Downtown's Revival Is Religious, Too

 by Etta Sanders

On a typical Sunday morning last month, as the Rev. Jason P. Radmacher led the traditional Methodist service on John Street and Father James Hayes celebrated mass at St. Andrew's Church near Police Plaza, worshippers from Living Word Church were swaying with upraised arms at the Knitting Factory on Leonard Street and a multi-denominational group at the Tribeca Spiritual Center in Battery Park City's Hallmark senior residence took part in an Ojibway spiritual custom.
With words flashed on a screen a rock band performs during at a Mosaic Manhattan church service in the P.S./I.S. 89 auditorium. Photo: Carl Glassman

Just down the block from the Hallmark, the P.S./I.S. 89 auditorium thumped with the beat of a Christian rock band, part of a service of the Southern Baptist-affiliated Mosaic Manhattan Church. A little later, the gym upstairs echoed with the shouts of boys playing basketball-a team from the Synagogue for the Arts.

From formal services to grassroots gatherings, Downtown residents and workers are finding a richer palette of religion choices today than ever before: in historic old churches, loft living rooms, converted apartments, school auditoriums and even a rock club. What the neighborhoods of Tribeca, Battery Park City and the Financial District sometimes lack in stained glass, they make up for in spiritual enterprise.

"People want to define themselves as part of a community and not just as people who live Downtown," said Victoria Feder, a founder of the local Jewish Community Project (JCP).

Religion is a family and community need often overlooked in all the talk about breathing new life into Lower Manhattan. Along with their desires for new schools, parks, stores, cultural institutions and recreation centers, many Downtowners seek spiritual renewal as well.

"It was important for us to find a church because we were thinking of starting a family," said Rebecca Hunt, who moved with her husband, Tim, to Broad Street a year and a half ago. They were happy to find a church that they liked within walking distance that had a small-town feel, she said. Four months ago their son, Todd, was baptized in the white-walled sanctuary of the John Street Methodist Church. "We want him to grow up in a church with good role models," she said. "We've met so many friends here."

Others are drawn to more home-grown groups. "It is what's unique about this area," said Feder. "People came down here to avoid the big institution of organized religion." Many Downtown residents, she added, "want it to come from the people."

Cheryl Fish, an Independence Plaza resident, goes with her son, Josh, to Downtown Synagogue's family events for cultural, spiritual and social reasons. "I want to give Josh exposure to Judaism in a way that is fun for him," she said. "And to meet other local people."

Once a month Jewish families attend a "Tot Shabbat" in a local apartment. This one is in the Tribeca home of Victoria (with raised cup) and Ben Feder. Photo: Carl Glassman
For some Downtown residents who didn't think much about religion before Sept. 11, the attacks gave a jolt to lives often focused on work. "9/11 was this trigger point," said Michael Dorf, who started Tribeca Hebrew, a new Jewish cultural center in Tribeca. "Life should have a little more meaning."

Andie Chester, a long-time Battery Park City resident, said St. Joseph's Chapel in Gateway Plaza had always been important to her, but its emotional significance grew deeper when the church reopened after a post-9/11 renovation. "That's when you really felt the heart of the community," she said.

The Sunday school at St. Andrew's near the Municipal Building helped neighborhood children cope with questions after the tragedy, said Pat Sullivan, educational director and a resident of Southbridge Towers. "They wrestled more with things. They were asking, 'Why did He turn his back on us. How can we believe?"'

The events of Sept. 11 also delivered a blow to some neighborhood churches and synagogues, as residents moved away. The Sunday school of St. Joseph's and St. Peter's churches dwindled to just a few students. The Battery Park Synagogue, housed in a converted apartment at Gateway Plaza, lost nearly half its members. Both organizations are now growing.

As the neighborhood becomes increasingly affluent, the Synagogue for the Arts on White Street faces a different challenge-bringing members with country houses to weekly services. "Fifty percent of them are not in town on Friday night or Saturday," said Rabbi Jonathan Glass, "It's an enormous handicap in trying to create the energy and participation in Shabbat-based activities."

The Tribeca Spiritual Center, started four years ago by the Rev. William Grant, mixes Jewish, Christian, Islamic and even Native American traditions for what is probably the area's most diverse spiritual exploration. "You don't have to believe any of it," said Grant. "It's like a stew with big chunks of stuff for every one to chew on."

The center, said Grant, was started with a simple premise, one that could apply to all the neighborhood's religious groups.

"Let's have a place where people can gather and find out what we value in life, and what we value in each other."


Where to Find Religion