[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 3 (Friday, January 7, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E40]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF THE PARK AVENUE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ON THE OCCASION OF 
                      ITS BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 7, 2011

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the Park Avenue 
Christian Church in New York City. The Church began commemorating its 
200th anniversary year last year at its 2010 Homecoming Celebration.
  The Park Avenue Christian Church began as a group of nine members of 
the Ebenezer Baptist Church who branched off to form the Disciples of 
Christ on October 10, 1810. This makes them one of the oldest Disciples 
of Christ Churches in America. They were able to establish themselves 
as a permanent fixture on Manhattan's Upper East Side as the Park 
Avenue Christian Church in 1945, at a site that formerly housed the 
South Dutch Reformed Church and later the Park Avenue Presbyterian 
Church. The Park Avenue Christian Church has since become a blessed 
sanctuary for Disciples of Christ and a familiar and beloved 
institution in the community.
  The Church's design by Ralph Adams Cram, Bertram Goodhue & Frank 
Ferguson provided a church of the purest gothic revival style, inspired 
by the famous Sainte Chapelle in Paris. It is constructed of local New 
York stone, salvaged from the construction of Central Park, with its 
spire surmounting the edifice, arches and fluted pilasters supporting 
the rounded ceiling that covered three naves, a wide cornice extending 
around the nave and at the middle height of the apse, soaring stained 
glass windows designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, a majestic 52-rank 
William Jackson Jarman Memorial Organ, and an impressive approach of 
church-wide steps. The building's cornerstone at 1010 Park Avenue at 
the corner of East 85th Street was laid in 1909, and the new Church was 
completed two years later.
  The Park Avenue Christian Church remains a thriving, vibrant 
institution to this day, offering spiritual sanctuary, education, 
social services, and a wide range of other programs to the people of 
our Nation's greatest city. In 1963, the church opened a day school, 
which has since become a top private nursery school in the area. Its 
``Camp Ten Ten'' has provided children from diverse backgrounds with a 
safe and educational summer programming experience. The Church's lively 
musical programming, including several choirs, concert series, and 
other musical ensemble performances provide a wonderful outlet for 
community members. Its Saturday Community Lunch Program provides hot 
meals and warm companionship to some of the most vulnerable New 
Yorkers. Park Avenue Christian Church's interfaith program with the 
Temple of Universal Judaism has provided an invaluable forum for 
interfaith discussion and relationships. Under the able stewardship of 
the Reverend Dr. Alvin O'Neal Jackson, the Park Avenue Christian Church 
continues to uphold its proud and historic tradition of seeking 
justice, embracing diversity, and inspiring the imagination.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my distinguished colleagues rise to join me 
in recognizing the extraordinary contributions to the civic and 
spiritual life of New York City made by the historic Park Avenue 
Christian Church and its parishioners, past, present and future.

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