One Year Later
The following is the text of the email sent out on the one-year anniversary of the Lexington Avenue waterman break.
Dear faithful people of Saint Peter’s,
It was one year ago today that the City water main pipe running under Lexington Avenue ruptured, leading to the overwhelming damage to our church building. The details of that day remain as vivid for me as ever. I imagine this is the case for many of us. Where we were when we received the news. Our initial impression of what we saw. Who we first told. These things come easily and often to mind.
A year later, we know this is no short road we travel. It is not simply the complexity of our building, the condominium relationship or the devastation itself — all compounded by the realities of COVID-19. It is also that out of tragedy rises opportunity. As the team working to enumerate the loss compiles our comprehensive “in kind” rebuild, a team of visionaries is also engaging possibilities for the future. What can we invest in today for greater longevity tomorrow? How can we configure our space to better serve our community? In a structure once interconnected with the wider corporate complex giving Midtown impressive public space, how do we renew that legacy within our building ourselves?
In short, nearly 50 years since the dedication of Saint Peter’s Church, how can our effort to rebuild from tragedy foster new life well into the century ahead not simply at Saint Peter’s, but in the City we love and call home.
A lot has been accomplished. From the initial mitigation of damage to removal and emergency treatment of archival material, teams of people acted decisively and swiftly. Our iconic Klais organ is in safe, capable hands and repairs are nearing completion. We have a binder filled with damage reports, as well as means and methods procedures for everything from cleaning the Sanctuary’s granite floor to replacing fried electric systems. (You can read about these early steps on our website).
In the coming weeks we expect to submit the building insurance claim to the condominum’s insurance company. Since Thanksgiving, our dedicated consultants have sharpened that claim with skill and almost maniacal attention to detail. Given the dynamics with the condominium to date, we expect and will be ready for an aggressive fight.
As this settlement process reaches clarity, we will channel this information into a few planning tools we have already developed. These will give us the “big picture” and “long range” views we need to make informed decisions about rebuilding for the future. We hope to make — and continue to work toward — a comprehensive presentation to the congregation on January 29.
A year later, we look to the future with hope. This hope is in no small way thanks to the dedication of key leaders in our community.
Members of our Administration and Finance Cabinet, working with our Design Committee, Core Committee of the Strategic Plan, staff andleaders of partners in ministry, meet weekly in a series of working groups. They have waded through challenges beyond anyone’s imagining with focus, creativity and joy. Very special thanks to Craig Kahler, Ace Clark and Ed Wagner who diligently channel even the smallest of details into our comprehensive planning.
Numerous volunteers have helped sort materials, rearrange spaces and haul all manner of things up multiple flights of stairs. No one involved with this piece of the effort expects to be thanked publicly, but everyone would point to Tracy Christensen’s leadership and dedication. To all of you, many thanks.
The ingenuity and hard work of our staff, already responding with dexterity to the uncertainties of the pandemic, is inspiring. Particular thanks is due to Manuel Tilca, Jason Millare, Colin Corrigan and James Beaudreau, who have been able to adjust our technology and physical set-up multiple times in order to hold — and live stream — liturgies in the Narthex, Living Room and Sanctuary this past year.
No person is as close to every detail of this loss and the potential for the future as Sarah Moga. Sarah has weathered the ups and downs of the last 365 days with an unparalleled level of professional excellence, while also attending to a long list of regular duties. Sarah is not merely our Director of Administration and Finance, she is a faithful servant of this church.
We are blessed, too, by the two Presidents of our congregation whose leadership has spanned this year. Christopher Vergara led our Parish Council with a steady and determined hand through the earliest days of this tragedy. Suzanne Loranc became our President in the midst of uncertainty, and is leading us forward with vision and grace.
And finally, each and every single one of you. You are members of Saint Peter’s, you are friends of this place, you are supporters of this ministry, you are partners in mission. You have prayed. You have sent cards. You have provided financial support. You have, and you continue to meet this moment with fortitude, patience, energy and love.
Though a long road, we are in fact on a road toward a bright and vibrant future. And, we are on this road together. Together, we are overcoming obstacles and embracing unplanned opportunities. And because we are doing this together, a year after a tragedy none of us could ever have seen coming, we are already beginning to see that future taking shape today.
However you mark this day, think of a year ago today. And, think of tomorrow. Perhaps, like me, you might even start to see this year and the years still to come as nothing other than blessings from God. In the words of Nikolai Grundtvig (1783-1872): “Where two or three will seek his face, he in the midst will show his grace, blessings upon them bestowing” (Built on a rock the church shall stand, ELW 652). Blessings, for a year hence, we are stronger, more resilient and more closely together than any of us could ever have imagined. And for these blessings, I pray you will join me in saying: thanks be to God.
Grace and peace to you,
Jared R. Stahler
Senior Pastor