St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (Albany, New York)
Encyclopedia
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church is located at North Main and Madison (U.S. Route 20
) avenues in Albany
, New York, United States. It is a complex of three buildings, centered around the church itself, a stone structure designed by architect Norman Sturgis in the Late Gothic Revival architectural style
and built in 1930. In 2005 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
The congregation was established by a downtown church, St. Paul's, from a neighborhood mission near the end of the 19th century. It was one of the first churches started in the suburban areas of the city, as it expanded away from its historic core. St. Andrew's soon built its own church (since demolished to make room for the current attached parish house
) and established itself as a separate parish.
Sturgis' structure was meant to embody the ideals of his mentor, Ralph Adams Cram
, which valued the English Gothic
styles as ideal for Episcopal and Anglican worship since such buildings were where it had originally been practiced. Accordingly, it is modeled in part on St. Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire
, England, and a Roman brick
from that location is located in the hyphen
between the church and the parish hall. But it is not an exact copy, and Sturgis himself described it as "an attempt to express fundamental truths in a new way to tell an old, old story in new words". It is considered one of the best examples of the 20th-century Late Gothic Revival style in Albany.
east of where those streets split, in the Pine Hills
neighborhood. The College of St. Rose is immediately to the east, with the surrounding buildings on all sides either large institutional buildings or apartments or single-family houses. The terrain is generally level.
Three buildings comprise the church complex. The largest is the combined church–parish house, with the latter joined to the former at a corner. In the eastern corner of the lot is the rectory
, also a contributing resource
to the National Register listing, and a small garage which is too modern to be considered contributing. A parking lot is in the southeast corner of the property, and a small grove of mature shade trees on the southwest.
The church is built of brown granite
with limestone
trim. It has three parts: a two-story main block with gable
d roof, wings on either side with shed roofs, and a one-story projecting entrance pavilion on the south (front) facade
. A wide square bell tower
rises to three stories from the rear; it has gabled pavilions on the east and west as well.
Exterior decoration
is minimal. The double-doored main entrance, on the south pavilion, is located within a deeply recessed lancet arch with a molded
head flanked by piers topped with cusped niches. It is flanked by two metal lantern-style lights. Above it is a parapet
in the pavilion's flat roof. Two large buttress
s rise from either side, framing the large lancet-arched window in the gable field. A stone cross is at the apex. The main roof and the gables on the bell tower are tile
d; the shed roofs are metallic.
Paneled wooden doors open into an anteroom, from which another set, flanked by single wooden doors that correspond to the side aisles, lead to the sanctuary
. The high and narrow nave
has an arcade
; the chancel
is even narrower. Flooring is wood beneath the pews and stone elsewhere. All interior furnishings are of white oak
. Windows are set with stained glass
. The ceiling is framed in Douglas fir, solid except for the truss
es, made of curved and straight members bolted together. Half-timbers form a crossing pattern on the ceiling. There are 32 stained glass
windows.
A columbarium
is located on the west wall, with a baptismal font
on the east. The east wing of the chancel serves as a small chapel
. In the hyphen
beneath the bell tower, connecting the church and parish house, there is a Roman brick
from the site of St. Albans Abbey
in Hertfordshire, England.
The parish hall is a two-story structure faced in light brick. On its first floor is a large meeting hall, bathrooms, the rector's office and a cloakroom. The second floor has classrooms for Sunday school
. In the basement is a smaller meeting room, more classrooms, and the heating plant for the building.
To the northeast of the church and parish hall is the rectory
. It is a two-and-a-half-story timber frame
house in the Colonial Revival style, topped by a hipped roof
with central gable. Along its north (front) facade
, facing Western Avenue, is a full-length porch. It is currently rented to a local non-profit, which uses it as offices. The modern garage is located to the south.
, elected the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany
upon its 1868 creation, saw the potential for growth of the church in places it had not previously been. Encouraged by that, in 1892 St. Paul's Church on Lancaster Street established the St. Andrew's Chapel in an old bank building on Madison Street, at the end of a trolley line in an area where the city was beginning to expand west from the core downtown areas where it had flourished since being settled by the Dutch
in the 17th century. It was soon moved to the former School No. 4 building on Ontario Street.
Two years later, that space had been outgrown. A new chapel was built for $10,000 ($ in modern dollars) in 1897 on Western Avenue near North Main, the same space occupied by the rectory today. Two years later, in 1899, the chapel petitioned the diocese to separate itself from its parent church, since its congregation was increasingly composed of residents of the area who had no historical connection to the founding church. It was granted later that year and St. Andrew's became its own parish
, after agreeing to assume some of the financial obligations that had previously been St. Paul's.
Growth continued. The chancel
of the new church was enlarged in 1901. It was still not large enough to handle the expanding congregation. In the late 1910s, the parish began planning for a new building. It bought the land south of the church in 1920 and began a fundraising campaign. Eventually it was able to accumulate enough money and on St. Andrew's Day
, November 30, 1930, the cornerstone
was laid. It was completed in time for dedication ceremonies the following Easter
, at a cost of $250,000 ($ in modern dollars).
Architect Norman Sturgis designed the church to reflect the values of his mentor, Ralph Adams Cram
, for whom he had worked as a draftsman after graduating from Harvard University's School of Architecture
in 1913. Cram's own Episcopal churches had hewed closely to the Gothic designs of historic churches in England, which he deemed the only proper mode for Episcopal buildings. But at the same time he believed that style should be interpreted in modern ways, and the buildings not be mere copies of English originals. This style, as interpreted by Cram and others, became known as Collegiate Gothic
since many of its exponent buildings were located on college campuses.
Upon its completion, Sturgis described St. Andrew's as "an attempt to express fundamental truths in a new way to tell an old, old story in new words." Its English model was the St. Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire. Many of the craftsmen hired to build the church were local to Albany as the church was trying to help ease the effects of the Great Depression
, which had just begun.
Despite difficulties raised by World War II
, the mortgage was finally paid off and burned in 1947. Bishop Ashton Oldham consecrated
the church not long afterwards. With its status now secure, in the 1950s the church began improving its physical plant. In 1956 the original 1897 church, which had been serving as the parish house
, was demolished to allow the construction of the attached building that presently serves the same purpose. Its architects used light brown brick to better blend with the church. A Roman brick
from St. Albans Abbey in England, Sturgis' partial model for the church, would later be installed in the hyphen
connecting the two. Some time afterwards, the 1900 house that served as the church's rectory was purchased.
Echoing its own beginnings and reflecting the further suburban development of the Albany area in the mid-20th century, St. Andrew's established the mission parish of St. Boniface in Guilderland
, just outside the city, in 1961. Nine years later, in 1970, the church bought and installed a new organ. In 1979 a thrift shop, The Shop at St. Andrew's, was opened. The most recent change to the church has been the installation of the columbarium
in 1992, for which some of the original pews were removed.
and the later service using the whole church and music. Both use Rite Two from the Book of Common Prayer
. Sunday school
is also offered during that time. Tuesday's Eucharist and Intercession
s service is often led by members of the congregation.
St. Andrew's offers many ministry programs. "Love Thy Neighborhood" dinners are held regularly for the members of the surrounding community. The thrift shop is its major community outreach program, offering items donated by members, primarily clothing. It rents space to groups from the college and elsewhere in the community.
U.S. Route 20 in New York
U.S. Route 20 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Newport, Oregon, to Boston, Massachusetts. In the U.S. state of New York, US 20 extends from the Pennsylvania state line at Ripley to the Massachusetts state line in the Berkshire Mountains. US 20 is the longest...
) avenues in Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, New York, United States. It is a complex of three buildings, centered around the church itself, a stone structure designed by architect Norman Sturgis in the Late Gothic Revival architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
and built in 1930. In 2005 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
The congregation was established by a downtown church, St. Paul's, from a neighborhood mission near the end of the 19th century. It was one of the first churches started in the suburban areas of the city, as it expanded away from its historic core. St. Andrew's soon built its own church (since demolished to make room for the current attached parish house
Church hall
A church hall is a room or building associated with a church, general for community and charitable use . It is normally located near the church, typically in smaller and village communities. Activities in the hall are not necessarily religious, but are typically an important part of local community...
) and established itself as a separate parish.
Sturgis' structure was meant to embody the ideals of his mentor, Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
, which valued the English Gothic
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
styles as ideal for Episcopal and Anglican worship since such buildings were where it had originally been practiced. Accordingly, it is modeled in part on St. Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England, and a Roman brick
Roman brick
Roman brick can refer either to a type of brick originating in Ancient Rome and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered; or to a modern type of brick, inspired by the ancient prototypes...
from that location is located in the hyphen
Hyphen (architecture)
In architecture, a hyphen is a connecting link between two larger building elements. It is typically found in Georgian style architecture, where the hyphens form connections between a large central house and end pavilions in the Georgian five-part house, which was in turn derived from Palladian...
between the church and the parish hall. But it is not an exact copy, and Sturgis himself described it as "an attempt to express fundamental truths in a new way to tell an old, old story in new words". It is considered one of the best examples of the 20th-century Late Gothic Revival style in Albany.
Building
The church occupies the western half of the block of North Main between Madison on the south and Western Avenue on the north, two blocksCity block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
east of where those streets split, in the Pine Hills
Pine Hills, Albany, New York
Pine Hills is a neighborhood in Albany, New York, generally defined as the area from Manning Boulevard to the west, Woodlawn Avenue to the south, Lake Avenue to the east, and Washington Avenue to the north. The neighborhood consists mainly of freestanding multi-unit, duplex, and semi-detached...
neighborhood. The College of St. Rose is immediately to the east, with the surrounding buildings on all sides either large institutional buildings or apartments or single-family houses. The terrain is generally level.
Three buildings comprise the church complex. The largest is the combined church–parish house, with the latter joined to the former at a corner. In the eastern corner of the lot is the rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
, also a contributing resource
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the National Register listing, and a small garage which is too modern to be considered contributing. A parking lot is in the southeast corner of the property, and a small grove of mature shade trees on the southwest.
The church is built of brown granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
with limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
trim. It has three parts: a two-story main block with gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof, wings on either side with shed roofs, and a one-story projecting entrance pavilion on the south (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
. A wide square bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
rises to three stories from the rear; it has gabled pavilions on the east and west as well.
Exterior decoration
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
is minimal. The double-doored main entrance, on the south pavilion, is located within a deeply recessed lancet arch with a molded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
head flanked by piers topped with cusped niches. It is flanked by two metal lantern-style lights. Above it is a parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
in the pavilion's flat roof. Two large buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
s rise from either side, framing the large lancet-arched window in the gable field. A stone cross is at the apex. The main roof and the gables on the bell tower are tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
d; the shed roofs are metallic.
Paneled wooden doors open into an anteroom, from which another set, flanked by single wooden doors that correspond to the side aisles, lead to the sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
. The high and narrow nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
has an arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
; the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
is even narrower. Flooring is wood beneath the pews and stone elsewhere. All interior furnishings are of white oak
White oak
Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...
. Windows are set with stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
. The ceiling is framed in Douglas fir, solid except for the truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
es, made of curved and straight members bolted together. Half-timbers form a crossing pattern on the ceiling. There are 32 stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows.
A columbarium
Columbarium
A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns . The term comes from the Latin columba and originally referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons .The Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas is a particularly fine ancient Roman example, rich in...
is located on the west wall, with a baptismal font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
on the east. The east wing of the chancel serves as a small chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
. In the hyphen
Hyphen (architecture)
In architecture, a hyphen is a connecting link between two larger building elements. It is typically found in Georgian style architecture, where the hyphens form connections between a large central house and end pavilions in the Georgian five-part house, which was in turn derived from Palladian...
beneath the bell tower, connecting the church and parish house, there is a Roman brick
Roman brick
Roman brick can refer either to a type of brick originating in Ancient Rome and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered; or to a modern type of brick, inspired by the ancient prototypes...
from the site of St. Albans Abbey
St Albans Cathedral
St Albans Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral church at St Albans, England. At , its nave is the longest of any cathedral in England...
in Hertfordshire, England.
The parish hall is a two-story structure faced in light brick. On its first floor is a large meeting hall, bathrooms, the rector's office and a cloakroom. The second floor has classrooms for Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
. In the basement is a smaller meeting room, more classrooms, and the heating plant for the building.
To the northeast of the church and parish hall is the rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
. It is a two-and-a-half-story timber frame
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
house in the Colonial Revival style, topped by a hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
with central gable. Along its north (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
, facing Western Avenue, is a full-length porch. It is currently rented to a local non-profit, which uses it as offices. The modern garage is located to the south.
History
William Croswell DoaneWilliam Croswell Doane
The Right Reverend William Croswell Doane was the 1st Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany in the United States. He was bishop from 1869 until his death in 1913. As a student at Burlington College, New Jersey , he was a founding member of a chapter of the college society St...
, elected the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany
Episcopal Diocese of Albany
The Episcopal Diocese of Albany is part of Province 2 of the Episcopal Church.-History:The Church of Englandarrived in 1674 with a chaplain assigned to the British military garrison at Albany, New York. In 1704 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel sent two missionaries to the Mohawk...
upon its 1868 creation, saw the potential for growth of the church in places it had not previously been. Encouraged by that, in 1892 St. Paul's Church on Lancaster Street established the St. Andrew's Chapel in an old bank building on Madison Street, at the end of a trolley line in an area where the city was beginning to expand west from the core downtown areas where it had flourished since being settled by the Dutch
Dutch colonization of the Americas
Dutch trading posts and plantations in the Americas precede the much wider known colonization activities of the Dutch in Asia. Whereas the first Dutch fort in Asia was built in 1600 , the first forts and settlements on the Essequibo river in Guyana and on the Amazon date from the 1590s...
in the 17th century. It was soon moved to the former School No. 4 building on Ontario Street.
Two years later, that space had been outgrown. A new chapel was built for $10,000 ($ in modern dollars) in 1897 on Western Avenue near North Main, the same space occupied by the rectory today. Two years later, in 1899, the chapel petitioned the diocese to separate itself from its parent church, since its congregation was increasingly composed of residents of the area who had no historical connection to the founding church. It was granted later that year and St. Andrew's became its own parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
, after agreeing to assume some of the financial obligations that had previously been St. Paul's.
Growth continued. The chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
of the new church was enlarged in 1901. It was still not large enough to handle the expanding congregation. In the late 1910s, the parish began planning for a new building. It bought the land south of the church in 1920 and began a fundraising campaign. Eventually it was able to accumulate enough money and on St. Andrew's Day
St. Andrew's Day
St Andrew's Day is the feast day of Saint Andrew. It is celebrated on 30 November.Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and St Andrew's Day is Scotland's official national day...
, November 30, 1930, the cornerstone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
was laid. It was completed in time for dedication ceremonies the following Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, at a cost of $250,000 ($ in modern dollars).
Architect Norman Sturgis designed the church to reflect the values of his mentor, Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
, for whom he had worked as a draftsman after graduating from Harvard University's School of Architecture
Harvard Graduate School of Design
The Harvard Graduate School of Design is a graduate school at Harvard University offering degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design.-History:...
in 1913. Cram's own Episcopal churches had hewed closely to the Gothic designs of historic churches in England, which he deemed the only proper mode for Episcopal buildings. But at the same time he believed that style should be interpreted in modern ways, and the buildings not be mere copies of English originals. This style, as interpreted by Cram and others, became known as Collegiate Gothic
Collegiate Gothic in North America
Collegiate Gothic is an architectural genre, a subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture.-History:The beginnings of Collegiate Gothic in North America date back to 1894 when Cope & Stewardson completed Pembroke Hall on the campus of Bryn Mawr College...
since many of its exponent buildings were located on college campuses.
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, which had just begun.
Despite difficulties raised by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the mortgage was finally paid off and burned in 1947. Bishop Ashton Oldham consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
the church not long afterwards. With its status now secure, in the 1950s the church began improving its physical plant. In 1956 the original 1897 church, which had been serving as the parish house
Church hall
A church hall is a room or building associated with a church, general for community and charitable use . It is normally located near the church, typically in smaller and village communities. Activities in the hall are not necessarily religious, but are typically an important part of local community...
, was demolished to allow the construction of the attached building that presently serves the same purpose. Its architects used light brown brick to better blend with the church. A Roman brick
Roman brick
Roman brick can refer either to a type of brick originating in Ancient Rome and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered; or to a modern type of brick, inspired by the ancient prototypes...
from St. Albans Abbey in England, Sturgis' partial model for the church, would later be installed in the hyphen
Hyphen (architecture)
In architecture, a hyphen is a connecting link between two larger building elements. It is typically found in Georgian style architecture, where the hyphens form connections between a large central house and end pavilions in the Georgian five-part house, which was in turn derived from Palladian...
connecting the two. Some time afterwards, the 1900 house that served as the church's rectory was purchased.
Echoing its own beginnings and reflecting the further suburban development of the Albany area in the mid-20th century, St. Andrew's established the mission parish of St. Boniface in Guilderland
Guilderland, New York
Guilderland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. In the 2010 census, the town had a population of 35,303. The town is named for the Gelderland province in the Netherlands....
, just outside the city, in 1961. Nine years later, in 1970, the church bought and installed a new organ. In 1979 a thrift shop, The Shop at St. Andrew's, was opened. The most recent change to the church has been the installation of the columbarium
Columbarium
A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns . The term comes from the Latin columba and originally referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons .The Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas is a particularly fine ancient Roman example, rich in...
in 1992, for which some of the original pews were removed.
Programs
The church holds services on Sunday mornings and Tuesday evenings. Both Sunday services are Holy Eucharist, with the earlier one held in the chapel with a purely spoken liturgyLiturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
and the later service using the whole church and music. Both use Rite Two from the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
. Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
is also offered during that time. Tuesday's Eucharist and Intercession
Intercession
Intercession is the act of interceding between two parties. In both Christian and Islamic religious usage, it is a prayer to God on behalf of others....
s service is often led by members of the congregation.
St. Andrew's offers many ministry programs. "Love Thy Neighborhood" dinners are held regularly for the members of the surrounding community. The thrift shop is its major community outreach program, offering items donated by members, primarily clothing. It rents space to groups from the college and elsewhere in the community.