South Presbyterian Church
Encyclopedia
South Presbyterian Church, usually just referred to as South Church, is located along Broadway (US 9) in Dobbs Ferry
, New York
, United States
. Founded in 1820, it is currently in its second building, a stone
Gothic Revival style
structure dating to 1869. Members of the church have done much of the work on both buildings, and the church itself is actively involved in the community.
The main church building is the only known extant work of architect Julius Munckowitz. Two outbuildings, a manse
and a house built by a former parishioner, were built around the same time and of smiliar materials but show traces of the Second Empire style, such as mansard roofs. They have changed very little since they were first opened, despite the conversion of one into a day care
center. All three were added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 2000 as a well-preserved example of an urban Gothic Revival church.
and the Second Empire-style house of Robert Wilde, an early congregant and owner of the property. All three are considered contributing resources
to the National Register listing. The church and Wilde's house are connected by a more modern wing which is not.
d nave
, smaller narthex
and an engaged bell tower. Its central section, faced with granite
trimmed with limestone
, is three bays
wide by five deep. In addition to the non-contributing connecting wing, it has another one, polygon
al in shape, that is original to the building although greatly modified since then.
South Presbyterian's exterior has lancet window
s with wood tracery, limestone hoods and diamond-shaped bosses
. The main entrance features Gothic-carved wood doors beneath a carved tympanum
. The bell tower features a lancet window of its own, with four smaller tabernacle windows
on its octagonal spire
separated from the lower level by a wooden frieze
.
Inside, the church's sanctuary
features a ribbed plaster ceiling and its original pews and wainscoting. Pew number 49 is marked with a brass
plaque
noting its use by Theodore Roosevelt
while he was vacationing in Dobbs Ferry in summer 1871. The second floor of the original wing has heavy molded
plaster cornice
s.
. The second-story windows are also paired, separated by wood colonettes with stylized capitals
. Polygonal bays flank the entrance and a stone course
separates the two main stories. A wood front porch has chamfer
ed posts and carved baluster
s.
Its interior has been modified for its present use as a day care
center, but still retains original woodwork such as the banister on the stairway. The hearth
of one of the fireplaces still has its original tiling.
ed one topped by red slate
. It is two stories high and three bays square. The roof dormers have bargeboard
s with Gothic Revival detailing, as does the wooden porch in the rear. There is a one-story two-bay extension on the north side with a flat bracketed roof.
Some of its fenestration
also uses Gothic Revival detailing. A front bay window
is surrounded with decorative wood carving, and in the rear there is a lancet window
in the middle of the second story.
, and there were no churches. On Sundays devout locals met in the largest building then in town, the barn on Peter Van Brugh Livingston's estate, to attend services conducted by travelling Presbyterian or Methodist
ministers. Three years later, the group formally incorporated as South Presbyterian Church, to distinguish themselves from a North Presbyterian Church in the nearby hamlet of Halls Corners.
In August 1823, six congregants bought a 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) triangle of land at the present junction of Storm Street and Ashford Road. The small church built on the property was made of local timber and painted white in the style of New England
rural churches. It was known as the Little White Church for years afterwards. Today it is gone and a Lutheran
church stands on the site, but the original cemetery
, known as the Little White Cemetery, remains.
Two years later, in 1825, the church was officially received by the Presbytery
of New York. That body censure
d the church six years later when discord broke out after Van Brugh Livingston, its original benefactor, tried to require that anyone joining the church sign a temperance pledge
agreeing to abstain from distilled beverage
s. He resigned as an elder
afterwards.
The church continued to grow over the next few decades, and by the 1860s it had 140 members. All agreed it was time for a new church building. James Wilde, one of the wealthier members, located and bought for the church the current property, closer to the center of the growing village, in 1864. Julius Munckowitz, an architect about whom little is known outside South Presbyterian Church save his early membership in the American Society of Architects (a predecessor to today's American Institute of Architects
) and his later tenure as supervising architect of the New York City Department of Public Parks
, designed the church, and the cornerstone was laid in 1868.
As with the original church, construction was done by congregants (or their businesses) using local materials. The granite was supposedly quarried
and cut near the old church. Local firms also did the carpentry
and masonry
. Individual members donated their labor, money or both. When the new church was dedicated on the last Sunday in 1869, it had every modern convenience of the day, including gas lighting
. The manse, begun that year
Wilde had originally built the stone house as a retirement home, but never used it for that purpose. He instead conveyed it to the Misses Masters, founders of the nearby Masters School
. In 1916 the school turned it over to the church, which began using it as a parish hall.
The church has been improved twice with the addition of stained glass
in the sanctuary lancet windows. In 1914, it was J. Gordon Guthrie, a congregant, who also did the rose window in the rear. He used as his models for the women depicted three fellow congregants. Fifty years later, in 1964, it was J.M. Baransky of nearby Yonkers
who did the non-figurative pastel stained glass in the central section.
The original pipe organ
was replaced in 1928, on a new balcony
, by the current model, formerly in use at Manhattan's Central Presbyterian Church. The bell
dates to 1876, when it was cast by the Troy
foundry
of Meneely & Kimberly. The connecting wing between the church and Wilde House was erected in 1954, but attempts were made to keep it architecturally sympathetic to the older buildings.
. The church congregation works to help the homeless
and poor in New York City and Yonkers. It supports gay rights, raises money for AIDS
-related causes and holds an annual Martin Luther King breakfast.
Some of its space is rented out to programs that benefit the community. One room of the church was used as a studio
by a local artist, and most notably the first floor of the Wilde House is home to the Days of Wonder day care
center. The original connection between Wilde and the Masters School continues in one of its afterschool clubs and activities, where students volunteer at Days of Wonder.
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Dobbs Ferry is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,875 at the 2010 census.The Village of Dobbs Ferry is located in, and is a part of, the town of Greenburgh...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Founded in 1820, it is currently in its second building, a stone
Stonemasonry
The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. These materials have been used to construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts, cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures...
Gothic Revival 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...
structure dating to 1869. Members of the church have done much of the work on both buildings, and the church itself is actively involved in the community.
The main church building is the only known extant work of architect Julius Munckowitz. Two outbuildings, a manse
Manse
A manse is a house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of a Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist or United Church...
and a house built by a former parishioner, were built around the same time and of smiliar materials but show traces of the Second Empire style, such as mansard roofs. They have changed very little since they were first opened, despite the conversion of one into a day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
center. All three were added to 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...
in 2000 as a well-preserved example of an urban Gothic Revival church.
Buildings
The property has three buildings: the church, a manseManse
A manse is a house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of a Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist or United Church...
and the Second Empire-style house of Robert Wilde, an early congregant and owner of the property. All three are considered contributing resources
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. The church and Wilde's house are connected by a more modern wing which is not.
Church
The church is rectangular with a gableGable
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 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...
, smaller narthex
Narthex
The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
and an engaged bell tower. Its central section, faced with 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...
trimmed 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....
, is three bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
wide by five deep. In addition to the non-contributing connecting wing, it has another one, polygon
Polygon
In geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
al in shape, that is original to the building although greatly modified since then.
South Presbyterian's exterior has lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s with wood tracery, limestone hoods and diamond-shaped bosses
Boss (architecture)
In architecture, a boss is a knob or protrusion of stone or wood.Bosses can often be found in the ceilings of buildings, particularly at the intersection of a vault. In Gothic architecture, such roof bosses are often intricately carved with foliage, heraldic devices or other decorations...
. The main entrance features Gothic-carved wood doors beneath a carved tympanum
Tympanum (architecture)
In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
. The bell tower features a lancet window of its own, with four smaller tabernacle windows
Aedicula
In religion in ancient Rome, an aedicula is a small shrine. The word aedicula is the diminutive of the Latin aedes, a temple building or house....
on its octagonal spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
separated from the lower level by a wooden frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
.
Inside, the church's 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...
features a ribbed plaster ceiling and its original pews and wainscoting. Pew number 49 is marked with a brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
noting its use by Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
while he was vacationing in Dobbs Ferry in summer 1871. The second floor of the original wing has heavy 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...
plaster cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
s.
Wilde House
The Wilde House dates to 1870. It is a six-by-three-bay two-story granite structure with brick window trim and a convex mansard roofMansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
. The second-story windows are also paired, separated by wood colonettes with stylized capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
. Polygonal bays flank the entrance and a stone course
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
separates the two main stories. A wood front porch has chamfer
Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
ed posts and carved baluster
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
s.
Its interior has been modified for its present use as a day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
center, but still retains original woodwork such as the banister on the stairway. The hearth
Hearth
In common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature...
of one of the fireplaces still has its original tiling.
Manse
The manse, probably built in 1869, is likewise a granite building with a mansard roof, in its case a bracketBracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
ed one topped by red slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
. It is two stories high and three bays square. The roof dormers have bargeboard
Bargeboard
Bargeboard is a board fastened to the projecting gables of a roof to give them strength and to mask, hide and protect the otherwise exposed end of the horizontal timbers or purlins of the roof to which they were attached...
s with Gothic Revival detailing, as does the wooden porch in the rear. There is a one-story two-bay extension on the north side with a flat bracketed roof.
Some of its fenestration
Window
A window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...
also uses Gothic Revival detailing. A front bay window
Bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room, either square or polygonal in plan. The angles most commonly used on the inside corners of the bay are 90, 135 and 150 degrees. Bay windows are often associated with Victorian architecture...
is surrounded with decorative wood carving, and in the rear there is a lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
in the middle of the second story.
History
As a congregation, South Presbyterian Church dates to 1820. At that time Dobbs Ferry was merely a small cluster of buildings around a junction on the Albany Post RoadAlbany Post Road
The Albany Post Road was a post road - a road used for mail delivery - in the U.S. state of New York. It connected the cities of New York and Albany along the east side of the Hudson River, a service now performed by US 9.The rough route was as follows:...
, and there were no churches. On Sundays devout locals met in the largest building then in town, the barn on Peter Van Brugh Livingston's estate, to attend services conducted by travelling Presbyterian or Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
ministers. Three years later, the group formally incorporated as South Presbyterian Church, to distinguish themselves from a North Presbyterian Church in the nearby hamlet of Halls Corners.
In August 1823, six congregants bought a 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) triangle of land at the present junction of Storm Street and Ashford Road. The small church built on the property was made of local timber and painted white in the style of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
rural churches. It was known as the Little White Church for years afterwards. Today it is gone and a Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
church stands on the site, but the original cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
, known as the Little White Cemetery, remains.
Two years later, in 1825, the church was officially received by the Presbytery
Presbyterian polity
Presbyterian polity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply...
of New York. That body censure
Censure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spiritual penalty imposed by a church, and a negative judgment pronounced on a theological proposition.-Politics:...
d the church six years later when discord broke out after Van Brugh Livingston, its original benefactor, tried to require that anyone joining the church sign a temperance pledge
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
agreeing to abstain from distilled beverage
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
s. He resigned as an elder
Elder (Christianity)
An elder in Christianity is a person valued for his wisdom who accordingly holds a particular position of responsibility in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions an elder is a clergy person who usually serves a local church or churches and who has been ordained to a ministry of Word,...
afterwards.
The church continued to grow over the next few decades, and by the 1860s it had 140 members. All agreed it was time for a new church building. James Wilde, one of the wealthier members, located and bought for the church the current property, closer to the center of the growing village, in 1864. Julius Munckowitz, an architect about whom little is known outside South Presbyterian Church save his early membership in the American Society of Architects (a predecessor to today's American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
) and his later tenure as supervising architect of the New York City Department of Public Parks
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation is the department of government of the City of New York responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the city's natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's...
, designed the church, and the cornerstone was laid in 1868.
As with the original church, construction was done by congregants (or their businesses) using local materials. The granite was supposedly quarried
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
and cut near the old church. Local firms also did the carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
and masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
. Individual members donated their labor, money or both. When the new church was dedicated on the last Sunday in 1869, it had every modern convenience of the day, including gas lighting
Gas lighting
Gas lighting is production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, or natural gas. Before electricity became sufficiently widespread and economical to allow for general public use, gas was the most...
. The manse, begun that year
Wilde had originally built the stone house as a retirement home, but never used it for that purpose. He instead conveyed it to the Misses Masters, founders of the nearby Masters School
The Masters School
The Masters School, known as "Masters", is a private, coeducational boarding school and day college preparatory school located in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Its campus is located near Manhattan in the Hudson Valley in Westchester County...
. In 1916 the school turned it over to the church, which began using it as a parish hall.
The church has been improved twice with the addition of 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...
in the sanctuary lancet windows. In 1914, it was J. Gordon Guthrie, a congregant, who also did the rose window in the rear. He used as his models for the women depicted three fellow congregants. Fifty years later, in 1964, it was J.M. Baransky of nearby Yonkers
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
who did the non-figurative pastel stained glass in the central section.
The original pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
was replaced in 1928, on a new balcony
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
, by the current model, formerly in use at Manhattan's Central Presbyterian Church. The bell
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
dates to 1876, when it was cast by the Troy
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
of Meneely & Kimberly. The connecting wing between the church and Wilde House was erected in 1954, but attempts were made to keep it architecturally sympathetic to the older buildings.
Today
South Presbyterian continues an activist tradition that dates to Livingston's stand against liquor. During Reconstruction, it raised money to help freedmen in the SouthSouthern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. The church congregation works to help the homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
and poor in New York City and Yonkers. It supports gay rights, raises money for AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-related causes and holds an annual Martin Luther King breakfast.
Some of its space is rented out to programs that benefit the community. One room of the church was used as a studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
by a local artist, and most notably the first floor of the Wilde House is home to the Days of Wonder day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
center. The original connection between Wilde and the Masters School continues in one of its afterschool clubs and activities, where students volunteer at Days of Wonder.