El Interchurch Center es un edificio de oficinas revestido de piedra caliza de 19 pisos ubicado en 475 Riverside Drive y West 120th Street en Morningside Heights , Manhattan , Ciudad de Nueva York . Es la sede del Servicio Mundial de Iglesias del ministerio humanitario internacional y también alberga una amplia variedad de agencias eclesiásticas y organizaciones ecuménicas e interreligiosas, así como algunas fundaciones sin fines de lucro y organizaciones religiosas, incluido el Consejo de Comunicadores Religiosos . El Consejo Nacional de Iglesiastambién ocupó el edificio desde sus inicios, pero en febrero de 2013, la NCC consolidó sus oficinas en Capitol Hill en Washington, DC, y abandonó las instalaciones de la sede de Nueva York. [1] La agencia hermana de NCC, Church World Service, sigue siendo un inquilino en el edificio.
Su concentración de organizaciones religiosas ha llevado a algunos a apodar el edificio como la Caja de Dios . [2] Samuel G. Freedman describe el edificio como "lo más parecido a un Vaticano para las principales denominaciones protestantes de Estados Unidos ". Las iglesias principales incluyen las denominaciones Episcopal , Luterana , Presbiteriana , Reformada en América , Metodista y de la Iglesia Unida de Cristo . Pero a lo largo de los años, muchos de ellos trasladaron su sede más cerca de la mayoría de sus electores, dejando solo ciertas divisiones u oficinas en las instalaciones de Nueva York. [3]
El Centro se beneficia de un fuerte entorno religioso y educativo. Uno de sus inquilinos es el Seminario Teológico de Nueva York . El edificio está ubicado inmediatamente al sur de la Iglesia Riverside y al oeste del Seminario Teológico Union y la Universidad de Columbia , y está a un corto paseo del Seminario Teológico Judío , la Escuela de Música de Manhattan , la Iglesia e Instituto Metodista Coreano y la Catedral Episcopal de San Juan el Divino . El edificio tiene su propio código postal , 10115. [4]
Historia
The Center was built in 1958 with gifts by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and other donors, together with a consortium of religious denominations, with the objective of encouraging cooperative work among such diverse religious groups as the Orthodox, African-American, and mainstream Protestant denominations and to foster the growth of ecumenical bodies such as the National Council of Churches. A condition of the Rockefeller gift was that the exterior of the structure had to be clad in the same color limestone as Riverside Church, across 120th Street, the Rockefeller's church home at the time. In the presence of a crowd of more than 30,000 gathered at the building site, the Center's cornerstone was laid by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower,[5] whose Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, and Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Arthur S. Flemming, were active in the work of the National Council of Churches.
Incidents
In 1969, James Forman, civil rights activist and executive director of the National Black Economic Development Conference (NBEDC), led a series of sit-ins at denominational offices in the building, demanding that the denominations pay reparations to black Americans. At the height of the protests, half of the Center's 2,000 employees stayed away from work in support of Forman.[6] Tenants of the building eventually obtained an injunction from the New York State Supreme Court, barring Forman and the NBEDC from the building.[7]
Inquilinos
The Center's current occupants[8] include mission boards, pension boards, and other agencies of several national denominations. Expanding on its original mission of providing a collaborative environment for a community of widely differing Christian denominations and their ecumenical activities, the Center now also houses a growing number of interfaith groups, including Odyssey Networks and The Interfaith Center of New York, plus several Jewish and Muslim organizations.
Over the 50-year history of the facility, some national churches such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (USA), following mergers with sister churches, relocated their primary offices to cities nearer to the majority of their constituencies, but have continued to maintain significant operations in the Interchurch Center.
Several city and state denominational offices, the Council of Churches of the City of New York, and groups as varied as Agricultural Missions, Inc., and the Foundation for Christian Higher Education in Asia also occupy space in the Center, along with offices and classrooms of New York Theological Seminary, and offices of The Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
National interfaith ministries in the building include Religion Communicators Council, Odyssey Networks (a religious media distribution agency of the National Interfaith Cable Coalition), and the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility.
Arquitectura
The simplicity of the building's architecture, intended to complement rather than compete with the gothic architecture of surrounding institutional buildings, has caused some critics to disparage its design. Columbia University architecture historian Andrew Dolkart calls the Center "an undistinguished, bulky, limestone building."[2] Other critics have called it "clumsily articulated," and "a squat cube".[9]
Facilities and services
Amenities provided to organizations and agencies who occupy the Center are:
- ecumenical chapel, complete with a major pipe organ installation;
- conference center with multiple breakout spaces, auditorium, boardroom;
- wellness center, offering travel immunizations, and medical consultations to the general public;[10]
- ecumenical library, with 17,000 books and 55 periodical titles;[11]
- full-service cafeteria, buffet dining room, and catering operation;[12]
- art gallery where paintings, sculpture and photography exhibits are rotated throughout the year.
- multi-level parking garage beneath the building.
A Wednesday noontime concert series during the spring and fall features classical, gospel, jazz and choral music at no charge and open to the general public. The Interchurch Center Chorus and the Gospel Choir, both populated by tenant employees, present periodic concerts in the Center's chapel.[13]
Transporte
The Interchurch Center is served by the M5 bus on Riverside Drive, M4, M104 buses along Broadway, and the M11 and M60 SBS buses on Amsterdam Avenue. In addition, the 1 train of the New York City Subway stops at 125th Street and Broadway.[14]
Ver también
- Ecumenical Centre, another building complex for multiple religious organizations in Geneva, Switzerland
Referencias
- ^ Michael Grybowski, "National Council of Churches to Shut Down 'God Box' Office" Christian Post, February 14, 2013
- ^ a b Dolkart, Andrew S (2001). Morningside Heights: A History of Its Architecture and Development. Columbia University Press. p. 326. ISBN 0-231-07851-X.
- ^ The American Spectator : End of the Mainline. Spectator.org. Retrieved on September 7, 2013.
- ^ As indicated by the boundaries on the USPS website's map: https://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/10115/
- ^ "Our History - The Interchurch Center". The Interchurch Center. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- ^ "MANY AT CENTER SUPPORT FORMAN; Interchurch Employes Stay Away From Work for Day". The New York Times. June 10, 1969. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- ^ "Forman Defies a Court Order To Leave Interchurch Center". The New York Times. June 18, 1969. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- ^ "Tenant Directory - The Interchurch Center". The Interchurch Center. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- ^ Schneider, Daniel B. (July 6, 1997). "F.y.i." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- ^ "Wellness Center & Travel Immunizations - The Interchurch Center". The Interchurch Center. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- ^ "Ruth Stafford Peale Library - The Interchurch Center". The Interchurch Center. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- ^ "The Spot Café (Aramark) - The Interchurch Center". The Interchurch Center. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- ^ "Music at The Interchurch Center - The Interchurch Center". The Interchurch Center. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- ^ "Manhattan Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
enlaces externos
- Official website
Coordinates: 40°48′38.87″N 73°57′49.45″W / 40.8107972°N 73.9637361°W / 40.8107972; -73.9637361