Middle Church hosts fi rst in-person service since damaging fi re
BY DEAN MOSES
Rising from the ashes, the historic
Middle Collegiate Church in the
East Village gathered on Oct. 3 for
its fi rst in-person service since a devastating
six-alarm blaze incinerated the beloved
house of worship in December of 2020.
Although the renowned East Village
spiritual hub still remains in ruins with
merely a scorched facade serving as a
reminder of what once was, this did not
prevent the church’s loyal congregation
from converging on the foundation to
worship once more.
When the fi re tore through the 128-yearold
structure almost one year ago, the space
hadn’t been used for devotion since the
onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — so
when congregates emotionally greeted
one another Sunday morning, it marked the
fi rst group service in nearly two, long years.
Blocking off the roadway between 6th
and 7th Streets on Second Avenue, an
extensive row of chairs were assembled
before a stage that allowed members to pray
together under the morning sun with music
and dance. Church leader Reverend Rev.
Dr. Jacqui Lewis expressed the hardships
Worshippers outside the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church in the East
Village on Oct. 3, 2021.
she and her fl ock has undergone, and
although she admitted that Middle Collegiate
is essentially a congregation without a
physical church, still Lewis told onlookers
that they themselves were the foundation.
The ceremony’s theme was that of
resilience, not just of the worshipers who
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
continue to maintain their faith amidst
their great loss, but also of New York as a
whole as the Big Apple resurfaces from the
ravages of the deadly virus.
Less of a service and more of a party, the
well over 100 church members celebrated
their resurrection in-person and via a live
stream broadcast worldwide with baptisms,
singing, and loving embrace. The sounds
even brought nearby residents dancing onto
their fi re escapes.
“Oh my god, it was so amazing, so
amazing,” Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis told am-
NewYork Metro after the ceremony. “Look
at these people, look at these people. It feels
like the best coming home I have ever had
actually, wow that’s amazing, because we
did it. We did it.”
Beginning on Oct. 10, Middle Collegiate
Church will be sharing space with the
Parish of Calvary St. George’s while they
continue to work on rebuilding their home.
Whether it will be in the same location remains
to be seen, yet Lewis expressed that
she wishes to remain in the East Village.
“We’re committed to being in the East
Village and I think this is our ideal site.
It is possible that we need to think about
another site as well. So, we’ll see,” Lewis
said.
According to Lewis, the church has actually
gained members since the fi re thanks
to their online services, but in order to once
again return to a permanent location the
church is accepting donations at middlechurch.
org/rising.
Feds plan permanent Rainbow Flag at Christopher Park
Christopher Park will soon have a permanent Rainbow Flag on federal land.
BY MATT TRACY
Four years after the Trump administration
abruptly nixed plansto bring
a Rainbow Flag to federal land
adjacent to Christopher Park, the Biden
administration is planning to install a
permanent fl agpole at the park — and the
colors of the rainbow will be on full display
day and night on US property.
The fresh development follows the
Trump administration’s decision in 2017
to cancel the National Park Service’s
intentions to dedicate a Rainbow Flag
PHOTO BY DONNA ACETO/GAY CITY NEWS
at the Stonewall National Monument in
commemoration of National Coming Out
Day. While it was believed that fl agpole
— located just outside of the park’s fence
— stood on the portion of the Stonewall
National Monument owned by the federal
government, the Trump administration
rejected that notion, saying instead that
it would not raise such a fl ag because the
pole was not on federal land. That move
that was widely viewed as yet another act
of hostility by an administration that relentlessly
targeted LGBTQ rights.
Longtime LGBTQ activist Michael
Petrelis, who spearheaded the 2017 effort
to bring the Rainbow Flag to federal land
at the Stonewall National Monument, went
back to the drawing board this year when
he saw a potential window of opportunity in
a new administration. He delivered a letter
to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland — who
has a non-binary child — asking the federal
government to reclaim the land under the
original fl agpole and raise a permanent
Rainbow Flag on federal property once
and for all.In response, the Department of
Interior’s National Park Service continued
to insist that the original fl agpole is still not
on federal land — it is now considered cityowned
land — but nonetheless committed
to bringing a new, permanent fl agpole to
host the Rainbow Flag within the confi nes
of Christopher Park on US property. The
fl agpole will replace a separate, temporary
fl agpole that was recently installed.
“This new fl agpole will be permanently
located front and center in the beautiful
gardens inside Christopher Park,” Gay
Vietzke, the regional director for the
National Park Service, wrote in a letter
to Petrelis. The National Park Foundation
will be donating funds toward the fl agpole’s
installation.
Shirley McKinney, the Manhattan Sites
superintendent for the National Park Service,
told Gay City News there is not yet
a timetable for the fl agpole’s installation
because it fi rst must go through obligatory
procedural hurdles. She said it is possible
that the existing fl ag waving at the temporary
fl agpole, which has a Stonewall
National Monument insignia, could be
shifted to the new pole — or a new fl ag
might be ordered.
“It’s a little bit early,” McKinney said.
“We have a contractor selected, but we
are just starting the process. We are proud
to be able to fl y the Pride Flag on federal
property inside Christopher Park, where it
matters to the community.”
Petrelis said he is satisfi ed with the government’s
commitment — even if the fl ag
won’t be exactly where he asked it to be.
“I’m ecstatic that the rainbow fl ag will fl y
24/7 on federal property that is part of the
Stonewall National Monument,” he said. “I
was happy that the Rainbow Flag was fl ying
on the Greenwich Village fl agpole… but it
was not federal property, and that was my
ultimate goal.”
Petrelis would like to see the new fl agpole
installed on National Coming Out
Day, Oct. 11, though the federal government’s
comments seem to suggest the
installation could take time. Petrelis hopes
the government will allow the community
to periodically rotate the fl ag to include
other fl ags within the community, including
the Progress Pride Flag, the Transgender
Flag, and the Bear Pride Flag.
4 Occttoobbeerr 77,, 22002211 Schneps Media