Register for our “Voices from the Past” workshop at 14 Beacon before next week's deadline to spend June 17th exploring early New England Congregational church records in the CLA’s collection with Dr. Tricia Peone. Learn more and register via our website: congregationallibrary.org/events/voice...

Join us on July 1st to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution with a tour of sermons and other Revolutionary-era materials from the Congregational Library & Archives’ collection. Learn more and register for free via our website: congregationallibrary.org/events/sermo...

Thinking back to last Friday when our reading room was filled with great conversation during our May collections tour and excellent cake to celebrate the CLA's 173rd birthday! (Just not at the same time. Food and archival materials should never mix!)

Buying Christian books in a 19th-century slave insurance office? This troubling intersection was just one piece of Dr. Sonia Hazard’s full book talk on how the American Tract Society built a massive 19th-century mass media empire.

Join us June 3rd at 1 pm EDT for a virtual conversation about the World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship's work with evangelical Congregational associations and churches around the world. Registration is free and open to all: https://congregationallibrary.org/events/standing-shoulders-giants

If you’ll be in the greater Boston area on June 26th, we hope you’ll join us for a lunchtime collections tour with CLA Archivist Zachary Bodnar exploring the tales of those who left Boston by sea. The event is free and open to all thanks to our friends at the Beacon Hill Civic Association.

Don’t just celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution this summer. Explore it yourself in our virtual Researching the Revolution class that begins June 30th on Zoom and continues for 5 weeks. Learn more and register online: congregationallibrary.org/events/resea...

It’s our 173rd birthday! 🎂 To celebrate, we’re unwrapping some history. In this clip from our “Oxford Handbook of Puritanism” program, Dr. Francis Bremer explains how Congregational church covenants quietly laid the groundwork for participatory democracy in the US.

You have two weeks left to register for this year’s virtual CSI Summer Camp that begins June 11th. Learn more about this 5-session course with CLA archivists Zachary and Billy and register via our website: congregationallibrary.org/events/csi-s...

Join us for our 2026 Juneteenth program and rediscover James W.C. Pennington (1808-1870), a truly remarkable figure of Black religious and political history who has been unjustly overlooked in contemporary scholarship.

Don't forget about tomorrow's free collections tour. We hope to see many of you at noon at 14 Beacon! You can find more information and register at congregationallibrary.org/events/congr...

NEXT WEEK: Join us on May 27th to learn about Andrew Eliot, prominent Boston Congregational minister and "reluctant revolutionary" in the War for Independence. Registration is free and open to all via our website: congregationallibrary.org/events/reluc...

From Mary Easty’s moving final pleas to testimonies about talking cats, explore how digital archives are providing more access than ever before to the original records of the Salem witch trials.

A few weeks ago, @wgbh.org visited 14 Beacon to learn more about Congregationalism's role in the American Revolution.

We’re pleased to have acquired this volume written by Sheldon Dibble, an ABCFM missionary to Hawai’i. The manuscript, titled “Didactic Theology,” contains 413 theological questions followed by answers. It was neither published nor completed.

If you’ll be in the greater Boston area next Friday, May 22nd, we hope you’ll join us for a lunchtime collections tour exploring the role 14 Beacon Street played in nineteenth-century mission work in Asia. Learn more on our website: congregationallibrary.org/events/congr...

Join us on June 3 at 1 pm EDT for a virtual roundtable on the growth and work of the World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship. Registration is free and open to all via our website: congregationallibrary.org/events/stand...

Level up your research skills this summer with our in-person “Voices from the Past” workshop at 14 Beacon on June 17. Dr. Tricia Peone will explore methods for finding and interpreting early Congregational church records from our NEHH project that can benefit church histories, genealogies, and more.

NEXT WEEK: Join us May 19th to hear the story of Capt. Silas Soule, a young abolitionist turned Union officer raised in a Congregational family who refused to obey orders during the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864. Registration is free and open to all: congregationallibrary.org/events/witne...

A visit to our Sacred Rebellion exhibition at 14 Beacon to explore the role Congregationalism played in the American Revolution is the perfect addition to your 250th anniversary commemorations this summer. Read about our 2026 Open Days and Curator’s Tours on our website: https://ow.ly/gArZ50YWAxa

Ready to protect your church's history? Join CLA archivists Zachary and Billy for our second annual CSI Summer Camp. Beginning June 11th, this 5-session online course will explore the basics of establishing a church archive. Learn more and register: congregationallibrary.org/events/csi-s...

What would American liberty be without Congregationalism? Dr. Emerson “Tad” Baker traces a thread of puritan influence from the Salem witch trials to the Bill of Rights in this clip from our “Oxford Handbook of Puritanism” roundtable.

We’re pleased to have recently accessioned a collection that includes these notes, taken by Joshua Wyman Wellman when he was a student at Andover Seminary studying with Edwards Amasa Park from 1847-1850. They cover a wide range of topics from conscience, to virtue, and the divinity of Christ.

Our next Church Stewardship Initiative workshop is next week, and we hope you will join us to hear Zachary and Billy talk about the basics of conducting oral history interviews for documenting your church’s history. Registration is free and open to all: congregationallibrary.org/events/illum...

TODAY: Join us on Zoom at 1 pm EDT for a thought-provoking conversation with Stephen Gammon on "Biblical Church Governance." Registration is free and open to all: congregationallibrary.org/events/about...

Join us on May 27th for a virtual book talk with Dr. John Oakes on, “Reluctant Revolutionary,” his new biography of Congregationalist minister Andrew Eliot (1718–1778). Registration is free and open to all: congregationallibrary.org/events/reluc...

Thanks to all our friends, new and old, who joined us for a wonderful afternoon of celebrating twenty years of our New England's Hidden Histories project last Saturday. We can't wait to see what the next twenty years have in store!

Final preparations for tomorrow's Open House celebrating the 20th anniversary of our New England's Hidden Histories project are underway, and we're looking forward to seeing many of you at 14 Beacon. If you haven't registered yet, it's not too late. Learn more and RSVP at https://ow.ly/PaXX50YP1cc

Are records managers tyrants? According to CLA Archivist Zachary Bodnar, in an ideal universe, they might like to be. 😆 Jokes aside, in this clip from our “CSI Goes Digital” video, Zachary explores the "push and pull" of managing church records and why the best records management is collaborative.

What compels an ordinary person to stand against atrocity? Join us on May 19th for a virtual book talk with Rev. Dr. Nancy Niero, author of “Witness at Sand Creek,” to hear the story of a man who bore witness to genocide and chose to speak out against what he had seen.

We hope you’ll make plans to join us next Wednesday, April 29th, for a conversation with Stephen Gammon on his book, “About Biblical Church Governance,” that is filled with principles and wisdom for church leaders. Registration is free and open to all: congregationallibrary.org/events/about...

April 23: Erasure: History, Memory, and King Philip's War with Tricia Peone, @congrelib.bsky.social. @historicbostons.bsky.social Public memory shaped by white religious & political leaders in New England sought to reframe the meaning & legacy of the war. www.eventbrite.com/e/erasure-hi...

@congrelib.bsky.social's remarkable resource guide on King Philip's War, with sources from primary documents to the best of modern scholarship. @historicbostons.bsky.social historicbostons.org/blog-1/breme...

Looking for more resources to inform your celebration of America’s 250th anniversary this year? Then click on over to our new American Revolution 250th Anniversary Resource Guide to find videos, exhibitions, items from our digital archive and much more: https://ow.ly/hVSo50YMr9b

We hope you will make plans to join us at 14 Beacon for our next collections tour at noon on May 22nd. Archivist Billy McCarthy will explore the role Congregational House played in 19th-century mission work in Asia. Learn more and register via our website: congregationallibrary.org/events/congr...

Thanks to Rev. Dr. Eric Jackson of the Eliot Church of Newton who wrote up his experience of visiting our Sacred Rebellion exhibition in his monthly column for The Newton Beacon: www.newtonbeacon.org/column-no-ki...

Friends in the Greater Boston area: Don't forget about tomorrow's free collections tour exploring the architectural history of Congregational House from 12-1 pm EDT at 14 Beacon. Learn more and let us know you're coming: congregationallibrary.org/events/archi...

Registration closes today for this Thursday’s “Shot Heard Round the World” Sacred Rebellion Virtual Tour. Learn more and save your (virtual) seat via our website: congregationallibrary.org/events/shot-...

TODAY: Join us at 1 pm EDT for a virtual book talk with Dr. Sonia Hazard, author of "Empire of Print,” and learn more about the evangelical power of the American Tract Society in the 19th century. Registration is free and open to all: congregationallibrary.org/events/empir...

Celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US at the Congregational Library & Archives this summer with a free visit to our Scared Rebellion exhibition during one of our open days in June, July, and August. Plan your trip or register for a Curator’s Tour: congregationallibrary.org/blog/sacred-...

Our Open House celebrating the 20th anniversary of our New England’s Hidden Histories project is only two weeks away, and we hope you’re making plans to celebrate with us at 14 Beacon on April 25th.

Save the date for our next Church Stewardship Initiative workshop on May 6th to learn about conducting ethical oral history interviews. Zachary and Billy will discuss critical topics such as copyright, consent, and how to record your interviews.

In all seriousness: this is the fellowship that changed my career/life. If you have questions/are considering and want to chat, hit me up, these are magnificent institutions filled with the best people.

Our ACA-BA Fellowship application deadline is April 15th. Don't miss your chance to come research with us and our neighbors at the Boston Athenaeum. Find all the information you need to apply at https://congregationallibrary.org/fellowships.

The CLA thanks Paul Stamatos for donating Ruth Williams’ diary and a homiletics notebook (c. 1893-5) by her father, Charles Henry Williams. In this entry from 1923, Ruth recounts celebrating her 17th birthday with the film "Silent Years" and a "beautiful cake and ice cream omelette."

NEHH is using early New England Congregational church records to uncover hidden stories of enslaved people and Indigenous history that our textbooks skipped.

Only a few seats remain in our “Shot Heard Round the World” Sacred Rebellion Virtual Tour on April 16th from 5:30-6:30 pm EDT. Learn more and register on our website at congregationallibrary.org/events/shot-...

Join us on April 29th from 1-2 pm EDT for a virtual book talk with Stephen Gammon, author of "About Biblical Church Governance," to explore Biblical blueprints for healthy leadership and thriving congregations. Registration is free and open to all: congregationallibrary.org/events/about...

Explore the power of 19th-century evangelical mass media in our virtual book talk with Dr. Sonia Hazard on April 14th from 1-2 pm EDT. Registration is free and open to all via our website: congregationallibrary.org/events/empir...

Please join us virtually or at 14 Beacon on Friday, April 10th for a lunch and learn from 12-1 pm EDT with CLA Research Fellow, Dr. Evelyn Sterne. Registration is free and open to all via our website: congregationallibrary.org/events/faith...