From the Christian Science Monitor: A congregation tears down its church to expand its mission. Very cool story!
NEW YORK – In 1922, when the First Presbyterian Church of Astoria moved to the wilderness that is now Queens, it was on the cutting edge of community development.
Today, the congregation is leading a new kind of church renewal, one that entails downsizing physically as it expands its mission spiritually.
By the 1950s, the church was thriving with more than 1,200 congregants. It even hosted a basketball league, as a dusty case of trophies attests.
But today, like many urban churches, Astoria's First Presbyterian has a dwindling number of parishioners – less than 50 on the books. The church operates in the red, its grand buildings are decaying, and the Rev. Donald Olinger spends much time just figuring out how to keep the doors open.
So he and his flock knew it was time for something radical. In an emotional decision, they have agreed to tear down the elegant old buildings and replace them with more than 90 units of affordable housing for senior citizens.
The church will end up with a sanctuary room in the new building for its Sunday services, as well as a $4 million endowment that it can use to expand its spiritual mission….
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