When
the first Rutgers congregation dedicated its first sanctuary
on the corner of Henry and Rutgers Streets in Lower Manhattan
on May 13, 1798, that congregation and sanctuary were
the third unit of the Collegiate Presbyterian Church of
New York City. It was north and east of the previous
two units: the Church on Wall Street, now First Presbyterian
(founded in 1716) and the New Church, now Brick Presbyterian
(founded in 1765) at Beekman and Ann Streets. It was built
on a plot of ground donated by Colonel Henry Rutgers,
and paid for by contributions from the members. The
three units shared the services of a three-person ministerial
team, of which the Reverend Dr. John Rodgers was senior
pastor.
In 1809, each of these three units was separately incorporated,
and the Reverend Dr. Philip Milledolar was assigned
as pastor to the Rutgers Street Church. By 1830, during
the pastorates of two successors, Rutgers had become
the largest Presbyterian church in the denomination,
with 1157 members. The old frame church was replaced
in 1843 with a large stone structure (still standing
and in use as the Roman Catholic Church of St. Teresa
of Avila). Because of the dynamic growth of the city
and the profound demographic changes thereby brought
about, the congregation decided in 1863 to move "uptown,"
taking over the Lenox Chapel at 29th and Madison, where
a small, pastorless Presbyterian congregation was in
residence. That group eventually became members of Rutgers,
under the inspiring leadership of the Reverend Dr. John
M. Krebs, who had been called to Rutgers in 1830 and
spent his entire career there (1830-1867). Although
the membership was now less than half of its all-time
high (many additional Presbyterian churches having been
opened in the city), the congregation, in 1873, demolished
the Lenox Chapel and built an elaborate, expensive church
on the spot.
Again, population changes, and the post-Civil War prosperity
which transformed the church neighborhood into a largely
business district, eroded the membership to an alarmingly
low level. By 1884 the congregation was considering
dissolution and the sale of the property. The church
was closed for nine months. But a devoted core of officers
and members invited the Reverend Dr. Robert Russell
Booth (then at liberty and a charismatic presence) to
head the church, which reopened at the end of January
1885. But the location of the church remained a hindrance
to real growth, and in 1887 the congregation accepted
the invitation of the Presbytery's Church Extension
Committee to move to a newly opening section of the
city at 73rd and Broadway. Through proceeds from the
sale of the Madison Avenue property, a chapel was built
in 1888 (approximately on the site of the present sanctuary),
and a large church in the Romanesque style on the corner
was dedicated in 1890.
At the new location
and under the new leadership, the church flourished,
as the Upper West Side underwent a building boom and
acquired a considerable social cachet. By the time Rutgers
celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 1898, it had 386
members, many of whom were prominent in civic circles.
With the arrival of the Reverend Dr. Daniel Russell
in 1915 (he remained as pastor for 27 years) another
period of growth and change began. In 1925, when the
membership was 445, the existing plant was demolished
and the present aggregation of sanctuary, church house
and bank building was erected. By 1942, the congregation
welcomed a merger with the Harlem/New York Church, which
brought the Reverend Dr. Ralph W. Key as co-pastor.
The years of World War
II and its aftermath brought significant changes to
the Upper West Side, with an influx of refugees and
non-English-speaking peoples. Social cachet moved to
the East Side, and although a core of Rutgers congregants
remained loyal, their residences became widely scattered
in the city, and their numbers slowly declined. This
decline was masked for a time during the pastorate of
the Reverend George Nicholson (1957-1963) whose brilliant
preaching filled the sanctuary Sunday after Sunday.
But the majority of those listeners were non-members
who disappeared when he resigned. The long pastorate
of the Reverend Dr. Cyril Jenkins (1964-1983) was marked
by several interesting innovations designed to align
the church more closely with its community, but there
were no great gains in membership, which in 1983 stood
at 161.
Dr. Jenkin's retirement
was followed by a time of great change. There were three
installed pastors, three interim pastors, a failed merger
with the West Park Church, a reconfiguration of the
interior of the Church House, and a redecoration
of the church sanctuary. The Reverend Dr. Byron E. Shafer was installed in 1996 and has retired after a significant pastorate of ten years. By God's grace, the heart of Rutgers beats steady and strong. Under the leadership of the Reverend David Prince as Interim Pastor, the congregation is exploring new ways to spread the good news of God's love in New York's Upper West Side and beyond.
More
Light Statement
"The
Story of Rutgers Church" by Vera Mowry Roberts
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