Worship at Church of the Covenant is the heart and soul of our life together as a community of faith. Since 1932 we have been a federated church, maintaining membership in the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA) and welcoming pilgrims and inquirers from all traditions to our life and work. Through our prayers and praise, in our concerns and celebrations, by word and sacrament, art and silence, we seek empowerment, together and individually, as a covenant people, for the work of Christ.
In an area of Boston filled with cultural monuments and architectural splendor, Church of the Covenant is an architectural and artistic landmark. This Gothic Revival church of Roxbury puddingstone was erected in 1865-67 by Central Congregational Church, one of the first churches to relocate in the new Back Bay. The design of the church was by Richard M. Upjohn, the son (and partner) of the most famous Neo-Gothic architect in the country, Richard Upjohn. According to church records, the Upjohns "insisted that a high gothic edifice be erected which no ordinary dwelling house would overtop." The most imposing architectural feature is the 240 foot high tower, with its graceful spire rising higher than the Bunker Hill Monurnent. For Oliver Wendell Holmes, it was perfection. In One Hundred Days in Europe he wrote: "We have one steeple in Boston that to my eyes seems absolutely perfect--that of the Central Church on the corner of Newbury and Berkeley Streets." Viewed from any direction, the graceful spire of this Neo-Gothic church continues to be an impressive Boston landmark and a favorite subject of Boston artists.