John Street Methodist Church
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The John Street United Methodist Church – also known as Old John Street Methodist Episcopal Church – located at 44 John Street between
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and
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Streets in the
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of
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,
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was built in 1841 in the
Georgian style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Hano ...
, with the design attributed to William Hurry and/or
Philip Embury Philip Embury (Ballingrane, County Limerick, Ireland, 21 September 1729 – Camden Valley, New York, August 1775) was a Methodist preacher, a leader of one of the earliest Methodist congregations in the United States. Biography Embury's parents we ...
. The congregation is the oldest
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
congregation in
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, founded on October 12, 1766 as the Wesleyan Society in America.Heritage Landmarks
The Society built its first church, a blue stucco barn called the Wesley Chapel, on this site in 1768; its design was attributed to
Barbara Heck Barbara Heck (1734, Ballingrane, County Limerick, Ireland – 17 August 1804, Augusta, Ontario) was an early American Methodist, known as the "mother of American Methodism." Biography Heck was a member of a colony of Germans who came from the ...
. Timber from the Chapel was later used in building the Bowery Village Methodist Church and the Park Avenue United Methodist Church. The second church on this site was built in 1817-18, and the extravagance of the building provoked a secession from the congregation by Rev. William Stillwell. The third church, the current one, was necessitated by the widening of John Street. The church was designated a
New York City Landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
in 1965 and added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1973. In 1984, the church sold its air rights to 33 Maiden Lane. Hymnist
Fanny Crosby Frances Jane van Alstyne (née Crosby; March 24, 1820 – February 12, 1915), more commonly known as Fanny J. Crosby, was an American mission worker, poet, lyricist, and composer. She was a prolific hymnist, writing more than 8,000 hymns ...
was a member of the church congregation for many years.


Museum

Below the sanctuary, the Wesley Chapel Museum displays many artifacts from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American Methodist history. These include church record books, the Wesley Clock (a gift of
John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
, 1769), love feast cups, class meeting circular benches, the original 1785 altar rail, the original 1767 pulpit made by Philip Embury, and Embury's signed Bible.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street This is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Manhattan Island below 14th Street, which is a significant portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. In turn, the bo ...
*
List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), formed in 1965, is the New York City governmental commission that administers the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. Since its founding, it has designated over a thousand landmarks, cla ...


References


External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Churches in Manhattan New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Churches completed in 1841 Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Methodist churches in New York City 18th-century Methodist church buildings in the United States Financial District, Manhattan 19th-century Methodist church buildings in the United States