Thank you, Abigail Hastings, Historian and Archivist Extraordinaire for revealing Judson Memorial Church’s layered history.
Happy birthday, Judson! It was 132 years ago today – Sunday, February 8, 1893 – that Judson’s first Sunday service was held. And yes, there used to be pews – and fancy lamp posts out front. But it wasn’t until the week of January 22-29, 1983 when dedicatory services were held – with speakers every night but Saturday – to mark the completion of the church (which covered a good part of the block). Edward Judson’s vision was so grand, his former church, Berean Baptist on Downing and Bedford, simply wasn’t large enough. Raising funds to build such a massive enterprise took great effort, and as the Times article below mentions, one person termed Edward’s work as “finangelistic” instead of evangelistic. Whatever it took, we’re glad he gave us such a fine place with a very storied history.
full article attached; scroll down for more…
| HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDSON! |
| Judson’s 132nd anniversary is Feb 6, 2023! Judson’s founding minister, Rev. Dr. Edward Judson, wrote in 1899 that he wanted to build what he called “an institutional church” that “supplemented the ordinary methods of the Gospel with a system of organized kindness by touching people on physical, social and intellectual sides.” He added: “The church contains the potency for the cure of all the ills that flesh is heir to. Here lies the solution of every social problem.” Ok, maybe not every problem but Judson did establish a nursery school, a kindergarten, an employment bureau for the poor, instructional classes for new mothers, a gymnasium for young men, affordable hotel rooms and a medical dispensary that served over 7,000 patients in 1899 and set the stage for the Judson Health Clinic to come in 1921. The first church service was held on a Friday night—actually part of their pattern of Friday night prayer services—and was held in the “lecture room” (where the gym is now but at street level then) with the first Sunday service held on February 8, 1891. The Times article declares it “one the handsomest edifices in the city… extremely graceful in its architectural lines, being Romanesque in style” (NYT Feb 7, 1891). The tower would include a children’s orphanage on two floors and the Judson Hotel was adjacent to that. The Times article observed, “The entire establishment may be regarded, in short, as a church that may be made a home.” Happy Birthday Judson! |