Tiny congregation has big pews to fill

There are few churches for which spring cleaning means sweeping away a winter's worth of dust from the sanctuary. Then again, there aren't many congregations with only 14 members, including the organist, like the Church of the Open Word.

The Newtonville congregation, which belongs to the Protestant Swedenborgian faith, decided a decade ago it was too expensive to heat the church's sanctuary. Instead, from late fall until April, services are held in the cozy parish house rather than in the Gothic-style stone church, which has pews for 250.

Since the 1950s, when it had more than 100 members, the ranks of the Highland Avenue congregation have slowly dwindled. But members say being tiny has an upside.

"Having such a small congregation makes each person responsible for a whole lot more than if we had 100," said Robert Procter Jr., the church's president. "My son and I just Murphy-oiled the entire place; Gretchen Tafel is our unofficial gardener; and everyone pitches in where they can."

When a member had to make a sudden move to Colorado to care for a son who had been in a serious accident, his fellow congregants moved almost all of his belongings into the church so that he didn't have to put them in storage.

"Like we say, 'Small church, big family.' What's great is that this spring he's going to have a yard sale to benefit the church," said Procter.

While the industriousness of its members certainly helps, it doesn't hurt that the church hosts the headquarters of the Swedenborgian national organizing body, the General Convention of the New Jerusalem.

"Having the executive offices of the General Convention move in upstairs has been a godsend," said Procter. "We're not in danger of losing the church, at least not that I'm aware of."

Martha Bauer, manager of the General Convention, can attest to the advantage of a small congregation.

"This past year, a gentleman showed up in my office claiming to be a member of the church, trying to get money," Bauer said. "I instantly knew he wasn't a member because I know everyone in the Newton congregation."

The congregation may not include enough children for a Sunday school, but it boasts members "from 9 to 91," said Bauer. "It's made up of families. Actually the congregation is mostly Bobby's family," referring to Procter.

Among the more senior members is F. Robert Tafel, husband of Gretchen ("the unofficial gardener") and retired reverend of the Cambridge church, one of half a dozen other Swedenborgian congregations in the state. Nationwide, the denomination has 1,500 active members, according to church officials.

"There is a friendliness to the congregation," F. Robert Tafel said. "There isn't the anonymity of a huge congregation. People are known and welcomed."

Swedenborgianism, pronounced with a soft g, is a Protestant faith leaning toward Episcopalianism. It was the brainchild of Emanuel Swedenborg, who lived from 1688 to 1772. The Swedish scientist and member of Parliament turned to theological affairs at age 56. After splitting with the Lutheran Church, Swedenborg moved to England to found his own faith.

According to Frank Korom, assistant professor of religion at Boston University, "You can put Swedenborgianism in the same level as Christian Science, because that wasn't accepted by mainstream Christians either."

According to Bauer, the church's tenets preempt active recruitment. "We have a website [www.swedenborg.org], and we answer all inquiries," she said. "But we don't evangelize. We let people come to us."

What's more, the nature of the religion doesn't encourage many converts.

"Many people are attracted to churches with easy answers, pat solutions, and instant salvation," Bauer said. "Swedenborgianism places the responsibility back on the individual; it doesn't offer simple answers."

The services, whether in the sanctuary or parish house, are not as staid as one might imagine. The 1916 Hutchings organ, the second to last ever made, still works and is supplemented by more informal instruments.

"We usually break out the country western guitars and bring it down to guitars and voices," said Gretchen Tafel. "There are usually several of us, myself included, playing."

And then there's the near-extravagant Christmas service. "Every year we bite the bullet and crank up the heat in the sanctuary for that one service," said Procter. "We sing Christmas carols with accompanying guitars."

Services are monthly, usually the second Sunday. The Rev. Gladys Wheaton, a retired minister, conducts them on a volunteer basis. At least six to eight congregants can be counted on to attend. Services are not held in July and August because too many members are away.

The 160-year-old stone church, with its massive, vaulted ceilings and Connick stained-glass windows, was designed by Boston architect Ralph Adams Cram.

"It's a beautiful, exciting place," Robert Tafel said. "It's a worship space that should be enjoyed by the whole city of Boston, but nobody knows it's there."

Visitors are welcome at services or they "can drop by any day and see if someone's there," Procter said.

As for when the congregation will make its annual autumn retreat to the parish house, "it all depends," he said. "We usually just know when to move services to the parish house. Plus, if it is cold [in the sanctuary], we're all Yankees -- we're tough."

The next service is June 13. To find out when else the church is open, call Robert Procter Jr. at 617-969-5030.