Massachusetts Bible Society
Encyclopedia
The Massachusetts Bible Society is a Christian, ecumenical organization founded on July 6, 1809 at a ceremony in the Representatives Chamber of the Massachusetts State House. It was formally incorporated on February 10, 1810 and is the third oldest Bible Society
in the United States, following the Philadelphia society, founded December 12, 1808, and the Connecticut
society, founded in the Spring of 1809. The offices of the society are located in Newton Centre, Massachusetts
on the campus of Andover Newton Theological School
.
While affiliated with the National Association of State and Regional Bible Societies and often working with the American Bible Society
and the International Bible Society
, the Massachusetts Bible Society is an independent organization governed by its own Board of Trustees.
The 107 men listed as being present at the July 6, 1809 founding ceremony are: John Quincy Adams
, Timothy Alden, Jr., Thomas Allen, William Andrews, Samuel T. Armstrong, John Bartlett, Samuel Bartlett, Joshua Bates
, Elam Bliss, Alden Bradford, William Brown, Jr., Joseph Buckminster, Josiah Bumstead, Thomas Bumstead, George Cabot
, Andrew Calhoun, Joseph Callender, Samuel Cary, Francis D. Channing, Henry Chapman, Joseph Chickering, John Codman, Samuel Dana, John Davis (Massachusetts Governor)
, William Davis, Thomas Dawes, Edward Dorr, Asa Eaton, Joseph Eckley, John Eliot, William Emerson (minister)
, John Farrar, John Foster, Abel Fox, James Freeman (clergyman)
, Thomas Furber, Caleb Gannett, Samuel Gile, Moses Grant, Moses Grant, Jr., Thomas Gray, John Grew, Edward Dorr Griffin
, Samuel Haven, Lemuel (or perhaps Levi) Hedge, William Hilliard, Oliver Holden
, Horace Holley (minister), Abiel Holmes
, Henry Homes, Joshua Huntington, Francis Hyde, David Hyslop, Henderson Inches, Joseph W. Jenkins, Samuel Kendal, John Thornton Kirkland
, Ebenezer Larkin, John Lathrop, Ensign Lincoln, Charles Russell Lowell, Sr.
, Daniel Mallory, Joseph McKean, John Mellen, Josiah Moore, Jedidiah Morse
, Jacob Norton, Daniel P. Parker, Isaac Parker, Nathan Parker, Francis Parkman, Eliphalet Pearson
, William Perkins, Edward Phillips, John Phillips (mayor)
, Jonathan Phillips, William Phillips, Jr.
, John Pierce, Eliphalet Porter, Isaac Rand, Edward H. Robins, Ebenezer Rockwood, Daniel D. Rogers, Timothy Rogers, Josiah Salisbury, Samuel Salisbury, John Simpkins, Chester Stebbins, John L. Sullivan, John Tappan, Peter Oxenbridge Thacher, William Thurston, Edward Tuckerman, Jr., Gustavus Tuckerman, Joseph Tuckerman, Dudley A. Tyng, Samuel H. Walley
, John Walton, Henry Ware (Unitarian)
, Isaac Warren, Isaac Warren, Jr., Samuel Webber, Sidney Willard, Ebenezer Withington, Francis Wright, Luther Wright.
Although the granting of Bibles has continued from that time to the present, from 1895-2007 the Massachusetts Bible Society was known primarily for its bookstores, selling both Bibles and other religious books in stores located at New England seminaries and on Bromfield Street in downtown Boston.
The first female Board member was elected in 1980, and in April, 2007 MBS hired the organization's first female Executive Director, the Reverend Anne Robertson.
The current mission statement of the Massachusetts Bible Society reads: The Massachusetts Bible Society is a Christian organization that exists to promote biblical literacy, understanding and dialogue that is grounded in scholarship, socially relevant, and respectful of the many voices within the Bible and all those who turn to the Bible in faith.
Today's Society awards Bible grants, sponsors lectures, produces media resources, and supplies small groups and local churches with resource recommendations to promote biblical literacy and scholarship.
Bible society
A Bible society is a non-profit organization devoted to translating, publishing, distributing the Bible at affordable costs and advocating its credibility and trustworthiness in contemporary cultural life...
in the United States, following the Philadelphia society, founded December 12, 1808, and the Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
society, founded in the Spring of 1809. The offices of the society are located in Newton Centre, Massachusetts
Newton Centre, Massachusetts
Newton Centre is a borough of Newton, Massachusetts. The main commercial center of Newton Centre is a triangular area surrounding the intersections of Beacon Street, Centre Street and Langley Road. It is the largest downtown area among all the villages of Newton, and serves as a large upscale...
on the campus of Andover Newton Theological School
Andover Newton Theological School
Andover Newton Theological School is a graduate school and seminary located in Newton, Massachusetts. It is America's oldest graduate seminary and the nation's first graduate institution of any kind...
.
While affiliated with the National Association of State and Regional Bible Societies and often working with the American Bible Society
American Bible Society
The American Bible Society is an interconfessional, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, founded in 1816 in New York City, which publishes, distributes and translates the Bible and provides study aids and other tools to help people engage with the Bible.It is probably best known for its...
and the International Bible Society
International Bible Society
Biblica, formerly named named IBS-STL Biblica, formerly named named IBS-STL Biblica, formerly named named IBS-STL (from a merger of International Bible Society (IBS) and Send the Light (STL), has its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is a nonprofit Christian organization that...
, the Massachusetts Bible Society is an independent organization governed by its own Board of Trustees.
History
The initial mission of the Massachusetts Bible Society was the distribution of Bibles, achieved through colporteurs who traveled the state in horse-drawn wagons and visited the immigrant population at the Boston docks. The first mission statement read: The Bible Society is instituted for the purpose of raising funds by voluntary contribution, to be appropriated in procuring Bibles and Testaments to be distributed among all persons inhabiting within the State or elsewhere, who are destitute of the sacred Scriptures, and who cannot be conveniently supplied without the aid of others.The 107 men listed as being present at the July 6, 1809 founding ceremony are: John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
, Timothy Alden, Jr., Thomas Allen, William Andrews, Samuel T. Armstrong, John Bartlett, Samuel Bartlett, Joshua Bates
Joshua Bates
Joshua Bates was an American educator and clergyman. He was the third president of Middlebury College.Born in Cohasset, Massachusetts, he was the son of Zealous and Abigail Bates. Bates graduated from Harvard College in 1800. He became a special student in divinity at Phillips Academy, serving as...
, Elam Bliss, Alden Bradford, William Brown, Jr., Joseph Buckminster, Josiah Bumstead, Thomas Bumstead, George Cabot
George Cabot
George Cabot was an American merchant, seaman, and politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate and as the Presiding Officer of the Hartford Convention.-Early life:...
, Andrew Calhoun, Joseph Callender, Samuel Cary, Francis D. Channing, Henry Chapman, Joseph Chickering, John Codman, Samuel Dana, John Davis (Massachusetts Governor)
John Davis (Massachusetts Governor)
John Davis was an American lawyer, businessman and politician.-Early life:John Davis was born in Northborough, Massachusetts...
, William Davis, Thomas Dawes, Edward Dorr, Asa Eaton, Joseph Eckley, John Eliot, William Emerson (minister)
William Emerson (minister)
The Rev. William Emerson was one of Boston's leading citizens, a liberal-minded Unitarian minister, pastor to Boston's First Church and founder of its Philosophical Society, Anthology Club, and Boston Athenaeum, and father to Ralph Waldo Emerson.-Biography:Emerson was born in Concord,...
, John Farrar, John Foster, Abel Fox, James Freeman (clergyman)
James Freeman (clergyman)
James Freeman was the minister of King's Chapel in Boston for 43 years and the first preacher in America to call himself a Unitarian...
, Thomas Furber, Caleb Gannett, Samuel Gile, Moses Grant, Moses Grant, Jr., Thomas Gray, John Grew, Edward Dorr Griffin
Edward Dorr Griffin
Edward Dorr Griffin was a Christian minister and an American educator who served as President of Williams College from 1821 to 1836 and served as the first pastor of Park Street Church from 1811 to 1815.-Life and career:...
, Samuel Haven, Lemuel (or perhaps Levi) Hedge, William Hilliard, Oliver Holden
Oliver Holden
Oliver Holden was an American composer and compiler of hymns.Born in Shirley, Massachusetts, he served a year as a marine, for which he received a small annual pension. He lived most of his life in Charles Town, Boston, Massachusetts, after he moved with his parents in 1786. He was known to be a...
, Horace Holley (minister), Abiel Holmes
Abiel Holmes
Abiel Holmes was an American Congregational clergyman and historian in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He was the father of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. and grandfather of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.....
, Henry Homes, Joshua Huntington, Francis Hyde, David Hyslop, Henderson Inches, Joseph W. Jenkins, Samuel Kendal, John Thornton Kirkland
John Thornton Kirkland
John Thornton Kirkland served as President of Harvard University from 1810 to 1828. A religious minister like many of his predecessors, he is remembered chiefly for his lenient treatment of students...
, Ebenezer Larkin, John Lathrop, Ensign Lincoln, Charles Russell Lowell, Sr.
Charles Russell Lowell, Sr.
Charles Russell Lowell, Sr. was a Unitarian minister.-Biography:He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and attended The Roxbury Latin School and later Harvard College in 1800 where he studied law and then theology...
, Daniel Mallory, Joseph McKean, John Mellen, Josiah Moore, Jedidiah Morse
Jedidiah Morse
Jedidiah Morse was a notable geographer whose textbooks became a staple for students in the United States. He was the father of Samuel F. B. Morse, the man who developed Morse code.-Early life and education:...
, Jacob Norton, Daniel P. Parker, Isaac Parker, Nathan Parker, Francis Parkman, Eliphalet Pearson
Eliphalet Pearson
Eliphalet Pearson U.S. educator; 1st principal of Phillips Academy 1778-1786; acting president of Harvard University 1804-1806.Pearson graduated from Harvard in 1773 after having attended Dummer Charity School ....
, William Perkins, Edward Phillips, John Phillips (mayor)
John Phillips (mayor)
John Phillips was an American politician, serving as the first mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1822 to 1823. He was the father of abolitionist Wendell Phillips.-Biography:...
, Jonathan Phillips, William Phillips, Jr.
William Phillips, Jr.
William Phillips Jr was born in Boston, Massachusetts, April 10, 1750; died in Boston, May 26, 1827. Phillips was elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and served 1812-1823. He drafted the letter inviting New England Governors to send delegates to the Hartford Convention of 1815.Phillips...
, John Pierce, Eliphalet Porter, Isaac Rand, Edward H. Robins, Ebenezer Rockwood, Daniel D. Rogers, Timothy Rogers, Josiah Salisbury, Samuel Salisbury, John Simpkins, Chester Stebbins, John L. Sullivan, John Tappan, Peter Oxenbridge Thacher, William Thurston, Edward Tuckerman, Jr., Gustavus Tuckerman, Joseph Tuckerman, Dudley A. Tyng, Samuel H. Walley
Samuel H. Walley
Samuel Hurd Walley was a Massachusetts businessman and politician who served as Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and as a member of the U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.-Early life:...
, John Walton, Henry Ware (Unitarian)
Henry Ware (Unitarian)
Henry Ware was a preacher and theologian influential in the formation of Unitarianism and the American Unitarian Association in the United States....
, Isaac Warren, Isaac Warren, Jr., Samuel Webber, Sidney Willard, Ebenezer Withington, Francis Wright, Luther Wright.
Although the granting of Bibles has continued from that time to the present, from 1895-2007 the Massachusetts Bible Society was known primarily for its bookstores, selling both Bibles and other religious books in stores located at New England seminaries and on Bromfield Street in downtown Boston.
The first female Board member was elected in 1980, and in April, 2007 MBS hired the organization's first female Executive Director, the Reverend Anne Robertson.
Today
With society moving from print to digital media, the Society divested itself of the last of its bookstores in July 2007 and in February 2008 agreed to give a grant to Andover Newton Theological School to establish a Media Center in Wilson Chapel.The current mission statement of the Massachusetts Bible Society reads: The Massachusetts Bible Society is a Christian organization that exists to promote biblical literacy, understanding and dialogue that is grounded in scholarship, socially relevant, and respectful of the many voices within the Bible and all those who turn to the Bible in faith.
Today's Society awards Bible grants, sponsors lectures, produces media resources, and supplies small groups and local churches with resource recommendations to promote biblical literacy and scholarship.