A Byzantine Sanctuary on Park Avenue
Christ Church United Methodist stands at the northwest corner of Park Avenue and 60th Street, its Byzantine dome rising above the Upper East Side and its colorful banners marking the entrance at 524 Park Avenue. Inside, the sanctuary is alive with marble, mosaic, and the kind of grandeur the congregation believes befits the splendor of the God it worships. Inscribed within the apse mosaics is the church's mission: "We seek to love God above all things and our neighbors as ourselves," echoing the words of Jesus on the greatest commandment. Those words, set in stone at the heart of the sanctuary, set the tone for everything the congregation does, from Sunday worship to Thursday night supper, from Sharing Table to the bilingual campus in Washington Heights.
Two Sunday Mornings, One Faith
Sunday worship at 524 Park Avenue takes two distinct shapes. At 9:00 a.m., a smaller company gathers for an intimate contemplative service with Holy Communion celebrated every week. At 11:00 a.m., the larger congregation assembles for corporate worship featuring a sermon, the Christ Church professional choir, and Holy Communion on the first Sunday of every month. Both services draw on the ancient patterns of Christian liturgy while remaining attentive to the pace and pressures of life in a modern, fast-paced city.
The 11:00 a.m. service is livestreamed on YouTube each week so that those at home can participate in real time with the rest of the Christ Church family. Recordings of past services and sermons are available through the church's podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud. The sanctuary itself shapes the experience; tours are offered the second Sunday of each month after the 11:00 a.m. service, walking visitors through the apse mosaics, the icons, the symbolism, and the theology expressed in the architecture.
The Bridge: Church in Between Sundays
Midweek, the congregation gathers around supper and a brief communion service through a program called The Bridge. In the fall and spring, The Bridge meets on Thursday evenings; during the summer it shifts to Wednesdays. Each evening opens with a light shared supper at 6:00 p.m., followed by worship at 6:30 p.m. and small groups at 7:00 p.m. The Bridge is described as "a chance to do church in between Sundays," making space to find spiritual nourishment for daily life. Recent series have taken themes such as Hallowed Heroes, exploring figures throughout history who inspire the life of faith. Small groups have included an Artists' Way Group, a Bible study, and an LGBTQIA+ small group, with weekly supper and worship held at 524 Park Avenue.
Christ Church Washington Heights: A Bilingual Congregation in Upper Manhattan
The life of Christ Church extends to a second campus in upper Manhattan. Christ Church Washington Heights meets each Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at 4111 Broadway, where Rev. Mickey Correa, a bi-vocational and bilingual pastor of Puerto Rican descent who also works as a licensed psychotherapist and lectures at the City College of New York, leads a service in English and Spanish. The service features thoughtful music, scripture readings, and an inspiring message, and it is followed by a community meal for everyone in attendance. The same mission and vision that animate the Park Avenue campus shape the Washington Heights ministry, and the two congregations share pastoral staff and program resources. An annual Thanksgiving Lunch at the Washington Heights campus draws volunteers from across the church for set-up, serving, and cleanup.
Christ Church Kids and a Week of Snowball Mountain
Children are part of the worshiping congregation at Christ Church from their first Sunday. Each Sunday begins with families sitting together in the sanctuary; after the opening portions of the service, children preschool through fifth grade are dismissed with teachers and volunteers to Christ Church Kids Sunday School, while nursery care is provided for the youngest children during the 11:00 a.m. service. Registration is required upon first attendance. Lydia Prather, a Certified Lay Minister in the United Methodist Church and the daughter of a United Methodist minister, directs the children, youth, and families ministry, drawing on her background in music education and children's programming.
The Christ Church Kids calendar includes the Sunday School year, the Children's Choir, monthly family events, a Moms Small Group that meets after the 11:00 a.m. service for parenting conversation, book studies, and prayer, plus seasonal gatherings such as the Fall Rooftop Celebration, Trunk-or-Treat, the Kids and Youth Christmas Pageant, the Easter Egg Hunt on the church roof, the Easter Feast in Phillips Hall, and a Children and Families Day Retreat. A weeklong Vacation Bible School called Snowball Mountain Challenge takes place in mid-August, with morning programming and an extended afternoon of crafts, games, movies, and supervised play.
For older youth, a Youth Group meets once a month for students in grades six through twelve, offering a space to explore faith, wrestle with doubt, and ask hard questions in a supportive environment. A Confirmation Class for youth ages twelve to sixteen runs from December through May and pairs each participant with a mentor from the congregation. The Methodist Home Visit, twice a month, is another intergenerational touchstone, drawing together adults and youth to spend time with residents of the nearby Methodist Home.
Music Woven into Worship
Music is woven into nearly every aspect of life at Christ Church. Dr. Steve Pilkington has served as Director of Music and Organist since 1994, and he also teaches on the faculty of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, where he serves as Associate Professor of Sacred Music. Christopher Creaghan, whose twelve-year tenure at The Riverside Church included weekly webcasts on one of the largest organs in America, serves as Principal Organist and Artist in Residence and is a past Dean and current Treasurer of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Amanda Smith directs both the Parish Choir and the Children's Choir; she holds a Masters in Music Education from Westminster Choir College, Kodály certification from NYU, and Music Together certification, in addition to teaching music at the Buckley School in New York.
The Parish Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. and sings in worship once a month, drawing singers of every experience level from novices to longtime choral veterans. The Children's Choir welcomes singers in kindergarten through sixth grade, rehearses on Sunday mornings, and sings in worship several times a year. A Multigenerational Summer Choir invites adults and children ages five and older to try choir for a single Sunday without committing to the regular rehearsal schedule. A Bell Choir also meets periodically and has held beginner handbell workshops for newcomers. Major choral events through the year include a Christmas Choir Concert, an annual Carol Sing in the sanctuary, and a fully produced Easter Sunday service with choir, bell choir, and orchestra.
A Reconciling Congregation
Christ Church identifies as a Reconciling Congregation of the United Methodist Church, open, welcoming, and affirming of LGBTQIA+ siblings. The ministry is led by Rev. Tyler Heston Wolf, the Minister for Spiritual Formation and LGBTQIA+ Development, who came to Christ Church after serving a Disciples of Christ congregation in Kansas City and is pursuing a PhD in Bible and Cultures at Drew Theological School. The church's welcome extends to sacraments, membership, weddings, ordination, and the full life of the congregation, and Senior Minister Rev. Dr. Eric Park has written publicly about the church's response to the UMC General Conference vote.
The LGBTQIA+ ministry hosts monthly brunches after church on the second Sunday, a monthly interfaith dialogue called Queering the Dialogue in partnership with Temple Emanu-El, the ILLUMINATE Day Retreat co-hosted with Marble Collegiate Church, and the ILLUMINATE podcast, a storytelling podcast exploring queerness and spirituality that is available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. A 2026 trip to Berlin sent a team of eight to learn about Christian anti-fascism and to celebrate Pride with Berlin-area churches. The annual LGBTQIA+ Easter Bonnet Competition is a joyful fixture of the Easter Feast in Phillips Hall, and an All Hallows' Eve Service each fall brings the congregation together around story, song, ritual, and reflection.
Sharing Table, Methodist Home, and the Mission Barn
Sharing Table is Christ Church's longest-running weekly outreach. Each Sunday afternoon, the congregation serves a hot meal and toiletries to more than 130 guests. Volunteers arrive at 3:00 p.m. to help prepare sandwiches and set up, with serving beginning at 4:30 p.m. and cleanup usually complete by 6:00 p.m. Children are welcome, though the church notes the experience is best for kids eight and older. The program is run by Director of Programming and Communications Brandon Batson.
Twice a month, a group of parishioners travels to the Methodist Home to spend time with residents, sharing conversation, fellowship, and encouragement. Out-of-state mission trips have taken teams to the United Methodist Mission Barn in New Castle, Pennsylvania, one of six denomination-wide relief supply depots, where volunteers build modular accessible ramps and assemble flood buckets and disaster relief kits for distribution around the country and the world. Closer to home, the annual Thanksgiving Community Lunch at Christ Church Washington Heights draws volunteers for set-up, serving, and cleanup, and a Palestine Circle gathers monthly to take local and legislative action on issues in Gaza and the West Bank, drawing on the United Methodist Church's 2024 Book of Resolutions. Moral Mondays, held in partnership with the Interfaith Center of New York, bring parishioners together at Columbus Circle to advocate for democracy and human rights. Brief services of prayerful remembrance are also held each September 11, with three identical half-hour liturgies offered throughout the day.
Circles for Moms, Creation Care, and Elder Sages
Three Circles give shape to the congregation's small-group life. The Moms Circle offers monthly fellowship, book studies, and prayer for mothers, with childcare provided. The Creation Care Circle gathers for themed meals, film nights, and service outings focused on environmental stewardship and animal welfare, including a partnership called IDEAS (Interfaith Dialogues on Environment and Animal Stewardship) that brings together Christians, Jews, Muslims, and people of other faiths. The Elder Sages Circle meets monthly on Zoom and occasionally in person, giving seniors in the congregation a place to share life, care for one another in times of hardship, and enjoy regular fellowship.
Faith Forums and the Daily Rhythm of Prayer
Adult faith formation at Christ Church takes several forms. Each Sunday morning during the program year, a Faith Forum meets at 10:00 a.m. in the fourth-floor conference room for an hour of study and conversation. Recent series have worked through Tom Berlin's "Reckless Love," exploring what it means to be shaped by God's Spirit into a life of creative and reckless love. Each session is offered both in person and on Zoom, and a class document is shared with participants.
Each weekday morning at 8:00 a.m., the Christ Church community gathers online for a short time of prayer and reflection. Anyone is welcome to join the call, and the readings and prayer are distributed by email for those who wish to follow along on their own. Together, the daily Morning Prayer and the Thursday Bridge gatherings form a steady rhythm of communal prayer that complements Sunday worship.
Membership classes are offered twice a year for those considering joining, with sessions facilitated by the Senior Minister and the Director of Programming and Communications. A Joining Sunday is held on the third Sunday of the program season, when new members are welcomed in the 11:00 a.m. service. A yearly Methodist Manhattan Walking Tour, led by Rev. Tyler Heston Wolf, takes participants through the sites of early Methodist history in the city, from City Hall Park and the Five Points Mission to St. John's United Methodist Church.
Mission, Core Values, and the Inscription in the Apse
Christ Church organizes its life around four core values, each exemplified in the life of Jesus and each given shape in the congregation's practices. Worship is the core of life: in worship the people of God are brought together in community with one another and with God, and all of life is informed by what happens when God's people gather. Dynamic hospitality extends a radical welcome to all who enter the doors, an essential aspect of Christ Church's identity. Diversity is welcomed and celebrated, and the congregation is not narrowly defined by class or race, sexual or gender identity, or ideological or theological orientation but by the love of God and neighbor. Excellence is sought in all things, not as perfection but as the love of God and neighbor embodied by Jesus.
The congregation also identifies as a Reconciling Congregation, committed to providing community, sacraments, and the full services and programs of the faith family to everyone who seeks after the heart of God.
The Day School at 524 Park Avenue
Sharing the building at 524 Park Avenue, the Christ Church Day School offers early childhood education as part of the church's ministry to families on the Upper East Side. The Day School operates as a separate institution but is housed in the same complex and shares the church's commitment to nurturing children in mind, body, and spirit. A multigenerational Summer Streets outreach each August sets up along Park Avenue when the city closes the boulevard to traffic, handing out refreshments and information about the church's many ministries to runners, bikers, and passersby.
Weddings in the Sanctuary
The Byzantine sanctuary is a sought-after setting for weddings, and Christ Church welcomes couples from a wide variety of backgrounds. At least one member of the couple must be a baptized Christian, and ceremonies follow a Christian marriage liturgy that includes at least one reading from scripture and music appropriate for Christian worship. The Methodist tradition, the church teaches, reflects the belief that spouses are equal partners entering a sacred union of their own volition.
Photography is permitted during the processional and recessional, but flash photography and additional lighting are not allowed once the service has begun, in order to preserve the sacred character of the liturgy. Couples meet with the presiding minister at least three times in the months before the wedding, and weddings are scheduled at least two months in advance. For couples of different faith traditions, Christ Church is open to incorporating other cultural and religious practices insofar as they are consistent with Christian faith and practice, and clergy from other traditions are welcome to participate after consultation with the presiding minister. Weddings are coordinated through the church office with Administrator Roseann DeGennaro and Director of Music Dr. Steve Pilkington.
Pastors, Musicians, and Ministry Leaders
Rev. Dr. Eric Park has served as Senior Minister of Christ Church since 2024, having previously served United Methodist churches since 1989. A graduate of Dickinson College, Duke Divinity School, and Drew Theological School, he is an Elder in the United Methodist Church. Rev. Dr. Denise Smartt Sears serves as Minister for Mission, Outreach, and Justice, bringing more than three decades of experience including service as Director of Connectional Ministries and District Superintendent of the Metropolitan District in the New York Annual Conference. Rev. Tyler Heston Wolf leads spiritual formation and the LGBTQIA+ ministry. Dr. Steve Pilkington, Christopher Creaghan, and Amanda Smith lead the music program. Lydia Prather directs ministry for children, youth, and families. Brandon Batson directs programming and communications. Rev. Mickey Correa pastors Christ Church Washington Heights. Rev. Dr. Stephen Bauman, who led the congregation for thirty-five years from 1987 to 2023 and oversaw a major renovation completed in 2020, is now Pastor Emeritus and continues to host a podcast from the church.
How Methodism Came to Park Avenue
The Methodist movement came to New York City in 1776 through the efforts of Phillip Embury, a lay preacher from Ireland, and grew rapidly in the years after the American Revolution. In 1881, families from the East Side's 23rd Street Methodist churches formed a new society, the Madison Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, and built a French-Romanesque edifice at 60th Street that was dedicated in 1883. Fifty years later, the Madison Avenue congregation merged with the 61st Street Church, a Sunday school society that had begun in 1863 in a hall over Dingledeins' 3rd Avenue lager-beer saloon. The union, completed in 1933 under the leadership of Dr. Ralph W. Sockman, produced the present congregation and the Byzantine edifice at 524 Park Avenue.
Dr. Sockman voiced the spirit that has continued to shape Christ Church: "In this day of interdenominationalism and church union, we desire to serve in no narrow denominational sense. The new church will be a place of worship for all people of all communions." That intention is reflected today in the church's Reconciling Congregation commitment to welcome LGBTQIA+ siblings, in the bilingual ministry at the Washington Heights campus, and in the inscriptions that still span the apse.
Getting to Park Avenue and 60th Street
Christ Church is located at 524 Park Avenue at 60th Street and is easily identified by the colorful banners on the building. The closest subway stop is 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, served by the 4, 5, 6, and N, Q, R trains; the F and Q lines stop at 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue. The Q32 bus stops in front of the church, and several other bus lines run along Madison, Lexington, and 57th Street. Street parking is permitted on Sundays but scarce, and the nearest parking garage is on 60th Street between Lexington and Park Avenues.
Visitors are invited to fill out a Connection Card upon arrival, and those interested in membership are invited to attend the two-part New Member Orientation offered each program year. Giving is available online through Pushpay, and pledges can be made online as well. The church office can be reached at (212) 838-3036 or info@christchurchnyc.org. Christ Church is on Facebook and Instagram at @christchurchnyc, and the LGBTQIA+ ministry maintains its own presence at @ccnyc.pride.