By Gus Saltonstall
St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church is an historic Upper West Side institution that recently received some much-needed help.
St. Paul & St. Andrew is one of 16 “historically significant faith communities” across the United States to win a $250,000 grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places, a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Both organizations are private nonprofits dedicated to historic preservation in the United States.
The goal of the grant is to help “congregations and others with a stake in older religious properties make the most of them as civic assets that serve the broader community,” according to a news release about the grants.
The landmarked church at 263 West 86th Street between West End Avenue and Broadway, was built in 1894. The congregation now known as St. Paul & St. Andrew moved there from a downtown location; it adopted its current name after a 1937 merger with another nearby church. The building was designated a historic landmark in 1981.
Now, in addition to serving as home for the St. Paul & St. Andrew congregation, the building houses the 72-seat West End Theatre and is home to the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, a nonprofit food pantry. According to the church’s website, it also serves as a rest and resource center for newly arrived migrants, opening its doors each Monday to refugees and asylum seekers to provide “Information and connections to housing, clothing, food, education and tutoring, legal services, benefits such as reduced-fare MetroCards, and other resources”
The church said the funding will help it replace the building’s Spanish tile roof and restore other external features, including its terracotta limestone facade and leaded glass windows.
Rev. K Karpen, a senior pastor at the church and a longtime Community Board 7 member, said in a news release that the grant “gives us a tremendous boost towards restoring our 125-year-old building. Equally exciting is the significance of being recognized as one of 16 congregations nationally, making a real difference in the life of our communities.”
“That is what drives our ministry team and our congregation and all the volunteers and partners who support our work,” he added in a news release about the grant.
You can find out more about the church on its website.
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Such a wonderful community resource.
Well deserved recipient of much needed funding. Such wonderful work they do for the UWS community and beyond. Congratulations SPSA!
Congrats to the church! They’re also home to Goddard Riverside’s TOP Clubhouse, a warm and caring space where “community is therapy” for people living with serious mental illness. And their volunteers bake mountains of pies and cookies for Goddard’s annual Thanksgiving and Christmas community meals. They really do make a difference in the community.
I believe B’nai Jeshurun also uses it at times.
This is great news. WSCAH is an incredible organization, and the other occupants also seem quite vibrant.
This also highlights the contrast with the church at 86th and Amsterdam. Did they attempt to get a grant like this? It is a drop in the bucket compared to their needs (regardless of whose estimates one trusts) but still would have helped. But it is a more efficient use of resources to give grants like this to thriving facilities like the one on West End.
Before people start casting aspersions at the church on Amsterdam I’d like to know how much the roof repair is supposed to cost.
Some of us remember how this church on West End was forced to replace their stairs using stone from the exact quarry as the original because someone at Landmarks went on a power trip and the metal substructure of the steps needed replacing. It was a huge financial burden: https://www.westsiderag.com/2015/06/08/it-took-tremendous-effort-and-expense-to-fix-the-upper-west-sides-most-beautiful-steps
West Park has done many of the same things: rent out the space, host events, etc. They just haven’t been as lucky and successful as St. Paul’s and St Andrews. Most churches have not been as lucky and successful.
Whenever I visit SPSA church to volunteer or attend a concert, I say to myself “This is what a church should be like!” Doors are always open, friendly people, services of all kinds, music, faith…it’s a wonderful place. Congrats, Pastor K and Pastor Lea!
AA meetings there too. And I liked it when New Plaza Cinema was there rather than its newish (harder to get to for me) location.
and its refugee program