projects with CRCD, to discuss where we are all at with our projects. It was interesting to get a deeper glimpse into what all of my peers are working on this summer.
After the research discussion, the Shaftesbury Fellows took the T, the underground subway system in Boston, to Bunker Hill to complete our tour of the Freedom Trail.
The official starting point of the Freedom Trail, right beneath the obelisk.
We started at the Bunker Hill monument, a gigantic obelisk commemorating the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. It was the first major battle of the Revolutionary War and a predictor of the outcome of the war.
The monument at Bunker Hill.
Next, we stopped by one of the most thrilling stops on the trial, the U.S.S. Constitution. The Constitution, affectionally nicknamed "Old Ironsides," was launched in Boston in 1797 and is the oldest warship afloat in the United States. To our surprise, we were actually able to board the ship and had the opportunity to explore beneath the deck, which was quite fun.
Some photos from our tour of the U.S.S. Constitution.
Next, we walked by the Copp's Hill Burying Ground. Unfortunately, it was closed at the time that we passed it, but it was interesting to note that it is the burying site of many merchants, artisans, and craftsmen from North End.
On our way through the trail, we passed by the Old North Church once again. It was built in 1723 and is famous for the story of Paul Revere's midnight ride.
Old North Church
Proximal to Old North Church, we also walked past Paul Revere's house. Built in the 1680's, the unassuming, olive-green house is the oldest remaining structure in downtown Boston.
Paul Revere's house.
In retrospect, I have realized that we actually never made it to the middle stop on the Freedom Trail, Faneuil Hall. After passing the Paul Revere's house, we walked over to Quincy Market for dinner. The historic market has been around since 1826 and is a bustling place, filled with little shops and food court restaurants.
The historic Quincy Market.
We concluded our time in Boston with a visit to the harbor, where the U.S. Navy Band Northeast was performing as a part of Navy Week in Boston. It was fun to hear some favorites, like "Come Fly With Me" and themes from "West Side Story," as well as some tunes I had not heard before.
Listening to a performance by the U.S. Navy Band Northeast.
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