Massive East Village fire destroys historic church
A fast-moving inferno gutted an over century-old church in the East Village on Saturday, a “devastating” loss to both worshippers and neighbors who revered the historic neighborhood institution.
The fire began as a steady rain fell just before 4:50 a.m., on the first floor of a vacant five-story building on East 7th Street, spreading to the Middle Collegiate Church on Second ave. — which houses New York’s Liberty Bell, and whose congregation dates back to the 1600s, officials said.
About 200 fire fighters responded to the blaze within three minutes, according to FDNY Assistant Chief John Hodgens.
“On arrival, we had heavy fire showing from the corner building on East 7th Street. … We knew this was going to be a big operation. We had all our units in position and we quickly were able to contain it to that area.”
A little more than an hour after the fire began, the roof of the Gothic Revival-style church was engulfed. It took nearly eight hours to extinguish the fire, officials said.
“It’s horribly devastating,” said executive minister Amanda Ashcroft. “This has been a year already with racial inequity, economic inequity, a global pandemic and now our church is burning, it’s horrible.”
She continued: “We know that God is with us, that God did not start this fire, this is not part of God’s plan.”
Four fire fighters suffered minor injuries, said Hodgens, who described the damaged buildings as “total losses.”
There was no indication yet as to what started the blaze. Fire officials said the vacant building at 50 East 7th Street had previously caught fire in February.
The East Village church — which had been in two other Manhattan locations since 1729 — was built in 1892. Its congregation of the Collegiate Churches of New York dates to the Dutch settlement of the region in the 1620s.
“I believe we will bounce back, but it’s not going to be easy,” said Tom Smucker, 74, who has been worshipping there for 35 years, and called the fire “an absolute tragedy” even more so as the sanctuary was only renovated less than 15 years ago.
The church’s tower is home to New York’s Liberty Bell, which tolled for the birth of the nation in 1776, and more recently sounds in remembrance of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
“Our sanctuary has been gutted. We are emotionally gutted,”
Rev. Jacqui Lewis, the church’s senior pastor, told The Post she’s unsure yet about whether the bell endured.
“The bell tower and the steeple are still up, but we have no idea about the status of the bell,” Lewis said. “We are hoping we are able to save the bell.”
The building’s Tiffany stained glass windows however, were destroyed, she added.
The church is co-affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Reformed Church in America, according to its website.
Over the past few years, the Reformed Protestant church — where “texting is allowed, brunch replaces stale doughnuts after the service and all are welcome ” has attracted a younger, hipper crowd, The Post reported in 2017.
“A church is not just a building, but still, the foundation — who we are as a community — is that building. So to watch it literally gutted is devastating,” said a 44-year-old church member who joined in 2016.
Mayor de Blasio vowed that the city will “do whatever we can to help Middle Collegiate rebuild.”
Church officials have already started to raise money to do just that.
“One thing we know about God is that God works in mysterious ways, and we know that the rebuilding is going to look a lot different than anybody thinks,” Ashcroft said. “We’re going to figure out how to continue to be a church, how to continue to do our love work and our justice work in a meaningful way.”
