It all started when…
On April 24, 1838, the first successful movement to organize as Methodists in the city of Boston was conducted, and the first worship service was held on May 6, 1838. On June 25, 1869, Boston Highlands Methodist Episcopal Church was legally incorporated.
On February 4, 1896, a group of Methodists that had been formally meeting in the Mt. Bowdoin section of Dorchester (for about 2 years) was given the name of Mt. Bowdoin Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1898, the two churches joined together and formed the Highlands Methodist Episcopal Church.
During the fall of 1898 (and under the leadership of its first pastor, the Rev. Charles Tilton), Highlands Methodist Episcopal Church purchased land in what was known as the “Five Corners” district of Dorchester, in order to build a structure large enough to hold its growing congregation.
In 1913, Charles Henry Greenwood, a large benefactor of the church, requested to have the church renamed Greenwood Memorial Church in memory of his mother, Sarah Greenwood. Greenwood Memorial UMC has occupied the corner of Dakota and Washington Streets in Dorchester since December 3, 1900, when the cornerstone to the current building was laid.
The church has served as a beacon of hope to the Four Corners section of Dorchester/Boston for many years.
