The Reformed Church of Newtown () is a historic

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

church in the Elmhurst neighborhood of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

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. The church was first established by

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

s in 1731. The neighborhood had been established in 1652 by the Dutch as Middenburgh, a village suburb of

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

(i.e.,

). After the

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took over the Dutch colony of

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

in 1664, the village was renamed New Town, later simplified to Newtown. When Newtown was renamed Elmhurst in the late 1890s, the church retained its original name, a name still also carried by the local high school and

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. The Reformed Church of Newtown is a congregation in the Queens classis of the New York regional

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

of the Reformed Church in America (RCA). Founded in 1628, the

Reformed Church in America The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a Mainline Protestant, mainline Reformed tradition, Reformed Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 152,317 members. From its beginning in 1628 unti ...

is the oldest

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in the

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Church building

The original Federal-Greek Revival style building, completed in 1735, had survived the struggles of the colonial days and the disruptions of the

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(during which the

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seized it for use as an armory). It was replaced in 1832 by the present sanctuary, a

New York City designated 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 ...

. The Reformed Church of Newtown Complex was 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 1980. ''See also:'' The cornerstone of the original building can still be seen in the foundation of its present structure. The sanctuary and adjoining fellowship hall are, as noted 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 ...

, "one of the few all wood church groups remaining in the City." A 1989 renovation replaced cupolas that had been damaged by a storm.

Congregation

As the needs of the church and community changed, staffing was increased, structural improvements were made, and the preaching shifted from

. In 1956, for its 225th anniversary,

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visited the church. For this occasion, the

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A. Nelson Doak compiled a brief history of the parish and praised Elmhurst's ethnic diversity. In 1980, as Elmhurst was changing complexion, Rev. Doak's hope for Newtown Church began to be fulfilled. His successor, the Rev. David Boyce, perceiving the changing needs of the community, initiated a worship service for

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

immigrants and later another service for the increasing population of Tamil-speaking Indians in the area. The originally Dutch church now had services in

, and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

. The Tamil ministry stopped after the death of the Tamil minister, the Rev. Paul Theodore, but some

members incorporated themselves into the English service and remained with the congregation. Meanwhile, the Taiwanese ministry, led by the Rev. Bill H.C. Lee, soon outnumbered Newtown's white congregants, as the membership more than doubled from 1981 to 1982. The Taiwanese had entered 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 obtained seats on the church's

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. Although there can technically be only one “senior pastor” in an RCA parish, Pastor Boyce, recognizing the unique circumstances of the day, had innovatively elevated Lee to be an equal “co-pastor” with him. In 1995, the Rev. David K.T. Su instituted a third worship service in

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...

. Efforts by the church to fulfill the

Scriptural Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

call to be "a house of prayer for all peoples" have thus resulted in a Taiwanese service, a Mandarin service, and an English service attended by Asians, Latinos, and white Americans each Sunday. In December 2017, Rev. Su retired after nearly three decades of service to the church, after which the Rev. Dr. Tien-Heng Chiu was installed as Senior Pastor. The Reformed Church of Newtown has also produced several ministers for the Reformed Church of America in recent decades: the Rev. I. Douglas Estella (ordained 1986) and the Rev. Ben Lin (ordained 1997), both sons of Newtown Church.

References

External links

The Reformed Church of Newtown
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Reformed Church of Newtown Churches in Queens, New York 1731 establishments in the Province of New York New York City Designated Landmarks in Queens, New York Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Queens, New York Reformed Church in America churches Former Dutch Reformed churches in New York (state) Churches completed in 1832 18th-century churches in the United States Federal architecture in New York (state) Elmhurst, Queens Chinese-American churches