The Reformed Church of Newtown
Reformed Church of Newtown Complex
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Reformed Church of Newtown
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Location | 8515 Broadway, New York, New York |
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Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Area | 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) |
Built | 1831 |
Architectural style | Greek Revival, Vernacular Greek Revival |
NRHP Reference # | 80002751 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 23, 1980 |
Designated NYCL | July 19, 1966 |
The Reformed Church of Newtown is a historic Reformed church located in the Elmhurst neighborhood in Queens, New York. The church was first established by Dutch immigrants in 1731.[2]
Current building
The original church building was replaced in 1832 by the present sanctuary, which is a designated landmark building.[3] The cornerstone of the original building can still be seen in the foundation of its present structure. As the needs of the church and community changed, staff was added, structural improvements were made, and the preaching shifted from Dutch to English.
In 1956, for its 225th anniversary, President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited the church. For that occasion, Reverend A. Nelson Doak compiled a brief history of the parish[4] and ended by saying, "May her doors never be shut. Keep them wide open with a welcome to all humanity: saints and sinners, rich and poor, black, brown, yellow, and white," referring to the different ethnic groups in Elmhurst.
The Reformed Church of Newtown Complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1][5]
Expansion
In 1980, as Elmhurst was abruptly changing complexion, Rev. Doak’s hope for Newtown began to be fulfilled. His successor, Rev. David Boyce, perceiving the changing needs of the community, began a service for Taiwanese immigrants[6] and later one for the increasing population of Tamil-speaking Indians the area.
Now, the originally Dutch church had services in English, Taiwanese, and Tamil. The Tamil ministry was crippled by the untimely death of their minister, Rev. Paul Theodore, but some Tamil members were incorporated into the English service and continued in meaningful service with the congregation. Meanwhile, the Taiwanese ministry, led by a dynamic and multilingual evangelist Rev. Bill H.C. Lee, soon outnumbered Newtown’s “American” congregation, as the membership more than doubled from 1981 to 1982.[2] The Taiwanese had been brought in, not as a distinct congregation, but as an additional ministry under the authority of Newtown’s leadership. As full members, they voted and soon had seats on the Newtown Consistory. Although there can technically be only one “senior pastor” in an RCA parish, Rev. Boyce, recognizing the unique circumstances of the day, had innovatively elevated Lee to be an equal “co-pastor” with him. In 1995 Newtown reached wider still, when Rev. David K.T. Su, who was being groomed to replace the aging Bill Lee, instead began a third worship service in Mandarin Chinese, the lingua franca of the Chinese world. Eventually, efforts by the church to fulfill the scriptural idea of being "a house of prayer for all nations" resulted in a Taiwanese service, a Mandarin service, and a multi-cultural service—in which Greeks, Latinos, Asian-Indians, Pacific Rim Asians, Russians and “traditional Americans” worship together in English—being held each Sunday.
The Reformed Church of Newtown has also produced several Reformed Church ministers in the recent past years: Rev. I. Douglas Estella (ordained 1986) and the Rev. Ben Lin (ordained 1997), both sons of Newtown Church.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kleiman, Dena "Immigrants Spur Renaissance for Queens Churches; A New Melting Pot: The City in the 80's A series of articles appearing periodically." New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: November 15, 1982. pg. B1, 2. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=118630567&sid=7&Fmt=2&clientId=55008&RQT=309&VName=HNP (subscription). Retrieved March 19, 2007
- ↑ Peterson, Iver "Battle Looms on Landmarked Churches; Preservationists Fear Charter Changes Will Undercut the Law Battle Looms Over Landmarking Church Properties" New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: December 3, 1989. pg. R1, 2. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=115494182&sid=7&Fmt=2&clientId=55008&RQT=309&VName=HNP(subscription). Retrieved March 19, 2007
- ↑ "225th marked by Queens church." Publication title: New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Dec 3, 1956. pg. 34, 1 pgs. ISSN: 03624331. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=94300957&sid=7&Fmt=1&clientId=55008&RQT=309&VName=HNP (subscription) Retrieved March 19, 2007
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. See also: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Kleiman, Dena "A Surge of Immigrants Alters New York's Face." New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: September 27, 1982. pg. A1, 2. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=119549069&sid=7&Fmt=2&clientId=55008&RQT=309&VName=HNP (subscription). Retrieved March 19, 2007
External links
- The Reformed Church of Newtown official website
- Churches in Queens, New York
- 1731 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies
- Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City
- Reformed Church in America churches
- Former Dutch Reformed churches in New York
- Churches completed in 1832
- 18th-century Protestant churches
- Federal architecture in New York
- Elmhurst, Queens