Historical Note on the Grace Vision United Methodist Church: The original congregation were members of the Harvard Street Church. It is unclear if the church was an outgrowth of the Sabbath School – a joint venture founded in April 1870 by Baptist, Congregational, and Methodist Churches in the Cambridge area – or if the original congregation had already begun organizing before that point. The Cottage Street Methodist Episcopal Church in Cambridge was officially founded on 5 April 1871. In the early years, the seventeen-member congregation worshipped at the small chapel built on Cottage Street, but eventually the congregation grew to such a size that a larger space was needed. A plot of land was bought at the corners of Magazine and Perry Streets, an architect (Franklin E. Kidder) was found, and construction began in 1886. It was renamed Grace Methodist Episcopal and services began at the new location on 56 Magazine Street in June of 1887. Since then, Grace Vision United Methodist Church has gone by many names, changing names four times – from Grace Methodist Episcopal to Grace Methodist to Grace United Methodist, and finally, to Grace Vision United Methodist – with the final change occurring due to a merging of two separate Methodist congregations, Grace UMC and Vision UMC in 2008. Over the years, Grace Vision has been heavily involved in community support and outreach programs, including the original Sabbath School, as well as sponsoring the Fisk Jubilee Singers, various Scout troops, and providing space to other church and community groups throughout the years, including the Cambridge Welcoming Ministry (an LBGT-focused congregation) and the Grace Academy, which offered an ESL program for adults, and art and music programs for children.

Scope and Content: This collection consists of church programs, newsletters, correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera relating to the Grace Vision United Methodist Church and other surrounding churches in the area. Dates: ca. 1871-2013