Agrippa Window
Efforts such as restoration of the Agrippa Window are funded through the capital campaign of St. Paul and St. Andrew UMC in New York City. (Courtesy Photo)
December 10, 2024
NEW YORK – St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church has raised $3.5 million dollars toward a $5.5 million goal to help restore the 127-year-old building that serves its Upper West Side community seven days a week.
A recent single anonymous gift of $1 million, made in November to the congregation’s “Now Is the Time!” Capital Campaign, is part of that fundraising total.
And a Giving Tuesday matching gift opportunity for first-time Capital Campaign supporters was extended through Dec. 15. The matching gift was to be triggered when 127 new donors have contributed to the campaign.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from our friends and neighbors, as well as from our members,” remarked the church’s Senior Pastor, Rev. K Karpen. “People are really responding not only to the beauty of the building, but more importantly, to the work that goes on inside every day.”
The $5.5 million goal will pay for a new roof and other needed repairs to St. Paul & St. Andrew’s landmark building at the corner of West End Avenue and West 86th Street, which provides space for a variety of programs serving thousands of people.
Funds raised so far also include a $250,000 matching grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places, a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and a $45,000 grant from the New York Landmarks Conservancy.
Founded as the Second Wesleyan Chapel in 1834 in lower Manhattan, the congregation migrated north as the city’s population expanded. The current “cathedral style” building, built in the 1890s, became that church’s third location. A merger in 1937 with St. Andrew’s Methodist Episcopal Church also brought a new name, the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew. Since 1981, the R.H. Robertson-designed building has been a designated landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
In recent decades, St. Paul & St. Andrew has opened every corner of its building to the neighborhood and the city, serving tens of thousands of people and generating $32M in economic impact for its surrounding neighborhood annually.
The congregation developed the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, now an independent
not-for-profit that still operates from the church building, and the building serves as a community center for various nonprofits, theater groups, and arts and culture organizations.
Since August 2022, the congregation has opened its doors each Monday morning to 100-plus refugees and asylum seekers who have recently arrived in New York. The church partners with interfaith religious and community organizations, along with mutual aid and legal aid organizations, to welcome people with dignity and hospitality. Information and connections to housing, clothing, food, education and tutoring, legal services, benefits such as reduced-fare Metrocards, and other resources are offered.
In addition, St. Paul & St. Andrew is fully committed to its ministry of “compassionate baking.”
This past Thanksgiving, church members, along with friends and neighbors, contributed more than 15,000 cookies and 150 homemade pies to complement the meals provided by Goddard Riverside Community Center to nearly 2,000 people. More baking is planned for Goddard’s Christmas meal.
Learn more about the ministries and history of St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church at https://stpaulandstandrew.org.
Andrea Steinkamp is on the staff of St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church in New York City.