| Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church | |
|---|---|
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  Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church | |
| 40°45′43″N73°58′30″W / 40.7620°N 73.9751°W /40.7620; -73.9751 | |
| Location | Midtown Manhattan,New York City,New York |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Presbyterian Church (USA) |
| Churchmanship | Liberal Protestantism |
| Membership | 2,088 (2012)[1] |
| Website | fapc |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Cedar Street Presbyterian, Duane Street Presbyterian, Presbyterian Church in the Fifth Avenue at the Corner of Nineteenth Street |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | June 28, 1808 (1808-06-28) |
| Consecrated | May 9, 1875[2] |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Specifications | |
| Height | 286 ft (87 m) |
| Administration | |
| Synod | Synod of the Northeast |
| Presbytery | Presbytery of New York |
| Parish | Fifth Avenue |
| Clergy | |
| Minister(s) | Senior Pastor: Scott Black-Johnston Executive Pastor: Jonah So Associate Pastor for Congregational Care and Outreach: Werner Ramirez Associate Pastor for Ministry to the Online Campus: Natalie Owens-Pike Associate Pastor for Young Adults and Membership: Chris Palmer Parish Visitor: Isabel Packevicz Associate Pastor Emeritus: Dr. J. Oscar McCloud Associate Pastor Emeritus: Randolph Weber[3] |
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is aPresbyterian Church (U.S.A.) church inNew York City. The church, onFifth Avenue at 7 West55th Street inMidtown Manhattan, has approximately 2,200 members and is one of the larger PCUSA congregations.[1] The church, founded in 1808 as theCedar Street Presbyterian Church, has been at this site since 1875.[2][4]
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church (FAPC) has long been noted for its high standards in preaching and music and has been at the forefront of many movements, from the development of theSunday school in the 19th century to its current leadership in homeless advocacy. In 2001, the church successfully sued the City of New York for theright to shelter homeless individuals on its front steps.[5]
In 1884, the joint funerals of the mother of PresidentTheodore Roosevelt and of his first wife,Alice, were held here. In 1910, the church's historic sanctuary was the site of the wedding of TR's son,Theodore Roosevelt Jr., an event attended by the former president, and 500 of his formerRough Riders.[6] It was also the site of the 1965 recording ofA Concert of Sacred Music byDuke Ellington and his orchestra, broadcast nationally by CBS television in 1966,[7] and of dance legendFrankie Manning's "rollicking three-hour memorial service" in 2009.[8]
Architecturally and historically, “Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is famed for its sloping auditorium, its fine acoustics, its oldgas brackets and reflectors. Instrumental in foundingPrinceton Theological Seminary, Presbyterian Hospital (nowNew York Presbyterian Hospital) and many a mission church, this grand house of God is often called the Cathedral of Presbyterianism.”[9]
The congregation now known as Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church began on November 6, 1808, on the north side of Cedar Street betweenNassau andWilliam Streets inlower Manhattan. Its first name was The Presbyterian Church in Cedar Street. In 1836, the congregation moved north to the corner of Duane andChurch Streets and was renamed The Presbyterian Church in Duane Street. In 1852, the congregation again moved northward, naming itself the Presbyterian Church in the Fifth Avenue at the Corner of Nineteenth Street. It moved to its current location, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street, in 1875, when it assumed its current name.
Notable early members of the congregation includedOliver Wolcott Jr., former Secretary of the Treasury and son of a signer of theDeclaration of Independence;Archibald Gracie, whoseGracie Mansion is now the residence of themayor of New York City; and Betsey Jackson, an African American household slave. Church memberJoanna Bethune (1770–1860) was a co-founder of the first benevolence association to aid poor women and children. Bethune is regarded as “the mother of the American Sunday School” for her work founding the firstSabbath schools for disadvantaged children. Among the first officers of the church wasRichard Varick, an aide toGeorge Washington and former mayor of New York City.
The church was instrumental in founding such organizations as theNew York Bible Society, theAmerican Bible Society,Princeton Theological Seminary, and various interdenominational mission boards. In 1815, members of the congregation established the first free schools, which later were expanded into theNew York Public School System.
The congregation has called 17 senior pastors since its founding in 1808. The first, the Rev. Dr. John B. Romeyn, was 28 years old when he was called to the Cedar Street church. The son of aDutch Reformed minister, Romeyn attendedUnion College in Schenectady and received a degree fromColumbia College at age 18. The fourth senior pastor, the Rev. Dr.James Waddel Alexander, served two terms, from 1844 to 1849, and 1851 to 1859. During his pastorate, the church relocated from Duane Street to Nineteenth Street, where it installed a pipe organ and pioneered congregational hymn singing (a change from the formal quartets typical at other Presbyterian churches of the period). Under his leadership, the church became a leader in establishing mission chapels and Sunday schools.
In 1867, a young Irish preacher, the Rev. Dr.John Hall, impressed the elders of the Nineteenth Street Church during a speaking tour of the US. The church issued a unanimous call, and Hall was installed that same year. Within five years, membership rose 50 percent, and Hall spearheaded the effort to construct a new church building (the current location on Fifth Avenue and 55th Street).The New York Times reported Hall's “powerful preaching and wise churchmanship made the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church one of the great religious powers in the city.”[10] Hall led the church until his death in 1898. The Rev. J. Ross Stevenson, later President of Princeton Theological Seminary, served as pastor from 1902 to 1909.[11] John Henry Jowett, an English preacher and writer, was pastor from 1911 to 1918.[12] Under his pastorate, it was not uncommon for the church to have to turn away as many as 1,000 would-be worshippers on a given Sunday.
The Rev. Dr. John Bonnell served as senior pastor from 1935 to 1962.[13] Bonnell was a nationally recognized author and religious broadcaster on the ABC radio network as host of the series "National Vespers", which reached 3 million listeners weekly from 1936 until 1961.[14] In 1956, he introduced Dial-a-Prayer, which continued as a ministry of the church for half a century. Bonnell played a leading role in the movement to strengthen ties betweenProtestants andRoman Catholics and was presented with a silver medal for ecumenical services byPope Paul VI in 1966. He also served as co-chair of theNational Conference of Christians and Jews.
The Rev. Dr. Bryant Kirkland served as senior pastor from 1962 until 1987. Kirkland was named Clergyman of the Year in 1975 by theReligious Heritage of America. The David B. Skinner Shelter,[15] a shelter for homeless men the church has operated since 1986, began during his pastorate.
Dr. Kirkland's term was followed by the short but tumultuous pastorate of the Rev. Dr. R. Maurice Boyd, a charismatic figure whose ministerial style alienated a large faction of the congregation and who resigned under protest in 1992. In the wake of this dissension, many of his supporters left Fifth Avenue Presbyterian to join Dr. Boyd at the City Church of New York, which he founded. After his abrupt departure, a protégé of Kirkland's, the Rev. Dr. Thomas K. Tewell, was called as senior pastor in 1994. Under Tewell's leadership, the church completed an extensive renovation of the Sanctuary and church house, and the excavation and construction of the LaDane Williamson Christian Education Center, which is home to a vibrant Family Ministries program.
The current senior pastor, installed in 2008, is the Rev. Dr. Scott Black Johnston. A former professor ofhomiletics atAustin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, he is the author of a blog about faith in New York entitled Sharp About Your Prayers.
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In 1873, the congregation purchased the undeveloped site at Fifth Avenue and 55th Street for $350,000 for construction of a new sanctuary. Church leaders believed that the recently establishedCentral Park would be a natural barrier against business and factory expansion. With its steeple rising 286 feet high, the church was the tallest building in Manhattan when it was dedicated in 1875.
Eleven architects were considered to design the new church, with the choice eventually betweenGeorge B. Post, architect of theNew York Stock Exchange Building and the formerCornelius Vanderbilt II House on Fifth Avenue, andCarl Pfeiffer (1834–88), a little-known, 37-year-old German émigré. Pfeiffer's only other prominent building in New York was theMetropolitan Savings Bank Building, designed in 1867. Remarkably, Pfeiffer got the nod. Pfeiffer's engineering skills are evident in the technological innovations he introduced in the sanctuary. Woodenlouvers installed beneath thepews allowed warm air to rise into the sanctuary from steam pipes in the basement. On warm days, enormous blocks of ice were delivered to the basement, where fans blew cooling air upward. The Sanctuary did not have modern air conditioning until 2003.
The church is built of New Jersey red sandstone. The clock tower employs the original clockworks installed in 1875. The clock is not electrified and must be wound once a week by hand. There are no bells or chimes in the tower; when the church was built,St. Luke's Hospital was housed in what is now theHotel Peninsula (across 55th Street), and there was a concern church bells might disturb the patients.
With a capacity of nearly 2,000, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is the largest Presbyterian sanctuary in Manhattan. Designed in theVictorian Gothic style, the Sanctuary interior follows strict,Reformed Protestant precepts—the most important being the emphasis on the spoken word. The pulpit is the focal point of the Sanctuary, with the choir loft and organ above and communion table below. There are no Biblical figures or saints depicted in the Sanctuary, reflecting aniconoclastic austerity prevalent among 19th-century Presbyterians, who believed no one should be venerated other than God. One exception is the woodcarving on the front of the pulpit (above), which features the symbols of the four Gospel authors—Matthew (angel), Mark (lion), Luke (ox) and John (eagle).
Unlike most Gothic churches, the interior of the sanctuary has no right angles. The floor slopes, the pews fan outward, and the balcony surrounds all that is below, bringing the entire congregation within clear sight and hearing range of the preaching and music ministry. Most of the carved woodwork in the Sanctuary is original. The New York firm ofKimbel and Cabus designed the woodwork using ash, a durable, light-colored wood that has taken on a darkerpatina over time. The stained glass windows were designed and executed by John C. Spence of Montreal. Above the Fifth Avenue entrance is a mosaic ofVenetian glass by the American artistEugene Savage (1883–1978). The mosaic, depicting iconic images from theHebrew scriptures, was added during a renovation in the early 1960s.
Kirkland Chapel, named for former senior pastor Bryant M. Kirkland, offers a distinct contrast in design philosophy to the Sanctuary. All is rigidly organized in a long and narrow rectangular space from back to front, where there is a semi-circularapse with a raisedpulpit off to one side and alectern on the other. In a pre-Reformation church, the center of the apse would contain an altar, where the priest would celebrate theEucharist. Following Reformed precepts, however, seats for the now-called ministers replace the altar. The design accentuates the Word rather than the Eucharist as the central act of worship. Another obvious difference between the Chapel and the Sanctuary is the stained glass that shows Biblical stories and figures. (Iconoclastic sentiment was beginning to wane by the early 20th century.) The window above the ministers’ seats depicts the apostles and the four evangelists. The most exquisite window in the church is above the balcony in the rear of the Chapel. It depicts Christ surrounded by sevenarchangels. The hardstone surfaces of the interior, with its resultant echo, make the Chapel superb for the performance of organ and choral music.
The current chapel and church house were added to the church grounds in 1925. Both were designed by the New York architectJames Gamble Rogers (1867–1947). Rogers was the favored architect of New York philanthropistEdward Harkness, who provided the funds for the project.
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church underwent a major renovation and expansion project beginning in 2003. The project resulted in a new Christian Education Center, carved from the unused space below the Sanctuary, and a complete renovation of the church house, including air-conditioning and fire proofing systems. Beginning in summer 2015, FAPC conducted extensive repair work to thebrownstone exterior and renovated the music loft in the sanctuary. This work has been completed.
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