Christ Church gets fixed-up digs

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Christ Church of Riverdale, a designated historic landmark, has restored its front doors and 100-year-old window with a $2,000 grant from the New York Landmarks Conservancy.

The restoration project was part of the church’s effort to create a more welcoming environment for churchgoers, said the Rev. Andrew Butler, the church’s rector. 

“Being a welcoming community is really important to us and to me, so first impression is important,” he said. 

The funding is part of a more than $200,000 allocation the New York Landmark Conservancy provided to “sacred sites” in 2016. Christ Church, an Episcopal church located at 5030 Henry Hudson Parkway, is listed as a local landmark with the city, which made it eligible for the grant. 

Butler said instead of getting new doors for the front entrance, the church decided to renovate the existing wood entryway. 

“How we take care of the things that God has given us is very important as well, it is part our stewardship,” he said. “The doors were in pretty bad shape… To have waited very much longer would have meant getting new doors altogether so it just made more sense to take care of the ones we already have.”

Christ Church applied for the grant in June, and work on the doors was completed just in time for Christmas. 

“We’re really happy that the work got done, the company that did it did a beautiful job,” Butler said. “I think they last were restored about 15, 16 years ago and not very well… [But now] they just look stunning.”

Christ Church has also finished repairs on 100-year-old stained glass window that had been broken by a fallen tree last April. 

The tree fell during a storm on April 3 and went through the back window of the church and almost 20-feet into the church. 

“Some of the pieces of glass were replaced, but it’s all back in one piece, so to speak,” Butler said. “The window is over 100-years-old so we are really happy to have it back.”

Christ Church of Riverdale, New York Landmarks Conservancy, Andrew Butler, Anthony Capote

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