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Revolution 250 is a consortium of organizations working together to commemorate the 250th anniversaries of the events that led to American Revolution. Over the coming 10 years, they will explore the history of the American Revolution and the ways that this remarkable story still resonates today.
Last fall, we spoke with Reverend Steve Ayres, Vicar of the Old North Church, about Revolution 250, the challenges of stewarding historic sites, and the long-term benefits of knowing our history and where we’ve come from.
Revolution 250 hopes to convince civic leadership of the value of this major milestone as a way to renew not only our commitment to the nation and its ideals, but to refresh one of the most essential brand identities of the Commonwealth and Boston – birthplace of the American Revolution.
The Rev. Stephen T. Ayres has served as Vicar of the Old North Church since 1997 and as Executive Director of the Old North Foundation since 2012. Vicar Ayres was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1980 and has served parishes in Missouri, New York, and Massachusetts. He has an undergraduate degree in Comparative Religion from Hamilton College, an M.Div. from the Episcopal Divinity School, and an MA in Urban Policy from Tufts University.
While at Old North, Vicar Ayres hosted the state wide prayer service after 9/11 and gave the opening prayer at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. In the course of raising millions of dollars to preserve the Old North, Ayres led the effort to change federal preservation policy, enabling active historic houses of worship of all faiths to access federal preservation grants. He lives near the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown with his wife Lisa and son Matthew.