The Saga of Bushwick Church Steeple Comes to an End, But Pastor Says Help Is Still Needed

For more than a decade, South Bushwick Reformed Church has fielded concerns and complaints from passersby who say its steeple looks about ready to topple over.

But the new year has brought a second chance for the towering structure atop the 169-year-old Greek Revival building that was damaged by a freak tornado in 2006, with rehab work finally complete on the spire and steeple.

“It feels very good,” Pastor James Steward told Brownstoner on June 9, standing outside the bright white wooden structure as it cut a sharp silhouette against the sky. “It’s been something that’s been in the works for decades. With it being landmarked and other issues you have to go through, I never thought we would get here to finish phase one.”

The church, whose congregation dates back to Dutch Brooklyn settlements from 1654, was designed by Messrs. Morgan and constructed in 1853. The building, located at 855 Bushwick Avenue, was landmarked by the city in 1968, making it one of Brooklyn’s earliest landmarked buildings.

In its report, the Landmarks Preservation Commission said the church is “an exceptionally handsome example of late Greek Revival church architecture, that its soaring steeple, silhouetted against the sky, is a memorial to a once dominant style of church architecture, and that the small yard surrounding it still reminds the passerby of the original rural character of the area.”

Steward and others in the community are trying to ensure the building remains a community fixture for centuries to come. However, the renovation of the steeple and spire don’t spell the end of the issues for the troubled building — or those trying to find funding to fix it. Work is still desperately needed on the roof and soffit to bring congregants back indoors.

Inside the building, stained glass windows, old wooden pews, a giant organ and speakers, bibles and fairy lights look ready for their return, but crumbling ceilings and debris on the floor and seats are a sharp reminder of why they can’t.

Steward said that throughout the pandemic and the renovations, services have been held online and no one has gathered at the church since a holiday service in late 2021. He hopes services can return in person on a limited basis during the second phase of renovation, which is slated to start in the next six to eight weeks — but “that comes down to money,” he said.

“Obviously funding is an issue, and it continues to be an issue.”

A few years ago, the church explored options for having private development on the site, which could fund the renovations (similar to the controversial development at the Hebron School in Crown Heights), but Steward said that never materialized and, although the church hadn’t ruled it out, it was unlikely.
Two years ago, the church launched a Go Fund Me to support the renovations, but over the past six months there hasn’t been a donation. Up until then, the church had raised $415 of a targeted $320,000.

Steward said that the lack of funding was what was holding everything back, and the church had contractors in place ready to start when the money came through. Much of what they had raised for the spire and steeple, which Steward said came to $87,000, came from people outside of the area, he said, and from foundations and other churches. The church received a $30,000 grant from the PLC and two $25,000 grants from the New York Landmarks Conservancy and its statewide program, Sacred Sites.

According to Bushwick Daily, the church tried to remove the steeple altogether to stop the complaints and fear coming from the community, but the building’s historic status and restoration funding affects what work could be done.

Steward estimates the church still needs another $250,000 to complete the remaining work. “Any amount small or big to Go Fund Me would be helpful,” Steward said, adding that beyond money, what the church really wants is for the community to come in and join them “and become a part of what we do.”

“This is their church, this is a neighborhood church and we’re here to serve,” he said. “This predates us, it’s a church that is 170 years old, it’s been doing work in the community for that long [and] we believe we are meant to be there to continue to do that work.”

He said the building played an important role as a physical space of comfort, safety and refuge for the community — something he said was needed in these times. He encouraged the community to visit the church, where the Go Fund Me link and other information are posted to the front gate, as well as details about upcoming events being held on the outdoor lawn, including a Back to School Bash, Blessing of Animals, Blessing of Teachers and Jazz Vespers.

[Photos by Susan De Vries]

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