Sunday, April 20, 2025
Middle Collegiate Church to debut Phase I of its rebuilding efforts this Easter
Monday, January 8, 2024
Documenting the demolition of Middle Collegiate Church
In recent weeks, EVG correspondent Steven documented the work on the church lot. Middle Collegiate leaders considered this a combination demolition-salvage operation. Workers sifted through the remains of the building, initially completed in 1892, to save any of the limestone and ironwork for use in the new sanctuary that would eventually rise on the property.
We aim to have completed our roughly $15MM campaign with cash, grants, and pledges by December 2025. Funds will create Middle's Center for Spirituality, Justice, and the Arts on the site of its historic 1892 former building that can support transformational ministry for centuries to come...
Friday, January 5, 2024
The remains of the fire-damaged Middle Church structure have been removed
Friday, November 24, 2023
Brick by brick: Historic steeple removed from the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
[Updated] Steeple watch
Monday, November 20, 2023
Demolition underway on the fire-damaged Middle Church façade
Thursday, November 16, 2023
Demoliton of the fire-damaged Middle Church façade starts on Monday
While this is a moment of communal grief, it will also clear the way for Middle to build a new sanctuary as the community continues to rise. The gathering will embody an ethos that has always defined New York: Resiliency that rebuilds from tragedy by reshaping the neighborhood in ways that honor the past but chart a bold new future.
Friday, November 3, 2023
Workers prepping to remove the remains of the fire-damaged façade at Middle Collegiate Church
Friday, January 13, 2023
The remaining structure of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church will be demolished
INCREDIBLE NEWS! The NYC Landmarks Commission has voted to allow @middlechurch to remove the burnt remains of our facade, so we can rebuild on our historic site.
— Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis (@RevJacquiLewis) January 11, 2023
Truly, God is good. Out of this fire, fierce love is rising.
Make a gift to help us rise: https://t.co/Vkt9D5e9V0
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Middle Collegiate Church seeks permission to demolish the remaining façade of its fire-damaged structure on 2nd Avenue
"This makes me feel heartbroken"
We don’t believe there is sufficient documentation that alternatives to preserve the historic façade have been fully explored, nor that there is sufficient evidence at this time to justify the permanent and irreversible removal.We are calling for further examination and documentation before such a decision would be appropriate to render. We want to see the church rebuild and flourish at this location, and know that they have been through incredible hardship. But we also believe that this process must be extremely carefully considered, to ensure unchangeable decisions that could have been avoided are not made, and harmful precedents are not set for allowing demolition of historically significant structures without reasonable and achievable proof of the necessity of doing so.
In addition, Richard Moses, president of the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, released this statement: "We're sympathetic to the very real challenges the congregation faces here. But this building has been a beacon for the neighborhood for over 100 years. It's one of the most important sites in the historic district. We just want to make sure that the Landmarks Commissioners have the best information and all the options spelled out before deciding on the building’s fate."
Saturday, November 19, 2022
Details about Middle Church's 7th annual Children’s Multicultural Book Fair
The event is hosted in partnership with Yu & Me Books. It will feature a variety of diverse children's literature available for purchase, as well as readings from incredible authors like Jamia Wilson & Carol Wu, snacks, games and more. The fair is free, and 10% of any books sold help Middle rebuild from the fire.
Sunday, February 6, 2022
Sunday's parting shot
Sunday, January 2, 2022
Street and sidewalk barriers removed from outside the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church on 2nd Avenue
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Tuesday's parting shot
Friday, December 3, 2021
Marking the 1-year anniversary of the fire that destroyed Middle Collegiate Church
The congregation will be making a pilgrimage from our temporary home at Calvary Episcopal Church at 21st Street and Park Avenue South to the ruins of our sanctuary on the one-year anniversary of the fire. We'll be starting the walk at 11:45 a.m. uptown, and should get to Middle Collegiate around 12:15.People are welcome to join us for that but for an easier way to show support, we're just inviting folks at any point during that day to stop by and leave an offering by the construction fence — a flower, a candle, an old photo of the building, whatever they’d like.We thought it would be beautiful if congregants saw other people's offerings when they arrived, and if we continued to collect expressions of love throughout the day.
Monday, November 15, 2021
Shoring up the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church on 2nd Avenue
Saturday, July 3, 2021
New York's Liberty Bell, long housed in the East Village, now ready for a closer look
Along with countless other momentous events, the bell pealed upon the reading of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, announced the inauguration and death of every American president, and tolled in remembrance of the lives lost on September 11, 2001.Donated by Colonel Abraham de Peyster to Middle Collegiate Church — then the New Dutch Church on Nassau Street—the bell was cast by the foundry of Jan Albert de Grave in Amsterdam in 1731. The 900-pound bell rings with a distinctive silver tone, thanks to donated coins thrown into the metal mix.During the Revolution, the bell was moved to York, Pennsylvania, for safekeeping, but it was not silenced for long. The bell echoed through the 19th century from Middle Church at Lafayette Place, Ninth Street Church, and St. Nicholas Collegiate in Midtown. In 1949, the bell was relocated to Middle Church’s present East Village location.