Church of St Paul & St Andrew United Methodist

Lovely place to worship, very down to earth people and open /​welcoming to new members. Highly recommend.

A member of Reconciling Ministries Network, the Church of St Paul and St Andrew is also a signatory congregation of the Covenant of Conscience which states that all who wish to marry regardless of sexual preference will find a hearty welcome for their consecration ceremony. Family friendly with a vibrant children and youth ministries, SPSA is a strong force for social justice. SPSA was featured on the CBS Network on Christmas Eve 2010 with its Service of Carols and Lessons. The church serves as host of West Side Campaign Against Hunger, one of the largest food pantry programs in NYC. The congregation strives to be true to this statement, «We are a congregation committed to justice and reconciliation for all persons, regardless of age, race, economic or marital status, gender or sexual orientation. We hope your time with us may be a joyful celebration of life and faith.

Affirming to everyone!

Openly gay members in congregation. Will not return.

The Church of St Paul and St Andrew had openly gay members? A very good reason to attend! Two thumbs up for this church! Down with homophobia! Gays can love God too!

A very welcoming and progressive congregation in a beautiful basilica-​style church. The times I have attended have included sermons that are thought-​provoking, Biblical, and socially relevant (although not «political” – more about daily life and struggles in the city) – the pastors are clearly very well-​prepared yet humble and encouraging. I believe the senior pastor has been at SPSA for decades and is highly committed to the church and community.
The church is heavily involved in the Westside Campaign Against Hunger – they founded and continue to run a major food pantry, as well as a homeless shelter. My impression is they are very LGBT-​welcoming, as well – not always the case with mainline churches.
Like most mainline churches in NYC, SPSA is rebuilding its congregation after the postwar decline. They are doing so successfully and their numbers continue to grow. The congregation includes a mix of young and old, in part because SPSA has a service on the Columbia campus and students help diversify the SPSA congregation.
I’d say if you are looking for a welcoming church in NYC, I’d recommend this one.

This is a rarity, being the first to review something on Manhattan. So, I know you are wondering why on earth was I of all people at a church, of all places to be at on a Friday night. My good friend Jeff wanted to watch his coworker sing with the Empire City Men’s Chorus’ winter holiday music show and invited me as he didn’t want to go alone. I was obviously not thrilled about this prospect but he tempted me with the prospect of meeting cute 20 and 30 something boys at the reception that was to follow as there would be many gays at this church. Weird right? Apparently the only way to get gays to church is to have the church host a gay men’s chorus performance and then follow it up with a hot cider and delicious cookie reception. Anyway, needless to say his ploy worked. The concert was great, despite all the unfamiliar and often annoying holiday music (it’s really not my thing), but if you like choral music, I definitely recommend Empire City Men’s Chorus concerts, they are EXCELLENT! Oh, the church is pretty too, and massive, but it gets 4 stars because the loos were sooo far away, hidden somewhere under the stage.