By PAUL KIRBY
Freeman staff
pkirby@freemanonline.com; twitter.com/PaulatFreeman

KINGSTON, N.Y. — The First Presbyterian Church of Kingston, built in 1855, is about to be sold to a predominately Hispanic congregation from Saugerties, according to a letter sent to parishioners.

This Sunday at 4 p.m. will mark the last service at the Elmendorf Street church as a Presbyterian congregation.

The church is first to be leased to and then purchased by the Assembly of God, Secunda Iglesia La Mission, which is now renting space in Saugerties, according to the letter.

“For the past several years the church has been struggling through financial difficulties and membership loss,” the letter says.

In October, a decision was made to turn the church over to the Presbytery of the Hudson Valley with the “intention of selling the church buildings,” according to the letter.

The Rev. Fernando Salazar, who is pastor of the Assembly of Good church, said that the congregation decided, in part, to move to Midtown Kingston to reach out to more of the Hispanic community.

“Kingston needs God,” Salazar said Monday. “The location is very close to Broadway and there are a lot of Spanish people and we thought it was a good idea to use this building and bring more people to God.”

Salazar said the current congregation numbers about 60 active members, with 120 people usually attending Sunday services.

The church is currently located in the United Methodist Church building at Washington Avenue and Post Street in Saugerties.

Salazar said he expects a closing on the First Presbyterian Church property to take place by the end of May. Continued...

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At one time, the Presbyterian church would host 120 or so parishioners on a Sunday. That number has shrunk to 10 or 15.

In 2009, the church hired the Rev. Glorya Askew with an eye toward increasing the church’s membership. Askew was the first African-American to serve the church since it was built.

She had been formerly employed by the New York state prison system as a chaplain.

First Presbyterian Church of Kingston Letter

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