EAST VILLAGE, Manhattan (PIX11) — It burned to the ground four-and-a-half years ago, but now, the church home of New York City's oldest congregation is becoming new again.
Middle Collegiate Church in Manhattan's East Village is reopening, just in time for Easter. The timing is, in the words of the historic congregation's pastor, a blessing.
"This is proof of resurrection," said Rev. Jacqui Lewis, senior pastor of the 397-year-old congregation, in an interview. "This is proof of faith. It's proof of love not being daunted by death, not being crimped by fire.”
"You can be scorched by fire," she continued, "but love outlasts fires."
Rev. Lewis was referring to the great tragedy that struck on Dec. 5, 2020. A fire that broke out in an apartment building next door to the church spread swiftly. It ended up consuming all of the historic church sanctuary, burning it completely.
Connected to the sanctuary, to its east and northeast, was its six-story annex. It suffered severe fire, smoke, and water damage, but Middle Collegiate was able to salvage that auxiliary building, and convert it into a soaring, open, and airy space for worship, topped with the Tiffany glass dome that's been refurbished from the old annex.
The gut-renovated building has a new sanctuary at its center, surrounded by offices, classrooms, an industrial kitchen, and other facilities to help the church carry out its missions. Those include feeding homeless neighbors, hosting 12-step meetings, and leading Christian education classes.
The building also has a social hall in its basement, which is serving as overflow seating for Easter Sunday's services, which are at 11:45 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Still, in a congregation with 1,400 members, the new space can only accommodate about 225 worshipers at each service. The pastor said that in a way, that's a blessing.
"We knew that we'd be building a sanctuary that's going to be too small," she said. "That's what we could afford, being good stewards of our money. So we'll always be meeting twice.”
The church has gathered for services every Sunday since late 2020 at three different houses of worship, which have provided space for Middle Collegiate.
Now, they’re returning home. Lewis said that the church is not a building, but the people who comprise it. Still, she added, “Our stories are in this ground. To come home to them is really like coming home to love.”
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