Jay Bergers

During the 1952-1953 [or 1953-54] school year I served as a group leader in the Evangelistic Association (EA). As group leaders, we provided leadership to the various groups that conducted street meetings in the Boston Common and services in the missions and nursing homes, as well as those that engaged in other EA ministries. During that period, we felt led to develop and focus on a distinct ministry geared towards children and families. To that end, we established the Boston Nazarene Chapel. [I believe at that the time that some had misgivings as to the feasibility and sustainability of this type of undertaking. ]

We had some interesting experiences as we searched for a suitable site to begin this ministry. When we first viewed the site on Dover Street that was to become the Boston Chapel, we saw a woman sitting cross-legged in the window. She was beckoning us to come in, presumably to read our fortunes! After the former tenants left, we began by hauling away truckloads of debris from the building. We then started the daunting task of cleaning, scrubbing and painting to make it suitable for services.

We next engaged in visitation and distribution of flyers announcing the beginning of a Sunday afternoon Sunday School program. As I recall,we started first with Sunday School and then began to make arrangements to conduct regular church services. I'm not sure that we always went through official channels, but Bob Crew served as the first pastor of the Boston chapel. Once we began holding regular services we felt we had to be consistent and always conduct the services on a regular schedule. When we were unable to have a college group attend to support a service, Bob Crew and I would attend and hold the service even if we were the only ones there, with the hope that some might come in off the street to attend the service. On those occasions I would lead the singing and Bob would serve as the congregation, and then Bob would come to the pulpit to preach and I would be the congregation!

Although it was probably not a good theological ploy, as we tried to encourage the children to come in to the chapel, I would invite them to come to me and I would "rub their head for luck". They quickly gathered around shouting for me to rub their head! 

Jerry (Gerald) Huff and his wife Peggy were the next pastors. During Jerry's tenure, I recall an instance in which a man and a woman were unmarried and living together. They were saved and felt they should get married. Jerry was not properly licensed to officiate at a marriage ceremony, so he approached Dr. J. Glenn Gould and asked him to officiate. Dr. Gould graciously officiated and stayed for food and fellowship following the ceremony. I believe that Nevin Crouse followed Jerry as pastor.

I was elected as EA present for 1954 and we continued with a very strong focus and emphasis on developing and strengthening the work of the Boston Chapel that year. These are my best recollections of the "happenings" of that period.