Dec 30, 2020
NEW YORK (AP) At Christmases past, parishioners at Middle Collegiate in New York City rejoiced over gospel hymns, carols and soul tunes played on a Steinway piano that is now only metal and ashes after the historic church was destroyed this month by fire.
“Our brass doors are warped, our glass is shattered, our beams have fallen down,” said the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, the church’s senior minister. “The sanctuary is gutted. We are gutted.”
It seemed a tragic coda to an already-difficult year in which the congregation has met only virtually for nine months due to the pandemic. But amid the grief, Lewis asked parishioners to “worship God with joy” when they observed the fourth Sunday of Advent last weekend.
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At Christmases past, parishioners at Middle Collegiate in New York City rejoiced over gospel hymns, carols and soul tunes played on a Steinway piano that is now only metal and ashes after the historic church was destroyed this month by fire.
And they did remotely, still, for safety reasons. Kids and teens sang carols in front of Christmas trees at home, parents lit candles and smiling families wished each other season’s greetings, all reinforcing Lewis’ and congregants’ conviction that the church is more than the beloved stone building where they formerly gathered.
“There’s something about people connecting to this tragedy in this time of Advent and Hanukkah,” Lewis said. “Finding the light in the darkness.”
Built in 1892 in the East Village, Middle Collegiate is home to the oldest congregation of the Collegiate Churches of New York, which date to the settlement of Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists in the 1620s. Middle Collegiate had previously occupied two other locations in Manhattan beginning in 1729.
Christmas unites community after fire guts historic church
by Luis Andres Henao And Emily Leshner, The Associated Press
Posted Dec 23, 2020 10:10 am EDT
Last Updated Dec 23, 2020 at 10:12 am EDT
NEW YORK At Christmases past, parishioners at Middle Collegiate in New York City rejoiced over gospel hymns, carols and soul tunes played on a Steinway piano that is now only metal and ashes after the historic church was destroyed this month by fire.
“Our brass doors are warped, our glass is shattered, our beams have fallen down,” said the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, the church’s senior minister. “The sanctuary is gutted. We are gutted.”