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Photo by Marisol Díaz
RIVERDALE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, as photographed on Oct. 4. Above right, REV. ROBERT MacKenzie, who worked at the church from 1917 to 1922 and the church’s ADULT CHOIR during the 1950s, at right, from the church’s archives.
Founding families established tradition of service
Presybterian church celebrates 150 years By Sarina Trangle
Women were an integral part of the church’s missionary work and had established two altruistic organizations by the 1900s. They merged in 1927 to form the Women’s Society. Participants made surgical dress for the Red Cross, raised money for missionary work in Cameroon and taught working women to sew.
strangle@riverdalepress.com
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ittle more than the stone façade, slight steeple and bell tower remain where worshipers first gathered in Riverdale Presbyterian Church on Oct. 11, 1863. Though the gothic revival building has undergone several expansions and renovations, its members say 150 years later the congregation is guided by the same internal philosophy – giving. Altruism motivated captains of industry with summer homes in Riverdale to establish a church for their families and the poor concentrated in settlements along the southern and northern ends of Riverdale. That notion of community support has continued to spur the congregation to look beyond itself, whether helping Bronx churches pay for ramps and other measures to make their sanctuaries accessible to wheelchairs, financing the care of a young girl orphaned during the Vietnam War or dispatching members to rebuild homes after Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans. The church marked the milestone at its 150th Anniversary Gala at The Fairways in Yonkers Saturday evening. Approximately 175 attendees wined, dined, danced and listened to a headlining speech by Alvin Puryear, whose family belonged to Riverdale Presbyterian for three decades and who has held leadership roles in national Presbyterian organizations. Pastor emeriti Rev. Josephine Cameron and Rev. David Cockcroft also addressed the audience. They are slated to lead a commemorative service with the current minister, Rev. Michael Hafele, on Sunday, Oct. 13. “This church, in the truest sense of the term, embodies diversity and it’s a reflection of the community that it’s called to serve,” said Rev. Hafele, while explaining that he plans to honor Riverdale Presbyterian’s history by singing an early 20th century hymn, a Spanish hymn and an African spiritual at the service. Riverdale Presbyterian emerged from an April 2, 1863 meeting among five prominent businessmen with homes in Riverdale – Robert Colgate, Samuel Dodge, William E. Dodge Jr., Joseph Eagleston and John Mott.
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Photos courtesy of Riverdale Presbyterian Church
RIVERDALE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, as photographed in 1900. For more photos, visit riverdalepress.com Amid the strife of the Civil War and the idealism that prompted the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, the men sought to find a permanent home for the Sunday school operating in Mr. Colgate’s home and the worship services held in a nearby school. With $5,000 and land donated by Maj. Joseph Delafield, the men commissioned James Renwick, the architect of Grace Episcopal Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, to design Riverdale Presbyterian. Within months, the church was built using stone quarried locally. More than 100 people filed into the building on Oct. 11, 1863 for dedication services. A year later, the Duff House, now used as a meeting area, opened. Both structures have since been designated city and national landmarks. Riverdale Presbyterian gradually grew to encompass several buildings, with restoration and expansion work
in 1925 and 1936. After World War II, the creation of the Henry Hudson Parkway and bridge coupled with the development of Fieldston started to bring people in vehicles to a church accustomed to watching members arrive on foot or in a horse-and-carriage driving on the two-way dirt road that was Riverdale Avenue.
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leveland E. Dodge, the descendant of the copper mining tycoon William E. Dodge and grandson of one of the founding Riverdalians, Cleveland H. Dodge, wrote that despite modernization, the congregation remained intimate. “The church always had a neighborly and friendly spirit and was not too formal. Often a dog would get in
and have to be chased out. In that respect, it has not changed since I first knew it,” Mr. Dodge wrote in a reflection that was included in a program for the church’s 115th anniversary. Before the church’s organ was modernized, a small boy sat in a compartment and pumped air to power the instrument. But worshipers often had to shout to awaken him during the services, according to Mr. Dodge, who died in 1982. Notes from visitors hailing from Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, California, Westchester and Missouri were included in the 1978 program, indicating the church’s wide reach. Riverdale Presbyterian’s legacy of civic engagement dates back more than a century. In 1910, church members Bayard Dodge and William R. Barbur organized one of the first Boy Scout troops, which evolved into Troop 240. Nearly every original scout served in World War I.
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n 1954, Rev. David Romig ushered in an era of youth engagement by starting a nursery school, establishing a youth choir, creating a cantine for younger members and opening the church’s stage to dozens of plays, operas and other productions. Rev. David Cockcroft, who retired in 1994, led a Riverdale United Nations Liaison Committee, chaired the New York Presbytery association and encouraged the congregation to take on global issues. Lillian Masters, who joined the church in 1963, and Joan Aldred, a member since 1968, said the congregation hosted an international children’s party, where neighborhood youth shared traditions such as origami, kite making and dances. With the influx of Japanese residents in the 1970s and 80s, the church established an international group to host English classes and help newcomers acclimate to city life. Rev. Josephine Cameron, who retired in 2008, spearheaded Riverdale Presbyterian’s involvement with a hotline for the community’s hungry. When the church had to place buckets in the sanctuary to collect rain during Sunday services, members began a series of fundraising campaigns to improve the church’s drainage system and make it accessible to the disabled. Under Rev. Cameron’s tenure, part of the proceeds was given to other churches in need of ramps. Similar to other churches throughout the country, fewer people regularly attend services at Riverdale Presbyterian. Membership peaked at 662 in 1958, but remained high when other churches struggled in the 60s and 70s. Today the church has 250 members. Despite the drop in attendance and donations, member John Morehouse said, “Even though we don’t have all the millionaires we used to, it’s easier to take care of a small, close church.”
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