History of St. Simeon’s Episcopal Church, formerly worshipping at 1020 Carroll Place:

Early history of the Bronx began with the move northward; i.e. of Manhattan to form a collection of neighborhoods.  Initially, there were six neighborhoods. As that these neighborhoods were the nearest to midtown Manhattan, they were the first to receive rapid transit connections.  For example, in 1887, the Melrose section of The Bronx first received its influx of people to The Bronx via rapid transit. The Bronx gained its status of becoming a borough in 1897. Many leaders shared the honor of being potent forces in the growth of the borough.   Growth of the borough continued with more people migrating to The Bronx. History books inform us that from the late 1890’s, Melrose for one was populated by Germans and Italians. Later on, Eastern European Jews were living amidst the older inhabitants. Melrose was not where the elite lived.  As The Bronx grew and began to prosper, places of worship also developed.

St. Simeon’s Episcopal Church is one of those churches which obtained its birthright in The Bronx.  St. Simeon’s began in what some refer to as a carriage house but most will say it was a barn. In 1898, when Fleetwood track, a racetrack had closed, city authorities opted to close it down and run streets through it; the area was becoming increasingly more populated.  This barn had sheltered very famous horses and the site itself had been quite near to what had been the racetrack gate. In April of 1899, two laymen of the Lay Helper’s Association, Messrs. James H. Falconer and James A. Aborn, began the first services. The initiation of this mission proceeded under the tutelage of the Archdeaconry of New York.  Some members like The Reverend Charles C. Tiffany, The Reverend Dr. David H. Greer and The Reverend Dr. J. Lewis Parks had concerns. They were skeptical about beginning in a barn and utilizing lay men; some time elapsed before the first day of worship occurred. The laymen expressed the correlation of Christ’s giving the Parable of the Sower in a fishing boat.  If Jesus Christ served the people in a fishing boat then certainly the Church could serve the people in a barn. This lesson was the beginning of a study of Christ’s economy which was transformed into a book that is standard teaching tool in seminaries and colleges. That book attributes its start from the barn, from the Archdeaconry and from St. Simeon’s.

Eventually, the mission of St. Simeon’s received its first priest in charge, Reverend Ralph Jervis Walker.  A plot, which was approximately two blocks north of the furnished barn, at Morris Avenue and 165 Street in the Melrose section of The Bronx, was purchased by the Archdeaconry of New York.  This 80 X 100 feet piece of land which cost $7,500 and had been obtained with aid furnished by Trinity parish would be the site for the new chapel. During Lent, the evening of March 20, 1906, at a lecture and assembly hall, the Bishop received notice from the wardens of St. Simeon Mission that Rev. Walker had been elected rector.  On November 14, 1906, The Bronx mission of St. Simeon’s was organized as a parish. The Archdeaconry reported that St. Simeon’s exemplified good object lessons of value of helping people to help themselves. It further illustrated that the mission sought to excel at the edifying of the church.

The laymen who were still very active and interested in the development of the parish soon learned of more structural changes in the neighborhood and dutifully informed Bishop David Greer.  A new triangular site which seemed more commanding and strategic with streets on each side availed itself. The neighborhood was rapidly growing with private dwellings and apartment buildings.  The benefactors of this gift were William Waldorf Astor and Mr. Augustus Newbold Morris. The other site had just about doubled in value therefore that property was sold and its profits put in a building fund for the newly acquired site.  The plan for the new site included a church, a rectory, and a parish house. The leaders of this endeavor were Messrs. Bossworth and Holden, the architects of the Bronx Church House. Reports given were that the building would be able to accommodate two to four hundred people.  The style was a modified Gothic with white, native, stone material. Some of the stone was secured when the subway was being excavated. According to the plans, the rectory at the side of the nave would have an adjoining chancel with a sacristy and choir rooms. On Sunday, June 9, 1907, St. Simeon’s held its first service on the newly acquired land in its newly built crypt.  The slope of the land made for an unusually, deep basement. The chancel was elevated four or five steps above the crypt floor through which entry was gained via a special doorway. The rectory which would be later used by the rector and his family was near completion. On Sunday, December 15, 1907, Bishop Greer assisted by Archdeacon Nelson dedicated the new crypt of St. Simeon’s church and preached the sermon.  The Bishop praised and commended the congregation upon their success in becoming a parish and being able to erect their own edifice especially at a time when land was so expensive and valuable. The 1905 Journal of Convention reported that the congregation had 220 communicants, 530 baptized persons, 14 Sunday school teachers and 180 Sunday school scholars.

In February 1922, impressive ceremonies marked St. Simeon’s consecration service.  Bishop William T. Manning officiated. Clergymen from the Bronx and other boroughs were present in their numbers, approximately 750.  On that day Bishop Manning and others processed to and around Sheridan Avenue and were met at the church door by the wardens and vestrymen.  As the procession continued up the nave Psalm 24 was repeated. At this time, the parish house and the tower were not completed. They were scheduled to be a memorial to Bishop Charles S. Burch.  

St. Simeon’s has endured phases of feasts and phases of famine. We feasted when we provided many programs for the community. Some programs offered included GED preparation, after school, adult literacy, computer applications and summer youth.   After its many years of service to the community, the building had to be demolished; the building had deteriorated structurally beyond reasonable repair. In addition, it was deemed unsafe for the congregation and general public. On January 5, 2003, Bishop E. Don Taylor performed a service to deconsecrate the church building.  When St. Simeon’s worshipped at St. Martha’s on Hunt Avenue, the parish encountered many limitations. In addition to declining membership which was attributed to the commute parishioners now had to take two or three buses to get to church. Community involvement became nonexistent; both community and parish suffered tremendously from that separation. Throughout St. Simeon’s history, the parishioners have proven themselves to be a determined and hard-working class of people with unfaltering faith.  Today, the parish continues to struggle to reclaim its home at 1020 Carroll Place and rebuild on that site where there are streets on each side. Like years ago, The Bronx is again undergoing remarkable change and redevelopment and St. Simeon’s hopes to reengage and be active. The parishioners of St. Simeon’s are displaced but not down. In 2017 the congregation joined the “Church without Walls along with St. David’s Church and Iglesia San Juan Bautista in a redevelopment plan.  Presently the congregation worships at St. David’s Church nearby and holds weekly services on Sundays in July and August at the Carroll Place and 165th St. site, presently called St. Simeon’s Triangle, the past and future home of St. Simeon’s Church.

The Episcopal / Anglican Church Really Welcomes All, A Place to Belong for All People

The Bronx Church without Walls is a Regional Ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of New York

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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