News/Events
- Sonia's Closet has had requests for coats, boots, mittens, gloves, hats, blankets, baby clothes and little girls clothes. To donate, please drop them off to the clothing box at Faith Community Church, 90 Lewis Street, Geneva. If you have any questions, please contact us at haveneed@fccgeneva.org
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- Special Guest Speaker: Sunday, February 26th. Join us for Chris Rimlinger speaking on the value of knowing The Word. It's also Hot Dog Sunday so bring a guest!
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- New Members Class: Sunday March 4th at 10am in the Pastor's Office. If you are interested in becoming a new member, please see Kevin Berg.
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- Women's Saturday: Saturday March 10th. Free Registration: 9:30am. Session and lunch: 10:00am-Noon. Topic: Various Women of the Bible. Discuss their weaknesses, strengths and highlight what we can learn from them.
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- Men's Breakfast: Saturday March 17th at 8:30am. All men are welcome and encouraged. Great food! Great Fellowship! Great Teaching!
- Leaders Line Meeting: Saturday March 17th at 9:30am in the Pastor's Office.
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*****GRANT PROPOSAL FOR REPAIRING AND POINTING OF*****
STEEPLE AT FAITH COMMUNITY CHURCH
90 Lewis Street
Geneva, New York 14456
Elders of Faith Community Church in Geneva, NY, located at 90 Lewis Street, are requesting consideration of a grant proposal for sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) to have the steeple pointed. Faith Community, formerly the North Presbyterian Church, has been listed on the National Historic Register since October 25, 2002, the same time that Genesee Park, located directly across the street from the church, was designated as the Genesee Park Historic District.
Proposed Budget for Steeple Repointing
Project Cost
Repair and point spire of Faith Community Church, 90 Lewis Street $60,000
About Geneva, NY
Geneva was originally the Seneca Native American village of Kanadasaga. It became a strongpoint after being fortified by the British against the French and later against the Americans. The village was abandoned following its destruction by the punitive Sullivan Expedition of 1779, but was resettled by Europeans around 1793. The Village of Geneva incorporated in 1806, 1812, and 1871, formally separating it from the surrounding area of the Geneva Town. Later, the village became a city.
Geneva is at the northern end of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region. It is in the largest wine-producing area in New York State. According to the latest census, the City has a population of approximately 13,800 individuals, has a total area of 5.8 square miles, four-fifths of which is on land and the other fifth is water
The Cayuga-Seneca Canal links the area to the Erie Canal, which was completed in 1825. Geneva is fairly equidistant from either Rochester or Syracuse, New York, each being about 45 miles away.
The racial makeup of the city is approximately 81 percent White, 10 percent African American, .25 percent Native American, 1.5 percent Asian, and the rest a mixture of races. Hispanic or Latino of any race make up 8.5 percent of the population.
Geneva is the home of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, which has some 1,800 students; Cornell University’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station; and a satellite campus of the Finger Lakes Community College. Its public school system has some 2,800 students.
The median income for a single person in Geneva is approximately $31,000 and for a married couple approximately $41,000.
History of the Church
The church that Faith Community occupies today was originally built to house members of the North Presbyterian Church. This construction took place during 1875-1876. The church is described as a gray limestone gothic style structure with a magnificent needle spire. It was funded primarily by the Maxwell Brothers at a cost of about $40,000. In a recent appraisal, the church was valued at $4.4 million.
The North Presbyterian church of Geneva was formed by a union of the members of the United Presbyterian Church with the Bethel Society of Geneva. The latter was an organization of missionary workers who labored among the boatmen of Seneca Lake and the canal and with others who had no fixed church house.
North Church had approximately 430 members and 500 pupils in the Sunday school.
History of Faith Community Church
Faith Community Church actually got its start in a Carriage House on the southwest side of the Town of Geneva in 1979. It was begun by The Reverend Dr. J. Mark Ammerman, who had a vision of starting a church that could cater to all the people and would accept anyone who came through its doors.
Membership in the church grew, and in 1981 it moved to a building located in downtown Geneva on Exchange Street. In November 1990, the church acquired what formerly housed the North Presbyterian Church (that church had joined with the First Presbyterian Church located on Park Place in Geneva). The price of the building was the 490 Exchange Street building plus $20,000.
The day that the members of Faith Community met in its new surroundings, the church was debt free and has remained such ever since.
The philosophy of Faith Community is to have the church the safest pl
ace on earth for every person that attends. It is non-denominational in nature and welcomes all people. Its demographics is one of poor to moderate income individuals and families, most of whom live within the ellipse as shown on the map (The church is directly across the street from Genesee Park). Ethnicity in the church mirrors that of the general population of the City of Geneva.
The area within the ellipse shown on
the map was, at one time, a rather wealthy and significant part of the Geneva demography. Today, as with many communities, much of that population has either died or moved to the southern portion of the City of Geneva or even into the Town of Geneva.
Still seeing a need for the teachings of the church at its present location, the Pastor and the Elders, as well as all the communicants, have made it a true place of worship for whoever wishes to come into the building. Consequently, two other churches also now occupy the building: St. Bosco Chapel (Catholic) and the Divine Destiny Ministry (Church of God, which ministers primarily to Hispanics and African Americans). Additionally, a number of minority churches use the building for weddings, baptisms, funerals, and dinners.
Because of the general level of income in the area indicated by the ellipse, a Community Dinner was initiated every Wednesday evening several years ago. There may be as few as 50 or so individuals attend this dinner or as many as 150 each week throughout the year.
The building is also used by Alcoholics Anonymous three nights a week and there is a Children’s Hour Pre-School and grades 1-3 using part of the facility.
There are approximately 150 members of the congregation of Faith Community. In addition to weekly church services, there is a Sunday/Bible School taught by the church’s Associate Pastor, The Reverend Betty Jenkins.
Importance of this Grant
The building occupied by Faith Community has been an important part of Geneva and its architectural heritage since 1876. It has provided a place of Worship for thousands of people in Geneva. Its importance today is perhaps even greater than in its history because of the difficult economic times in which we live.
As indicated earlier, the congregants of the church are not wealthy, most of who are either at or close to a poverty level to those who are in the middle, middle income group. However, as with any structure of this type, there are always repairs that need to be taken care of before they exacerbate into something worse. Most of these repairs have been met by the parishioners of the church. However, the steeple of this historical architectural structure needs repairs desperately. It is something ($60,000) that is beyond the immediate ability of the members of the church to handle.
The Elders
Kevin Berg
Tim Driscoll
Mark Reese
Corey Boatwright
Pastor
The Reverend Dr. J. Mark Ammerman
