By Megan Fitzpatrick
I met Rev. K Karpen on a bright Wednesday morning with a coffee in hand and a smile ready to start his day. Most likely not his start, but mine. The daily grind at St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church had already begun with palettes of food being delivered and carted through the church by the volunteers at the West Side Campaign Against Hunger (WSCAH), a non-profit serving the community from the church for 45 years.
Karpen, the senior pastor at the church, gave me a brief tour of the 40,170 square feet building and began discussing the restoration work that will soon begin on the 127-year old church. The beloved church needs a bit of TLC, and the most pressing issue, he informs me, is the restoration and stabilization of the roof. A $5.5 million project.
The historic church, celebrating a happy marriage of architectural styles, blending German Romanesque and Spanish and Italian Renaissance designs, is one of architect Robert H. Robertson’s more significant works and a fixture on the corner of West 86th Street and West End Avenue since 1897. As impressive as the outside of this house of worship is with its soaring octagonal bell tower and ornate ornamentation, the interior is just as spectacular. In 1897, the New York Times raved about the octagonal-shaped sanctuary room with “unequal sides” and “elliptical dome” ceiling. Karpen walks me from hallway to hallway, up and down carved wooden staircases, passing rooms where each one of them has some form of community use.
He tells me which rooms host Migrant Monday activities. The last time I had the pleasure of visiting Karpen at the church they were in the midst of this initiative, which helps organize meals, clothing, and legal assistance for newly arrived migrants. This is one of many initiatives at the church which places the community’s needs at the forefront. The congregation describes its building as “the engine” for their work and provides a space to care for those in need, provide education and even light entertainment in the form of the West End Theatre, home to Bedlam Theater Company, located within the upper floors of the church, and advocate for LGBT+ inclusion.
Karpen explains the congregation’s focus has always been outward. Hard times hit the neighborhood in the 1970s and 80s and ordinarily, a congregation would think, “how are we going to survive this?” Not St Paul and St Andrew. They turned to focus on what they could do for the community. People were suffering from a range of social issues, which in many cases led to malnutrition. That’s when the West Side Campaign Against Hunger got started. Congregation Rodeph Shalom and West Park Presbyterian Church were early partners. Their Meals on Wheels initiative also began around this time. These campaigns have expanded to a state-of-the-art food pantry and kitchen in the basement of the church and resources for social services to aid those in need, whether it be skill building, mental health assistance or plain life/spiritual assistance.
It was this outward action on behalf of the congregation that attracted Karpen to the church and why he has stayed for 40 years. Born and raised on Long Island, his journey to the pastorate was a slightly unorthodox one. His background in public policy and interest in activism led him to become actively involved in the struggle against South African apartheid. In 1982, arguably at the lowest point of the oppressive regime, Karpen traveled to South Africa at a time when it was difficult to do so. “It was a very important time in my life,” he says as it put him on his spiritual path. “The folks who put me up, who made sure I had a place to stay, were clergy people I met through various connections.” Additionally, it was religious leaders, like Bishop Desmond Tutu, who were active in the struggle and who he looked up to.
“When I got home, everything clicked.”
He looked to merge his activism and spiritual sides into one, and that’s how he connected with the pastor at St Paul and St Andrew Methodist Church. He began with a 9-month internship, and now he’s looking back on 40 years at the church.
Karpen marvels at the quirky design of the historic structure. “It’s a fabulously impractical building.” The large church, inspired in design by European Renaissance religious structures, has many challenges. But, the congregation has come a long way since their plan to demolish the structure in the 1980s and fight its landmarking in 1980/81. Instead of tearing it down, they decided to get creative with the space. “We call it the church of why not,” says Karpen, “there’s all the reasons why not [to do something], but that doesn’t stop the congregation.”
The congregation is desperately trying to make this old building work. Karpen says now the congregation sees the large house of worship as a resource rather than a roadblock. This positive outlook has been rewarded with grant funding. This year, the congregation received two major grants for restoration work; a quarter of a million dollars from the National Fund for Sacred Places and $45,000 from the New York Landmarks Conservancy. This money is already being put to good use as the roof restoration is underway. The original roof materials: Spanish tile, were hard to come by, but the church tracked down a factory in Ohio to make sure this was an in-kind restoration worthy of such an architectural marvel in the city.
Karpen, who served as co-chairperson of Community Board 7’s Preservation Committee, is not naive to the challenges facing stewards of landmarks. But, as he has proven over the last 40 years, he is up for the challenge.
This holiday season, there’s plenty to get involved in at St. Paul and St. Andrew’s with a full calendar of events in December. They have a host of Christmas concerts and also plays operated by Bedlam Theater. The West Side Campaign Against Hunger will continue to feed the community this holiday season and in addition to that, the congregation bakes desserts for Goddard Riverside Community Christmas Meal and they are always looking for some helping hands.