Early History of Saint Pauls Methodist Church

St. Paul’s Methodist Church, an outgrowth of Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church, was organized as St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church “by those members of Bethel living in the Village of Tottenville who desired a more convenient place of worship”.

The agitation for a new church culminated in 1856 in a public meeting to which were called all persons interested in building a new church. At this meeting, after considerable discussion, a vote was taken and it was unanimously decided to begin at once to raise money to purchase a site and erect “a church, or chapel”, as soon as possible.

The people took up the work with great energy, and by means of fairs, festivals and a sinking fund subscription they had raised enough money within little more than a year to undertake the building of a small house of worship. By September 11, 1857 there was a balance in the treasury of over $700, $400 having been pain in August 1857 to the heirs of the Parkinson estate for a site 100 x 250 feet. In November of that year, 135,000 bricks were purchased at $3.00 per thousand and placed on this lot, the site of the present church.

On September 25, 1858, the first Board of Trustees which was to take charge of the property and erect a church was elected at a meeting held at the home of David Joline, and consisted of the following: Abraham Sprague, president, Wm. H. Totten, secretary, David Joline, treasurer, Wm. H. Rutan, James Butler, James W. Sprague, James M. Rutan, William Lamond and David Van Name.

The following year, 1859, the Trustees made preparations to build a chapel 25 x 50 feet and two stories high, the upper story of which would be rented to Huguenot Lodge, F. & A. M. The contract for the building of the chapel was awarded in June 1859.

Soon after the commencement of the work the question presented itself as to whether or not the organization of a separate congregation or society was necessary in order to perpetuate the Board of Trustees. The Rev. Mr. Swaim, then pastor of Bethel, applied to the presiding elder of the District and to the Bishop for advice on this matter. Mr. Swaim was advised to recognize the wishes of the members interested in the new church, and, accordingly, sixty-nine persons duly transferred their membership to St. Paul’s.

Work on the chapel was pushed forward rapidly, and on the 16th day of October, 1859, St. Paul’s chapel was formally dedicated in a sermon preached by Rev. Mr. Swaim, who used as his text Isaiah 60:7; “I will glorify the house of my glory.”

After the dedication of the chapel Mr. Swaim served both charges, preaching in the morning at St. Paul’s and the afternoon at Bethel. Prayer meetings were held at both churches with the pastor alternating his attendance. This arrangement, however, proved unsatisfactory, since each church desired a separate pastor. Such a request was made to the Conference meeting in Hackettstown, New Jersey, in 1860. The request was granted. St. Paul’s was made a separate charge and the Rev. John S. Swaim was appointed the first full-time pastor.

In the separation of the churches each congregation retained its own property and St. Paul’s congregation was allowed $665.02 as it’s pro rata share of the value of the Bethel parsonage.

The first Quarterly Conference of the new church was held on June 30, 1860, at which time a Board of Stewards was elected. At the second Quarterly Conference the pastor’s salary was fixed at $600, and the following year increased to $800. St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church of Tottenville was now fully organized, with a pastor of its own, a full Board of Trustees and Stewards, and a convenient but small house of worship.

Increasing congregations soon made the need for a larger building very apparent, and on May 15, 1861 a committee was appointed to formulate plans for such a building. Ten days later the committee reported that they had selected as a model a church standing on 37th street in Manhattan. Work on the new church building, to be erected in front of the existing chapel, was begun in 1861. The new church, 45 x 60 feet with a seating capacity of over 400, was dedicated June 15, 1862 by the presiding Bishop. This is the church in use today.

In 1866 the first organ, a Mason & Hamlin, was purchased for $750 and placed in the gallery, where it remained in use until 1890. The same year a bell costing $275 was placed on top of the church building and served to call worshipers to service until 1924 when it was removed because its weight proved too great a strain for the roof. Also in 1866 the construction of the present parsonage was begun on land which was purchased from Charles Drake for $700, and the building was completed the following year, at a cost of slightly over $3,000.

The spring of 1867 saw St. Paul’s as the meeting of the Newark Annual Conference, the first such conference to be held on Staten Island. Pews were first rented in 1868 and the following year, when pew rents amounted to $1,334, the pastor’s salary was raised to $1,300. The next improvement to the church property was the purchase from Mr. Aspinwall of a strip of land in the rear of the church, measuring 100 x 250 feet, for a price of $2,000, this transaction being completed in 1874. At that time the treasurer reported that all debts had been paid except two mortgages amounting to $4,500, while the value of the church and parsonage stood at $15,000. This debt remained on the church until 1881 when it was paid off and the church, for the first time, saw itself free of bonded debt.

During all these early years of the church the attendance of the Sunday School continued to grow to such an extent that not all who desired to attend could be accommodated. Hence, the original chapel was torn down and a new chapel, the present one, was erected in 1883 at a cost of $3,800 which sum was paid off in one year” by hard work and perseverance on the part of the Sunday School.”

Three years later the Ladies’ Aid Society was founded and immediately began raising money for further church improvements and for the paying off of existing indebtedness. In 1890 money received from legacies was used for extensive improvements and the pipe organ which is sill in use was purchased at a cost of $2,200, the pulpit platform being enlarged to receive it and to provide a place for the choir. Also, a new slate roof was put on the building. A steam-heating system was installed in the church in 1895 and both the church and parsonage were redecorated two years later. Further redecorating was done in the church and chapel in 1904, the organ was placed in an alcove, and new pews, carpet and art glass windows, many of them memorials, were placed in the church at a cost of over $5,000.

In October 1918 a series of terrific explosions of ammunition in the government magazines at Morgan, New Jersey, caused great damage in Tottenville and St. Paul’s church and parsonage suffered severely. Much plaster was loosened in the church and the windows were seriously damaged. The cost of repairs and redecoration, amounting to between $6,000 to $8,000, was paid for by the government.

Since the time of the First World War only a few structural changes have been made to the church and property. The front entrance of the church was modernized in the early 1920’s; the belfry was removed in 1924 and in the same year a gift flagpole was erected in front of the church; in 1932 a new and larger kitchen was added to the rear of the chapel; the Scout Shack made its first appearance in 1937; and the entrance to the chapel was improved a short time later. However, during that same period, the church and chapel were completely redecorated three different times; new carpet was laid in the church; steam tables were placed in the kitchen; a new furnace was installed; and the exterior of the building was put in first-class condition. Also, St. Paul’s has been the recipient of numerous memorial gifts which have greatly added to the beauty of the sanctuary and to the comfort and enjoyment of the worshippers.

In 1940, by order of the Annual Conference, all women’s organizations of the church were combined into one moving force to be known as the Woman’s Society of Christian Service. The Ladies’ Aid Society of yesteryear and the Woman’s Society of Christian Service of today have played a vital part in the life of the church and the money they have raised has been used, among other things, to carry out their own responsibility of keeping the interior of the parsonage in good repair; and when necessary, they have made substantial donations to the Official Board to aid them with their financial obligations. Outstanding years for extensive parsonage repairs and improvements were 1926 and 1941.

In 1940 the name of St; Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church was formally changed to Saint Paul’s Methodist Church by filing of a certificate of change of name in the office of the Clerk of the County of Richmond. This was in line with the nation-wide consolidation of the three branches of the Methodist Church into one united church.

This history was written in 1898 and revised for the 90th anniversary of St. Paul’s Methodist Church. It ends thus: Through the years St. Paul’s has been not only the religious home of the members and friends of the church but it has been a meeting place for various organizations of the community and has served well its part in the growth of Tottenville. Thus ends ninety years of a churches life. The end, however, is only the beginning, for Christ charged His Disciples to bring His Word to the entire world. Until that mission has been fulfilled, the end of this history can never be written.