News
June 20, 2017First Reformed Church Breaks Ground on $3.65 Million Transformation
The First Reformed Church of Schenectady will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on June 21 at 9am at the corner of Union Street and Church Street in Schenectady’s historic Stockade District. Members of the press, congregation and general public are invited to attend the event, which will mark the start of a new chapter in the church’s 300+ year history.
“First Reformed has long maintained a strong connection to the community,” says Rev. Dr. William Levering. “In 1948 the church was destroyed by a huge fire and completely rebuilt shortly thereafter. Since then we have added a number of buildings to our campus to serve our growing congregation. The renovations underway now are purposely designed to dramatically embrace our responsibility and commitment to the community as well.”
Two community spaces are central to the project. The first is the creation of Covenant Hall, which will not only provide an assembly space for the congregation but will also include a full kitchen and seating with a balcony for performances and events of all types. The second is the Mohawk Mission Center, which will offer meeting spaces for meetings and smaller gatherings and be broadly available to for use by the community as well as the 41 community groups already being hosted by the church.
All renovations and improvements will take advantage of energy efficiencies in keeping with the Care of Creation covenant recently adopted by the congregation. In addition the improvements will make the church fully accessible by people of all abilities, including ADA compliant ramps and an elevator.
Supplemental and background information:
General contracting for the project at the First Reformed Church of Schenectady will be provided by Rosch Brothers General Contractors of Latham. Included in the $3.65 million plan is the creation of Covenant Hall, a multi-faceted assembly space, and the Mohawk Mission Center which will offer meeting rooms for use by the community, among other renovations and improvements. Construction is scheduled to begin in early May and continue until the summer of 2018.
“Our church has outgrown the current assembly space,” said Rev. Dr. Bill Levering, Senior Minister at First Reformed Church. “Plus, our buildings have been added to and patched up over the years, making for a maze of confusing spaces. These renovations create a unified campus which makes sense, and also meets our commitment to people of all abilities by improving accessibility.”
The church’s new assembly space, Covenant Hall, will be located directly adjacent to the worship sanctuary and will renovate a building originally constructed in the later 1800’s. “It has been very exciting to work on plans for Covenant Hall,” said Larry Wilson, Principal Architect at Mesick, Cohen, Wilson, Baker Architects of Albany, NY. “The renovations actually realize the original building concept when it was first proposed in the 1890’s, and the Hall will include a balcony, be suitable for community presentations as well as meeting the church’s assembly needs, and provide kitchen capabilities for wedding receptions and other events with food.”
The renovations also include new classrooms for the church’s Youth Programs, as well as an integrated space for the congregation’s extensive music ministry. An elevator will connect the Education Level, Covenant Hall, and the Music Level, and an improved handicap ramp and restroom facilities will bring the entire church campus fully into compliance with the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA) for the first time.
The Mohawk Mission Center will be housed in the first floor of the Mercer’s Variety Store building, originally constructed in 1785, and which most recently has been used for the church’s child care needs. “The Mission Center will be directly accessible from the street,” said Levering “and it serves to create a connection to the community with greater visibility and much easier access. The new child care space will be closer to worship and more in tune with the needs of today’s families.”
The church congregation also adopted a Care of Creation Covenant in 2016, making a substantial commitment to reducing its carbon footprint with significant improvements in energy efficiency and programs to encourage sustainable practices by the congregation. “Every working committee of the church is finding ways to conserve energy and embrace the covenant of environmental stewardship,” says the Rev. Dr. Daniel Carlson, Associate Pastor at First Reformed Church. “Not only will the building renovations improve our energy efficiency, but we have also included a modest green roof as a symbol and reminder to the congregation and community of the many ways that each of us can and should safeguard God’s creation, the earth.”
