Welcome
Thank you for visiting our church website. We are a diverse congregation representing more than 40 nationalities. Located on the upper east side of New York City, our members and friends come from all five boroughs, New Jersey and other areas of New York to worship each week. Everyone is welcome and we would love to have you join us at one of our three Sunday worship services:
| 9 a.m. | Communion service |
| 11:00 a.m. | Traditional worship with full choir |
| 6:30 p.m. | Space for Grace contemporary service |
We also have a Prayer service with Communion each Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m.
Our doors remain open throughout the week for visitors and friends to take a moment for prayer, to find comfort and solace, and to have a quiet refuge from the city’s hustle and the challenges of life. We strive to be a Christ-centered community that responds faithfully to God’s call to love one another as we worship, pray, serve, and fellowship together.
Please take some time to explore our web site and stop by to visit when possible. We hope that you will be refreshed and restored on your journey of faith.
What We Believe
As United Methodists, we believe that our purpose is to make disciples for Christ Jesus. To do this, we seek, welcome, and gather people of faith into the fellowship of the church where we assist persons to grow in faith in the following ways:
The Universal Church
We acknowledge the church universal as the Body of Christ and work in ministries that link us with Christians of other denominations.
The Triune God
With Christians of other faith traditions, we believe in God as trinity – the three in one – known to us through the Father or Creator, Son, and Holy Spirit. God reveals God’s self to us through these distinct and fully joined persons.
Preaching
Preaching is central to the United Methodist Church and is grounded in Scripture, draws on teachings and traditions dating to the early church, relates to contemporary Christian life, and is tested by reason. In preaching and teaching, United Methodists focus on the Good News of Jesus Christ for all people, including persons of all ages, races, cultures, financial means, abilities and genders.
God’s Gracious Love
Although we recognize that suffering, violence, and evil exist in the world, we believe that God’s grace is offered freely to all, is found everywhere, and that God’s plan for the world is both a present and future reality. We believe that God calls us to repent of sin, forgives us, accepts us, and gives us the hope of eternal life – through Jesus Christ. Further, we believe that our salvation is shown through good works
and that service to the community and the world are necessary for a truly Christian life. United Methodists reach out in mission – locally and throughout the world – as a way of establishing peace and justice for all people.
Personal and Public Worship
We believe that private prayer and regular worship attendance are essential to the Christian faith. We believe in two sacraments – Baptism and Communion – as means of grace, not just memorials of events in the life of Jesus. Entrance into the church is acknowledged at Baptism and for those baptized as infants is reaffirmed at Confirmation. Members of the local congregation are members of the entire United Methodist Church and we promise to support the church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. For United Methodists, the Lord’s Table is open to all persons, including children and non-members.
Vision & Mission
OUR VISION
We affirm Christ's call to love God with all that we are, and our neighbor as ourselves.
In response to that call, we pledge ourselves to be open to and affirming of all people, regardless of gender, race, age, culture, ethnic background, sexual orientation, economic circumstance, family configuration or difference in ability.
All who affirm the love of Christ in their lives are welcome to this community, and to share fully its life and ministry. In response to the grace which Christ has given us, we glorify God, commit ourselves to growth in the Spirit, and we rejoice in the worth, gifts and dignity of every person as a child of God.
OUR MISSION
(Adopted by Church Council October 23rd 2001)
We, the members of Park Avenue United Methodist Church, are an inclusive, Christ-centered community of faith seeking through worship, prayer, service and fellowship to respond creatively to God's call to love and care for others.
United Methodist Community
As a United Methodist congregation, we are part of a worldwide church that operates across the nation and around the world. This Link Scheme supports the life and mission of the Methodist community, and provides you a source of news, information and practical resources:
- A resource for personal and daily devotional.
- A resource for Bible Reading through the Church year.
- Our own Sunday sermons are themed to these reading.
Our History
The Park Avenue Methodist church was founded in 1837 “in a building opposite Hazard’s Tavern, in a room above a rum-selling store,” at what today is Third Ave and 85th Street. The pastor of John Street Methodist Chapel rode his horse up to “Yorkville” to conduct services in private homes. Yorkville, then, was a small rural village of open farms, fields, and country lanes.
Soon after incorporation, the congregation purchased a corner plot, next to the railroad. The building was contributed to by our then-neighbor John Jacob Astor, and included solid oak timbers from the famed 1768 John Street Church – the first Methodist Church built in America, in the present Wall Street area. That building was destroyed by fire.
The second building, dedicated in 1885, was regarded throughout the city as ‘the Great Church.’ It fell into disrepair and, since new construction was less expensive that restoration, it was demolished.
In 1926, the current building was built with the apartment building on the corner. The architect, Henry C. Pelton, also designed the great Riverside Church. The church envisioned securing its financial future in the rental of the apartments next door. However, the depression changed that picture, and the church divested of the apartments in the 1950’s.
The outstanding stewardship of The Park Avenue Trust, and the continuing generous support and bequests of our congregation and visitors enable us to support God’s work in our neighborhood, across the US, and in many places around the world.
Park Avenue Methodist Day School
Park Avenue Methodist Day School, located on the premises of Park Avenue United Methodist Church, offers 75-80 pre-school children and their families an opportunity to embark on an educational path completely focused on the child's growth and individual talents. While the Day School is part of the legal structure of the Church, it operates as a non-sectarian school, welcoming families of all backgrounds and faiths. For more information about the Day School website, including admissions information, please visit the website: http://pamdayschool.org/
About our Senior Pastor
The Reverend Dr. Cathy S. Gilliard is a native of North Carolina where she was originally ordained as an American Baptist minister. After joining the pastoral staff at Christ Church United Methodist (Manhattan) she transferred her ordination to the New York Annual Conference and later became a full Methodist elder. She served Christ Church for nearly 8 years before starting her new appointment at Park Avenue Methodist on July 1, 2011.
About our Associate Pastor
Mandy Iahn was born and raised in Brunswick, Ohio, the youngest of three children. She attended college at Ohio University and graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. Before attending Princeton Theological Seminary in 2002, she lived briefly in both New York City and Los Angeles.