St. Paul's

If New York City is the “city that never sleeps” it is also the city that loves to worship. There are some amazing churches in New York City. Known for its diversity, population (nearly 20 million), the epi-center of life in West, God is on the move in this place.

One of the churches that impress many visitors to New York is the Riverside Church, located uptown Manhattan. Founded by the Rockefeller family, the Riverside congregation is one of the most important churches in recent American history. This is the home of one of the twentieth century greatest preachers, Harry Emerson Fosdick. That name might not mean anything to you, but he influenced whole generations of black preachers in this country. Dr. King delivered some of his most important sermons at Riverside during the Civil Rights struggle. It was after one of his trips to Riverside that JFK and Dr. King met for the first time forever changing the course of American Politics: In 1956 the majority of African Americans voted Republican, in 1960 the majority of African Americans voted Democratic. A very similar shift to what many white conservative Christians experienced in the 1980 election with Ronald Reagan. Riverside is not just a building; it is a part of the American story!

On one recent trip to New York, I was walking around Union Seminary (which is located right across the street) and could not gain access into the campus for it was after hours. Not realizing Riverside was directly across the street, I stumbled in the lobby reading inscriptions until I came upon a huge mural dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This is like a baseball fan stumbling upon Wrigley Field or Yankee Stadium.

One could also step into St. Patrick’s Cathedral not too far from Times Square and Rockefeller Center. St. Patrick’s boasts more important funerals per capita than any church I know of. From church leaders, to business entrepreneurs to famous athletes and entertainers-St. Patrick’s is an icon in the American religious landscape. I was walking through St. Patrick’s by myself with my winter cap on when a security guard asked me to take it off as a sign of respect. I completely understood but at that same moment a woman walked by with her Cocker Spaniel inside this holy place. I looked at the guy and shrugged, he shrugged back like “there’s nothing I can do.” And of course, I'm thinking..."if the dog had a hat on would you make her take it off?"

You might be most interested to visit The Brooklyn Tabernacle Church located in the heart of downtown Brooklyn. I first learned about this church when their pastor came to Woodmont Hills in Nashville, a church I was serving while finishing school. The pastor, Jim Cymbala, had a vision to build and grow a truly diverse church that represented the diversity of the borough of Brooklyn. Today, after starting with a few families in a rented facility, it is a church of several thousand often considered the most diverse church in the United States. The last two years, I’ve take a group of students to one of their prayer services for a powerful hour and a half of imprecatory prayer. There is no “praying for the hands and minds of the doctors”—they pray in authority and power. It is interesting how those two words function in churches comprised of minorities: authority and power. Some leading church thinkers tell us that the more and more the church is pushed to the margins of our Western “church-fatigued” culture the more crucial it is that churches demonstrate the power and authority of Jesus over and against all other powers and authorities.

But the church I am most interested in these days in NYC is St. Paul's.

St. Paul’s; it is located right across from Ground Zero in the heart of Manhattan. St. Paul’s is Manhattan’s oldest public building in continuous use. It also plays an intriguing role in American history.

George Washington worshiped here on Inauguration Day, April 30, 1789, and attended services at St. Paul's during the two years New York City was the country's capital. Above his pew is an 18th-century oil painting of the Great Seal of the United States, which was adopted in 1782.

Directly across the chapel is the Governor's pew, which George Clinton, the first Governor of the State of New York, used when he visited St. Paul's. The Arms of the State of New York are on the wall above the pew.

Among other notable historical figures who worshiped at St. Paul's were Prince William, later King William IV of England; Lord Cornwallis, who is most famous in this country for surrendering at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781; Lord Howe, who commanded the British forces in New York, and Presidents Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, and George H. W. Bush.


When the World Trade Center came crashing down that dark day almost six years ago, St. Paul’s was one of the only buildings in the immediate area still functional and functioning. St. Paul’s is not an impressive place per se. It is rather quaint, and old.


After the attack on September 11, 2001, which led to the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, St. Paul's Chapel served as a place of rest and refuge for recovery workers at the WTC site.

For eight months, hundreds of volunteers worked 12 hour shifts around the clock, serving meals, making beds, counseling and praying with fire fighters, construction workers, police and others. Massage therapists, chiropractors, podiatrists and musicians also tended to their needs.


As the world around them was in shambles they became a place where people gathered in order to be sent back out. They took the pew where George Washington once sat and turned it into an area for volunteer workers to massage the feet of firefighters who were working 16 hour shifts. St. Paul’s understood that the church is a people not a place.

Fire, devastation, destruction, and death were swallowing hundreds of people right outside there building. Instead of retreating, or creating a country club they opened their arms and hearts as wide as Jesus did on the cross saying, “Whosoever will is welcome in this place. But know this. IF you come in here, you will be sent back out to bring in the weary, fatigued, worn-down and broken.”

While everyone was running away from the chaos of Ground Zero, the folks of St. Paul ran toward the chaos.

A chronology of rescue:

September 11, 2001
Terrorists Attack the World Trade Center
On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked two American Airlines' and two United Airlines' flights. Two of the flights crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Less than two hours after the crashes, the Twin Towers collapsed from the impact. More than 2,500 people lost their lives in New York City. Trinity staff members carried Trinity Preschool children through the ash-gray streets in a black cloud of debris and smoke. Safely away from Ground Zero, the children boarded buses to go uptown.

September 12, 2001
Digging Out and Cleaning Up
Though St. Paul's Chapel remained standing, the building and churchyard were covered in inches of dust from the Twin Towers' collapse. After engineers inspected the building and pronounced it fit for occupancy, the digging out began. Without electricity, Chapel staff used candles and flashlights until city workers set up crude lamps to shed light on the fledgling ministry. Slowly, rescue workers, police officers, firefighters began to come to the Chapel to eat and rest.


September 15, 2001
The Seamen's Church Institute Delivers a Ministry
At first, The Seamen's Church Institute served the rescue workers at St. Paul's. Staff and students from the institute and General Theological Seminary and other volunteers arrived at the Chapel with food, clothing, and other supplies, literally carrying St. Paul's new ministry to the Chapel. They brought Weber grills and began cooking hamburgers on the sidewalk outside the Chapel. Hundreds of hungry and tired rescue workers received coffee, meals, underwear, socks, and gloves.


Oh that we could remember the church is a people not a place.

NOTE: I should have noted that our church partners in ministry with the Bronx Fellowship of Christ and Lindy Emerson--one of the church models (organic house church) that is challenging me these days.