Christmas unites after fire guts historic church
At Christmases past, parishioners atMiddle Collegiate inNewYork City rejoiced over gospel hymns, carols and soul tunes played on a Steinway piano that is now only metal and ashes after the historic churchwas destroyed thismonthby 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 monthsduetothepandemic. But amid the grief, Lewis asked parishioners to “worshipGodwith joy” whenthey observed the fourth Sunday of Advent last weekend.
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 ismore than the belovedstonebuildingwhere they formerly gathered.
“There’s something about people connecting to this tragedy inthis time ofAdvent andHanukkah,” 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 ChurchesofNewYork, which datetothe settlementofManhattan Island by Dutch colonists in the 1620s. Middle Collegiate had previously occupied two other locations in Manhattan beginning in 1729.
Its belfry houses New York’s Liberty Bell, which tolled to mark the birth of the country in 1776 and was later rung for inaugurations and deaths of presidents and in remembrance of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The Gothic Revival building went up in a blaze Dec. 5 after fire spread from a vacant building next door before dawn. Flames shot from the roof, destroying its Tiffany stained-glass windows and skylight dome.
The bell and the skeletal facade were the only parts of the structure to survive. So did two vinyl banners reading “Black Lives Matter” and “Just Love,” the church’s motto, something thatLewisfoundmeaningful.
“That’s some kind of miracle that the firedoesnot torch your values,” she said days later in front of the church, smoky odor still lingering in the air. “So, we’re sad. We’re crushed. And we’re resilient.”
Aweek after the fire, gospel choir members Joy Lau and Kaede Helck returned to the charred facade to lead a group in song — “God Is Here,” and “God Put a Rain
bowin the Sky” — as a demolition crewworked to clear the debris.
Lau said she and others moved as acommunity from grieving to rememberingthat the church is also its people, “the church is us.”
“And that feeling that we can rebuild,” she added. “Yes, the roof collapsed, and it also felt at the same time the floor collapsed belowus. But together we can do it.”
Lewis said the church has good insurance but it’s nowhere close to what’s needed for rebuilding, and theyneedhelp. Donationsfor reconstruction have rolled in from around the world, about $500,000 to date.
Middle Collegiate has also welcomed 25 newparishioners since the fire, she said.
Amulticultural congregation, the church espouses what it calls “on-your-feet worship and take-it-to-thestreets activism.” Members have providedmeals to people with AIDS, worked on storm recovery, fought for environmental protection and demonstrated for the Black Lives Matter movement and for LGBTQ and women’s rights.