BREWSTER – A century-old tradition for Episcopalians in Putnam County comes to an end when St. Andrew’s Church on Prospect Street in Brewster village conducts its final Easter service today.
The sad news was reported by Paolo Rossi Jr., Junior Warden at St. Andrew’s who explained the church had been “lacking continuous spiritual leadership for the past eight years when the last lector departed.”
“Our current Priest-in-Charge who arrived in September 2017 is the Rev. Juan Francisco Perez, who heads the Harlem Valley Ministries comprised of St. Andrew’s, Holy Trinity Church in Pawling and MESA or Mission Episcopal Santiago Apostol in Dover Plains,” Rossi said.
Calling it a “heart wrenching decision,” church administrator Stephanie Florentino, described St. Andrew’s as “not only a beacon for the community but also for our parishioners serving as their second home. We are losing our spiritual residence but will always remain in each others lives. The parishioners here are an amazing and loving group of people, many of whom have been attending St. Andrew’s since birth.”
The church itself and adjoining property are owned by the Episcopal Diocese of New York which will make a decision on what will happen to the 138-year-old stone church that is registered on both the National Register of Historic Places and the NYS Register of Historic Places.
