First Baptist Church in America
The First Baptist Meetinghouse, also known as the First Baptist Church in America is the oldest Baptist church congregation in the United States. The Church was founded in 1638 by Roger Williams in Providence, Rhode Island. The present church building was erected between 1774 and 1775 and held its first meetings in May 1775. It is located at 75 North Main Street in Providence's College Hill neighborhood. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA.
Location
Architecture[edit]
The building was designed by astronomer and amateur architect Joseph Brown. Brown's design borrowed significantly from the designs English architect James Gibbs published in his 1728 Book of Architecture. The church's steeple, for example, is an exact execution of one of three unbuilt designs for the spire of St Martin-in-the-Fields.[6]
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Today[edit]
In addition to weekly worship services, the Meeting House hosts concerts, talks, and lectures by world-renowned artists, performers, academics, and elected officials. Brown University holds commencement services of its undergraduate college at the meetinghouse.
In 2001, History professor J. Stanley Lemons wrote a history of the church, entitled First: The History of the First Baptist Church in America[10][11]
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Affiliations[edit]
The First Baptist Church in America is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island (ABCORI) and the American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA). The church actively supports the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches, the Baptist World Alliance, and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. Many members have served in various denominational, academic, and divinity school positions, including the presidency of Brown University.
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![This 1789 engraving of the church was the first published image of Providence[12]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/A_S.W._View_of_the_Baptist_meeting_House%2C_Providence%2C_R.I.jpg/72px-A_S.W._View_of_the_Baptist_meeting_House%2C_Providence%2C_R.I.jpg)
This 1822 painting depicts the church and surrounding buildings
An evening view of the building's illuminated steeple
The church from the rear
The building's interior
The building's rear showing the 1884 addition.
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