East Village’s Middle Church members hold
spiritual march a year after devastating fi re
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis helped lead the procession.
BY DEAN MOSES
Flames may have destroyed their house
of worship, but it rekindled their kindred
spirit of peace and love.
Exactly a year to the day after a fi re
demolished the Middle Collegiate Church
sanctuary, members of the East Village
congregation assembled on Sunday for a
march back to the ashes.
Converging at Calvary Episcopal
Church—their temporary place of prayer
since the flames took their beloved
chapel—on 21st Street and Park Avenue
South, the parishioners took part in a mass
service before returning home.
On Dec. 5, 2020, a devastating six-alarm
fi re tore through Middle Collegiate Church
over century-old walls, sending plumes
of black smoke wafting into the air as
fi refi ghters desperately attempted to quell
the inferno—but the fi re was too great.
Unfortunately, the church was completely
gutted — the house of worship’s grand,
gothic-style façade being the only part of
the sanctuary left standing.
PHOTOS BY DEAN MOSES
Led by Middle Church’s spiritual leader
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, the churchgoers sat
in the pews at Calvary Episcopal Church
and refl ected on the past year. Lewis became
emotional as she watched a video
package that showcased the path her fl ock
Rev. Benjamin Perry felt joyous with his flock despite all that they have lost.
had taken from the inception of the fi re to
that very day one year later. But the assembly
did not just mourn the physical loss of
their chapel, but rather other spiritual pains
experienced over the past year — such as
the proliferation of anti-Semitism and
anti-Asian hate crimes, and efforts to ban
abortions in other states.
“Now, we will take the pain and the
grief, and we will take it to the streets. We
are going to get up together, we are going
to put on our coats, and we are going to
walk, and we are going to walk down to
our church,” Rev. Dr Lewis said.
Beginning a procession through the
streets, it was a march not of sorrow or
grief but instead one of joy and gratitude
for that which they still have.
Bellowing jubilant hymns and freedom
songs, the group marched with pride to the
East Village. The parading musical performance
turned heads, garnering warm
smiles from bystanders.
“We’re asking ourselves what have we
found in the fi re? We have found community
and resistance and resilience and so
much support in the fi re,” Rev. Dr Lewis
told amNewYork Metro as she strode alongside
her parishioners. “We haven’t found a
permanent home yet, so we’re working on
that. But we’re gonna go and see the site
and grieve together.”
Rev. Dr. Lewis expressed her desire to
fi nd another location within the East Village
area to call home, until that time she
says she is thankful for all those who have
donated since the fi re at middlechurch.org/
rising.
Once arriving at the mound of bricks
where Middle Collegiate Church once
stood in all its glory, the group prayed
together and even danced beneath the
afternoon sun.
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis sat in prayer on Dec. 5 while reflecting on the past year.
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