Twenty years ago, shortly after purchasing the St. Leo’s Catholic Church property on the corner of Harvard and Esmond Streets, Bishop Dr. Gwendolyn G. Weeks stood on the property and talked to The Reporter — in a front page story— about her vision for Bethel Tabernacle Pentecostal Church and the weather-worn parish grounds.
Last Saturday (Aug. 1), she stood up in front of a gathering of neighbors and church members, held up that newspaper from 20 years ago, and noted that the vision of establishing a revived church campus to honor God and serve the community had been completed with the grand opening of the Jachin Building at 177 Harvard St., a former convent and now an expansive community service center.
Bishop Dr. Gwendolyn G. Weeks holding a copy of The Reporter from March 2006. Seth Daniel photo
“Bethel Tabernacle Church has always been more than a sanctuary,” she said. “This whole City of Judah is to function like a real city where people can come from far and wide and have their needs met…Renovating our Jachin Building expands that vision and memorializes taking our vision beyond our sanctuary and to all of Dorchester and Massachusetts and the whole world. This is for God’s glory.”
Associate Pastor James Fenton, who has been with the church since it was on St. George Street in the South End, affirmed his bishop’s words. “This is about more than the grand opening of Jachin Building; it’s about the completion of a project developed out of necessity 20 years ago. Bethel Tabernacle Church committed to the vision…to allow God to shine in on a community in need of hope.”
He added that the late Bishop Thomas Weeks (2013) and Evangelist Susan Weeks (2010) – Gwendolyn’s parents and founders of Bethel in 1958 after immigrating from Monserrat – were the source of the dream.
“Without them this day would have remained just a dream, and Gwendolyn carried the torch from her parents, and here we are,” he concluded, offering up a sparkling cider toast with the crowd.
Above: Sen. Liz Miranda, far right, presented a citation to the church leaders, including Deacon Jeff Gordon, Deacon LaVel Crosby, Claudette Fenton, Associate Pastor James Fenton, and Bishop Dr. Gwendolyn G. Weeks. Seth Daniel photo
Sitting on the side lawn under shade trees, Weeks explained that the congregation started by renovating the worship space over a period of more than three years. During that time, they occupied the Zion Building, which fronts Bicknell Street and was a rectory in the St. Leo days.
After moving into their new sanctuary, they began repairing the Zion building, then brought in temporary quarters that they called the Boaz building, from which they have been serving the community through family services and a bustling food pantry in collaboration with the Greater Boston Food Bank that helps feed more than 400 families per month. They added landscaping, decorative fencing, signage, and a large yard for gatherings.
Over the past 18 months, volunteers from Bethel, neighboring churches, and Hayes Construction have rehabilitated and retrofitted the final building on the campus, which is dubbed Jachin, which translates to “God Establishes.”
Weeks said they would be moving their food pantry to the basement of the home where they can use a conveyor belt to unload trucks of food directly into the pantry, where they have cold storage and ample room, as well as more efficient queues to move people in and out faster. At the moment, the pantry building can only accommodate ten at a time while the new operation will involve a continuously moving line.
Upstairs is community space for young and old – including a room with a multi-functional pool table and a games arcade. There is a small workout room, a commercial kitchen and spaces for groups and classes to meet. On the second and third floors are short-term living spaces for church members needing a place to live.
Weeks stressed they will be moving beyond their church walls to offer leadership training, family services, youth empowerment, and the food pantry, all part of a new non-profit called Judah City Cares, Inc.
“We will want to build lives, strengthen families, and care for our city and state, but we need to do it together,” she said.
Margaret Siu and Claudette Fenton offered up a sparkling cider toast to the completion of the Jachin Building. Seth Daniel photo
Deacon LaVel Crosby, the church’s site manager for the project, said working with Hayes was very easy, and it has resulted in greater capacity to serve.
“The hard times during construction weren’t hard because we talked,” she said. “Our goal and mission is to help the community, serve the community, and this building will allow us to do that even more now.”
State Sen. Liz Miranda presented the church with a certificate and words of appreciation for embarking and finishing the vision – particularly with its focus on serving.
“When a group of citizens comes together to do something great not just for their congregation, but for the entire city, we should celebrate them,” she said. “A vision isn’t something that happens over a week. It takes time. Twenty years might not have been anticipated, but the result is beautiful. You could have just built more walls for your church, but you didn’t. You opened your eyes and your church to the issues in our city.”
At the conclusion of the ceremony, and after the ribbon was cut on the Jachin Building, it looked like it was time for the church and its bishop to relax a little bit, but God’s Kingdom is always expanding, Weeks noted.
“There are some empty lots here on this street, and maybe someday they could be used to serve the community and God as well,” she said with a smile.
Neighbor Bettye Hicks said she loves having the church as a neighbor. Seth Daniel photos
Bishop Dr. Gwendolyn G. Weeks cut the ceremonial ribbon to open the Jachin Building for community service at 177 Harvard St. on Aug. 1 – marking the completion of an overall 20-year vision for the church’s campus. Beside her were James Russo of Hayes Construction, Claudette Fenton, and Associate Pastor James Fenton. Seth Daniel photo
