Kate Walter
Middle Collegiate Church
Village Sun article

My beloved church burned down

Dec 11, 2020
By Kate Walter
As if this year could not get any worse, my house of worship burned down early Saturday morning, December 5. My friend who has the Citizen app texted, saying she hoped it was not my church. It was.

I started crying when I saw the videos of the flames roaring through the roof of Middle Collegiate Church on Second Avenue. I’ve been a member of Middle Church for 12 years.
I joined after I went through a devastating gay breakup. Attending services at Middle helped me rebuild my life and get back in touch with my spiritual side. I felt so calm in the sanctuary with its beautiful Tiffany stained-glass windows. The sanctuary was destroyed, all the windows blown out….

What always struck me about the congregation was its diversity. It is racially, ethnically, culturally and economically diverse. Someone wrote on Facebook that one time when she went to services at Middle Church, a homeless person sat to her left and a celebrity was on her right.

I think it’s fair to say there is no other congregation in New York City like Middle Collegiate Church. Its motto is “Welcoming, Artistic, Inclusive, Bold.” As a recovering Catholic, who fled a homophobic church, I felt at home and embraced.

Read the entire article published in The Village Sun HERE