First Baptist Church

First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain is home to both a church congregation and The Centre for Faith, Art, & Justice, which shares the building. Its community programs include community meals and a food pantry for neighbors. The church also hosts First Fridays Youth Open Mic, an evening for young performers, which fits the centre’s pairing of faith with art and justice work in the neighborhood around it.

Art is a large part of the church’s public role. During Jamaica Plain Open Studios, the building becomes a venue for local artists working in a wide range of media, from ceramics, pottery and woodturning to textiles, quilting, oil painting and illustration. Silkscreen and paper prints, woodcuts and monotypes, mixed-metal jewelry, glass and resin work, and contemporary pet portraits have all been shown there.

What to Know

• Open Studios exhibitors have included Brendan Killian Fine Arts, Little Bear Illustration and Shepherd’s Run Jewelry.
• Eight Acorns Floral Preservation & Design has shown preserved floral work in glass and resin there.
• Printmaker Marc Cote and the potters Cecilia East West and Richard Gilson are among past participating artists.
• The church is listed by JP Centre/South Main Streets.