“In loving one another we best learn to love God.”—Swedenborg

About the People

Swedenborgians number about 50,000 internationally, 2,600 in North America. The Chapel is one of only 37 such churches in the U.S. But the small Cambridge congregation has an outsized influence, sharing its space with close to 300 people weekly, either without charge or for a handful of dollars to offset costs.

This largess is in keeping with Swedenborgian principles of open-mindedness and personal responsibility, creating a sanctuary for spiritual experience in all of its many forms. Among the ongoing activities in this extended community:

• “Wedding Chapel” ministry for 50+ couples yearly, of every creed
  
• Cambridge Tibetan Society services, dance, & language classes (The Chapel was honored in 1995 by the Dalai Lama)
  
• Anglican & Russian congregation worship
  
• “Soul of Humanity” exhibits by local artists
  
• Oriana Consort chorale ensemble, rehearsals & performances
  
• “Pick-Up” choir for anyone who likes to sing
  
• Piano and organ lessons
  
• Yoga classes
  
• Alcoholics Anonymous & Overeaters Anonymous meetings
  
• Lectures on topics relating to religion, psychology, & philosophy
  
• Restorative justice groups, with men transitioning out of prison
  
• Environmental justice covenant congregation
  
• Conflict mediation training for local high schoolers (upcoming)
  
• Teen after-school drop-in center (upcoming)

Famous Swedenborgians: Helen Keller, Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William and Henry James, John Chapman (a.k.a. Johnny Appleseed).

Thinkers and authors indebted to Swedenborgian thought: Emerson, Thoreau, Jung, Peirce, Suzuki, Balzac, Baudelaire, Blake, Coleridge, Yeats, Strindberg, Poe