The Judson Memorial Church is located on
Washington Square South between
Thompson Street and
Sullivan Street, near
Gould Plaza, opposite
Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's public parks, it is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. ...
, in the
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
neighborhood of the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. It is affiliated with the
American Baptist Churches USA
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline/evangelical Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainl ...
and with the
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...
.
The church sanctuary, its
campanile
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tow ...
tower and the attached Judson Hall were designated landmarks by the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
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 1966, and were 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 ...
in 1974.
History
Founding
By the mid-19th century, the village had the largest
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
community in the city, along with joined German, French and Irish immigrants, and to the immediate south a majority of Italian immigrants. Earlier more affluent communities had begun an exodus from the adjacent neighborhoods to the south and east. Judson observed that the "tendency is for the intelligent, well-to-do and church-going people to withdraw from this part of the city".
The park and the new church stood at the intersection between the affluence of
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping ...
and the poverty of
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
.
The church was founded by
Edward Judson
Edward Judson (1844–1914) was an American Baptist clergyman, born in Moulmein, British Burma, a son of the missionary Adoniram Judson and his second wife, Sarah Hall Boardman. He graduated from Brown University in 1863. In 1868, he was appoint ...
who had been preaching at the Berean Baptist Church on Downing Street, also in the village, but his efforts at expanding the congregation were so successful that a new sanctuary was required.
[ p. 119.] In 1888, with the backing of
John D. Rockefeller and other prominent
Baptists
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul com ...
, construction of a new church south of the park was begun. Judson had chosen the location because he wanted to reach out to the neighboring communities. It was to be a memorial to Judson's father,
Adoniram Judson
Adoniram Judson (August 9, 1788 – April 12, 1850) was an American Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalist and later Particular Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Judson was ...
, one of the first
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
missionaries to
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
. The church building was designed by architect
Stanford White
Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in addition ...
, with
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
windows by
John La Farge. It features
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
influences wedded to a basic
Italianate form. Sculptor
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he tra ...
designed a
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
frieze
In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
in the
baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptism ...
, which was carried out by
Herbert Adams;
[ it was completed in 1893.][, p. 122.]
As well as worship and religious education, the church offered health-care and outreach ministries to non-members as well as members. However, the church was not able to attract sufficient support from its wealthy neighbors on the north side of square, and by 1912, the church found itself in financial difficulties. The Baptist City Society (metropolitan association of Baptist churches) was persuaded to take over the property and financial responsibility, which it ended up holding until the congregation was again able to resume ownership and control in 1973.
Early 20th century
In 1921, under the leadership of its pastor, A. Ray Petty, the church offered first its basement and then rented its parish house on Thompson Street to Dr. Eleanor A. Campbell, a pioneering female physician who ran the Judson Health Center, a free medical and dental clinic. The center operated at 237 Thompson Street from 1922 to 1950, when the clinic moved to its present location on Spring Street Spring Street may refer to:
* Spring Street (Los Angeles), USA
* Spring Street (Manhattan), New York City, USA
* Spring Street, Melbourne, Australia
* Spring Street, Singapore
* Spring St (website), a US based lifestyle website
Subway and trolle ...
in SoHo
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was deve ...
, the neighborhood to the south. During the 1920s, the church, with aid from the national American Baptist denomination, also ran the Judson Neighborhood House, a settlement house, at 179 Sullivan Street.
During the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
in the early 20th century, Laurence Hosie served as pastor. Although the congregation dwindled, the church remained active in various social causes, including allowing homeless men to sleep on the pews at times. In 1937, the Baptist City Society appointed Renato Giacomelli Alden as pastor.
After World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, with the rush of new students the former parish house and health center was turned into a residence for international students and students of various races, led by Dean R. Wright, the Baptist chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence ...
to New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
, the church's neighbor. At the same time, a new pastor, Robert Spike
Robert Warren Spike (November 13, 1923 – October 17, 1966) was an American clergyman, theologian, and civil rights leader.
Early life
Spike was born in Buffalo, New York and educated at Denison University, Union Theological Seminary, Col ...
, began theological explorations with veterans and the artists then working in the village, which brought a new group of congregants and led to a change in the church's worship style to a more modern sensibility.
Late 20th century
In 1956, Howard Moody became the senior minister, continuing the church's outspoken advocacy on issues of civil rights and free expression, as well as breaking with the confessedly evangelical understandings of the past by speaking out for issues once universally considered to be immoral by Christians (such as abortion and the decriminalization of prostitution), a policy that continues under the present leadership of the congregation. Al Carmines
Reverend Alvin Allison "Al" Carmines, Jr. (July 25, 1936 – August 9, 2005) was a key figure in the expansion of Off-Off-Broadway theatre in the 1960s.
Carmines was born in Hampton, Virginia. Although his musical talent appeared early, he d ...
, the associate pastor 1962 to 1979, focused his ministry on the arts ''(see below)''. The congregation expanded during this period, allowing the church to take back control of its property from the citywide Baptist organization that had been acting as trustee until 1973. Following Moody's retirement in 1990, Peter Laarman became senior pastor. Coming from a background in union organizing, Laarman led the church into ministries dealing with economic issues, while continuing work with the arts and other social issues, and starting a multi-year program of restoration and renovation of the church's aging buildings.
Since becoming senior minister in 2005, senior pastor Donna Schaper has created a pioneering program to train future clergy in how to do "public ministry" from a congregational base, by providing part-time apprenticeships to seminarians and recent graduates. Also under her leadership, the church has taken a leadership role in the New Sanctuary Movement for immigrant rights.
Mission
The church's mission has long been self-described as being devoted to social outreach, and establishing programs designed to help those perceived to be in need, despite the controversial or sometimes, unpopular, nature of that help.
In the 1950s, the church was the first institution in the village to create a counseling program for drug addicts; in the 1960s, it led in helping to found the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion, a nationwide network of Protestant and Jewish clergy who aided women who needed abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
s before abortion became legal. In the 1970s, the church operated a residence for runaway teens and established a Professional Women's Clinic for women engaged in prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
; in the 1980s, it helped provide medical resources for people with AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...
.
In the first decade of the 21st century, the church's clergy operated a relief fund for the families of restaurant workers who were killed during the September 11, 2001, attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
of New York City's World Trade Center. Now, the church is active in the New Sanctuary Movement for immigrant rights.
Early community outreach
Verne E. Henderson joined the Judson staff in 1952 as its first Director of Community Service. A program for youth of the village – started originally by the Police Athletic League of New York City
The Police Athletic League (PAL) is an independent, nonprofit youth development agency in New York City. PAL is funded by a combination of private donations and public funding sources and is a designated charity of the New York City Police Depa ...
– blossomed under Henderson's leadership with more than two hundred youth attending one or more weekly events. Many youth were hard-core delinquents and drug users. Henderson appeared in courts on behalf of those facing legal action and began summer youth programs in upstate New York and Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
. Henderson also inaugurated programs for local artists, remodeling the sanctuary for art shows and refurbishing abandoned offices as living quarters for resident artists. Henderson once invited Martha Graham
Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide.
Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She ...
to use the sanctuary for dress rehearsals, which eventually led to formation of the Judson Dance Theatre.
Sponsorship of the arts
Beginning in the 1950s, the church supported a radical arts ministry, first led by associate pastor Bernard Scott and subsequently by associate pastor Al Carmines
Reverend Alvin Allison "Al" Carmines, Jr. (July 25, 1936 – August 9, 2005) was a key figure in the expansion of Off-Off-Broadway theatre in the 1960s.
Carmines was born in Hampton, Virginia. Although his musical talent appeared early, he d ...
. The church made space available to artists for art exhibitions, rehearsals, and performances. The church also assured that this space was to be a place where these artists could have the freedom to experiment in their work without fear of censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
. In 1957, the church offered gallery space to Claes Oldenburg
Claes Oldenburg (January 28, 1929 – July 18, 2022) was a Swedish-born American sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture versions ...
, Jim Dine and Robert Rauschenberg
Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...
, who were then unknown artists. In 1959, the Judson Gallery showed work by pop artists, Tom Wesselmann
Thomas K. Wesselmann (February 23, 1931 – December 17, 2004) was an American artist associated with the Pop Art movement who worked in painting, collage and sculpture.
Early years
Wesselmann was born in Cincinnati.
From 1949 to 1951 he atte ...
, Daniel Spoerri, and Red Grooms. Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
also had her work exhibited at the gallery. The gallery space housed Fluxus happenings, including ''Some Manipulations'' (1969), a series of performances at the Judson Church by Fluxus artists Jean Toche
Jean Toche (1932-2018) was a Belgian-American abstract artist and poet involved in New York's radical political art scene.
Career
Jean Toche was born in Bruges, Belgium, on 15 August 1932. He moved to New York City in 1965, where he became hea ...
, Steve Young, Nam June Paik, and Al Hansen, and work by Nye Ffarrabas
Nye Ffarrabas (formerly Bici Forbes and Bici Hendricks), is an American artist and poet known for her contributions to the first generation of Fluxus. She participated in Judson Gallery shows at Judson Memorial Church in 1966-1968.
Nye Ffarrabas ...
.
The Judson Dance Theater, which began in 1962, provided a venue for dancers and choreographers including Trisha Brown
Trisha Brown (November 25, 1936 – March 18, 2017) was an American choreographer and dancer, and one of the founders of the Judson Dance Theater and the postmodern dance movement. Brown’s dance/movement method, with which she and her dancers ...
, Lucinda Childs
Lucinda Childs (born June 26, 1940) is an American postmodern dancer/choreographer and actress. Her compositions are known for their minimalistic movements yet complex transitions. Childs is most famous for being able to turn the slightest movem ...
, Steve Paxton
Steve Paxton (born 1939 in Phoenix, Arizona) is an experimental dancer and choreographer. His early background was in gymnastics while his later training included three years with Merce Cunningham and a year with José Limón. As a founding me ...
, David Gordon and Yvonne Rainer to create and show their work. Among others, these dancers and choreographers shaped dance history by creating postmodern dance, the first avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...
movement in dance theater since the modern dance
Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...
of the 1930s and 1940s. For the past several decades, Movement Research has presented concerts of experimental dance at the church on Monday evenings during the academic year.
In the 1970s, the church hosted various art shows and multimedia
Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...
events. Most notable among these multimedia events was the People's Flag Show
The People's Flag Show was a November 1970 exhibition at Judson Memorial Church in New York City by Faith Ringgold, Jean Toche and Jon Hendricks, known as the Judson Three. The exhibition was raided by the police and the artists arrested on a cha ...
in November 1970, a six-day exhibition of painting and sculpture on the theme of the American flag
The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...
. The exhibit and the accompanying symposium, featuring speeches by Abbie Hoffman
Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...
and Kate Millet, attracted widespread attention from the public, the press and the police. During the final days of the exhibit, three of the contributing artists were arrested, both pastors (Moody and Carmines) were issued summons (not followed up), and the District Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...
closed the exhibit on charges of desecration of the American flag.
The Judson Poets' Theatre started in November 1961 – with a play by poet Joel Oppenheimer – as one of three off-off-Broadway
Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...
venues (the others were Caffe Cino
Caffe Cino was an Off-Off-Broadway theater founded in 1958 by Joe Cino. The West Village coffeehouse, located at 31 Cornelia Street, was initially conceived as a venue for poetry, folk music, and visual art exhibitions. The plays produced at ...
and La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...
). Experimental plays and musicals by later-famous authors and directors, including Sam Shepherd, Lanford Wilson and Tom O'Horgan, were presented in the church's main Meeting Room. Starting in the late 1960s, Carmines began writing and producing his own musicals, and later, "oratorios" that used large volunteer choruses. Especially notable were several shows using texts by Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...
, music by Carmines, with direction by the Judson Poets Theatre director Lawrence Kornfeld.
In the 1980s, the church sponsored various Politically intended dramatic performances, such as those by the Vermont-based Bread and Puppet Theater
The Bread and Puppet Theater (often known simply as Bread & Puppet) is a politically radical puppet theater, active since the 1960s, based in Glover, Vermont . The theater was co-founded by Elka and Peter Schumann. Peter is the artistic directo ...
. These performances included ''Insurrection Opera'' and ''Oratorio'', performed in February and March 1984. In this performance, the Bread and Puppet Theater, under the direction of its founder, Peter Schumann
Peter Schumann (born 11 June 1934) is the co-founder and director of the Bread & Puppet Theater. Born in Silesia, he was a sculptor and dancer in Germany before moving to the United States in 1961. In 1963 he founded Bread & Puppet in New Y ...
, used opera and the company's now signature oversized puppets to convey an anti-nuclear message. The church has recently become the home of the West Village Chorale, directed by Dr. Colin Britt. The Chorale's former home was St. Luke's in the Fields on Hudson Street.
The church celebrated its centennial in 1990 with performances and symposia involving many of the artists who had been involved with the arts ministry in the 1960s and 1970s. It continues both its support of the arts and its social outreach to the community.
Building
The church building is located at 54–57 Washington Square South. In addition to La Farge's stained-glass windows and Saint-Gaudens's marble frieze, it features Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
influences wedded to a basic Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...
form, and has notable examples of scagliola
Scagliola (from the Italian ''scaglia'', meaning "chips") is a type of fine plaster used in architecture and sculpture. The same term identifies the technique for producing columns, sculptures, and other architectural elements that resemble inla ...
, a very convincing handcrafted imitation of marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
made of highly polished pigmented plaster
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...
. Overall, the exterior and shape of the building is said to resemble the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the large ...
in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, while the entrance is said to be inspired by the Renaissance church San Alessandro, built in Lucca
Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957.
Lucca is known as one ...
, Italy, in 1480. The fourteen stained glass windows in the church's main sanctuary are the largest collection of major LaFarge windows in any one place in the U.S.
The campanile tower, located at 51–54 Washington Square South to the west of the church itself, was built in 1895–96, after the sanctuary had been completed, and was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White
McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...
.[ The adjacent Hall, however, predates the church, having been built in 1877, and was designed by ]John G. Prague
John G. Prague (also called H. G. Prague and J. A. Prague) was an American politician affiliated with the Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the U ...
.[
In 1999, facing financial difficulties, the church's board of trustees sold the Judson House, the parish building behind the church, to ]New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in ...
, which used the site for its new Furman Hall. At eleven stories tall, the new building now towers over the church and Washington Square Park beyond, causing considerable controversy in the community at the time of its construction. The church's offices and a small assembly hall now occupy a condominium suite in one corner of the new building, adjacent to the main church, at 239 Thompson Street.
From 1990 to 2006, the church building was repainted, reroofed; the stained glass windows were cleaned and reinstalled by Cummings Studio;[ an elevator was installed to make the building accessible and air conditioning was added. These projects exhausted all the proceeds from the sale of the back lots, plus approximately $1 million additional (equivalent to million in ), raised from contributions of arts patrons and the congregation.
]
Ministers and staff
*Rev. Edward Judson
Edward Judson (1844–1914) was an American Baptist clergyman, born in Moulmein, British Burma, a son of the missionary Adoniram Judson and his second wife, Sarah Hall Boardman. He graduated from Brown University in 1863. In 1868, he was appoint ...
(minister, 1890–1914)
*Rev. A. Ray Petty (minister, 1915–1926)
*Rev. Laurence T. Hosie (minister, 1926–1937)
*Rev. Renato Giacomelli Alden ( minister to Italian-speaking congregation, 1937–1946; sole minister after Hosie's departure)
*Rev. Elbert R. Tingley (City Society's appointed executive director for Judson, 1946–1948)
*Rev. Dean Wright (Director, Judson House Student Program, 1948–1952)
*Rev. Robert Spike
Robert Warren Spike (November 13, 1923 – October 17, 1966) was an American clergyman, theologian, and civil rights leader.
Early life
Spike was born in Buffalo, New York and educated at Denison University, Union Theological Seminary, Col ...
(minister, 1949–1955)
*Verne E Henderson, Director of Community Service during Spike's ministry (1952–1955)
*Bernard (Bud) Scott (seminary intern under Spike; associate minister under Moody, 1957–1960), serving as missionary to the surrounding artistic community
*Rev. Howard Moody (minister, 1956–1992)
*Rev. Al Carmines
Reverend Alvin Allison "Al" Carmines, Jr. (July 25, 1936 – August 9, 2005) was a key figure in the expansion of Off-Off-Broadway theatre in the 1960s.
Carmines was born in Hampton, Virginia. Although his musical talent appeared early, he d ...
(associate minister, 1961–1981)
*Arthur A. Levin (Director of The Center for Medical Consumers, since 1976; also, administration for many church-related projects since 1966, including the Judson Teenage Arts Workshop, Judson mobile health project, and Judson Runaway House)
*Arlene Carmen ("administrix" 1967–1994; "administrix" over those years encompassed first being Moody's secretary, then Church Administrator, and finally, in the mid-1980s, Program Associate was added to the Administrator title)
*Roland Wiggins ( sexton, mid-1970s-2016)
*Rev. Dr. Lee Hancock (associate minister, 1981–1985)
*Rev. Dr. Bill Malcomson (interim minister, 1992–1994)
*Andrew Frantz (Sunday School Director, since 1993)
*Rev. Peter Laarman (minister, 1994–2004)
*Ryan Gillam (Special Program Associate for theatre, 1994–1996)
*Aziza (Special Program Associate, 1993–2002) (producer for Licks 'n Licks, Single Mothers' Workshop, Dance of African Descent Downtown)
*Rev. Louise Green (associate minister, 1996–1998)
*Rev. Karen Senecal (associate minister; sole minister after Laarman, 2000–2005)
*Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper (senior minister, since January 2006)
*Rev. Michael Ellick (assistant minister, 2008–2014)
*Paul Russell (communications director, since 2011)
*Rev. Micah Bucey (minister, since 2011)
*Rev. Valerie Holly (minister, since 2020)
See also
*List of New York City Landmarks
These are lists of New York City landmarks designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission:
* New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan:
** List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street
** List ...
References
Notes
Further reading
*Carmen, Arlene and Moody, Howard. ''Abortion Counseling and Social Change: From Illegal Act to Medical Practice'' (Judson Press, 1973)
*Carmen, Arlene and Moody, Howard. ''Working Women: The Subterranean World of Street Prostitution'' (Harper & Row
Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City.
History
J. & J. Harper (1817–1833)
James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...
, 1985)
*Dickason, E. & J. eds. ''Remembering Judson House'' (1999)
External links
*
Video
(May 10, 2007). Interview of Reverend Donna Schaper. ''The O'Reilly Factor
''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...
''.
Video
(May 13, 2007). New Sanctuary Movement (Reverend Donna Schaper and Jean and his family) on '' Geraldo at Large''.
Donna O. Schaper Papers at Gettysburg College
* ttp://mikeypod.com/2016/11/30/mikeypod-218-minister-micah-bucey/ Associate Minister Micah Bucey on the MikeyPod Podcast
Archives
Judson Memorial Church Archive
at the Fales Library of New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
Judson Memorial Church Oral History Archive
at the Fales Library
{{Authority control
Baptist churches in New York City
Churches completed in 1893
19th-century Protestant churches
Churches in Manhattan
New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
Religious organizations established in 1890
United Church of Christ churches in New York City
Greenwich Village
1890 establishments in New York (state)