Our History

St Andrews’s Methodist Church was an outgrowth of a union society known as the Union for Christian Work that was organized in 1872. The Pastor was reverend William Bradley, who first preached in the area of Health Street Station of Boston and Providence Railroad and later built the church on the corner of Centre and Walden Streets in Jamaica Plain.

The church was dedicated on Sunday, June 13, 1880, as the Free Church of the Union Work. On November 1, 1891, it was organized as a Methodist Episcopal Church and given the name Saint Andrew’s.

In 1913, St. Andrew’s received 26 members from the Walnut Park Church during its move to Walnut Park who then later merged with St. Paul’s.

In 1956, St. Andrew’s merged with St. Paul’s Church. St. Paul’s Church gave up its name, and the St. Andrew’s congregation moved from the Church on Centre and Walden Streets in Jamaica Plain, into the building built by the German Methodist Episcopal Church in 1899 on the corner of Atherton and Amory Street in Jamaica Plain.

In 1960, the Jamaica Plain First Methodist Church merged with St. Andrew’s.

Rev. Donald Campbell was the part-time pastor of Saint Andrew’s UMC between 1967 and 1973. During his tenure, he saw the need for the changing community and requested funding from the Conference in order to find a Spanish-speaking minister to carry on God’s work in the changing community.

On April 15th, 1971 Hamed Negron and his family arrived in Boston. On Sunday April 18th, 1978, the first Spanish speaking service was celebrated in Saint Andrew’s, and henceforth the Latino Ministry started in New England.

By 1973, Hamed Negron was the first Puerto Rican Pastor appointed to serve a local church, and Rev. Campbell became the co-pastor/associated pastor. As the Anglo population declined, Rev. Campbell requested another appointment and Rev. Negron then became the pastor of a multilingual congregation.

In 2004, The New England Conference of the United Methodist Church recognized St Andrew’s as the oldest Hispanic Ministry in New England. (History taken from Latino Christianity: History, Ministry and Theology: Rev. Luis Benavides, Th.D., 2005, General Commission on Archives and History)

Over the years, St Andrews UMC has demonstrated its commitment to the Christian vision and mission of serving God and others in our community. We are committed in that sense, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to create a community where the love of God reigns. Likewise, it spreads that love and faith to our community and neighborhood.