Our History

Emmanuel Parish, Braintree began as a mission of Christ Church, Quincy, a parish founded in 1689 by the Church of England in Old Braintree. In 1906, The Reverend William E. Gardner, Rector of Christ Church, began holding services in Braintree; and in 1909, the new mission was incorporated under its present name with the congregation worshiping in the Masonic Temple. In 1909, The Reverend M. Oakman Patton became the first settled minister, and was followed in 1919 by The Reverend John C. Poland during whose ministry the mission became a parish in 1922.

In December of 1924, the church was built and dedicated. The Reverend J. Holland Beal became Rector in 1936 and during the next four years the parish hall and church tower were erected. Because of close friendship between The Reverend Beal and Dr. Kingsolving, then Rector of Trinity Church, Copley Square, Emmanuel Parish received various items of furniture from Trinity, including our Phillips Brooks altar. The Reverend John R. Dallinger began his ministry in 1940. He took the leadership in a campaign to remove the heavy burden of indebtedness created by the cost of the parish hall. The debt was paid off in the fall of 1947 and the church was consecrated on January 4, 1948 by The Right Reverend Norman B. Nash, then Bishop of Massachusetts.

The Reverend Dallinger served as Rector until 1969, the longest tenure of any rector to-date. He was followed by a number of rectors, including three female priests.

The Reverend Thomas P. Mulvey, Jr. began his ministry here in February of 2009 as Priest-in-Charge and was called as Emmanuel's Thirteenth Rector in September of 2011.