The French Church of Saint-Esprit, Manhattan, New York City, USA

The building

Having worshipped in a variety of buildings in a variety of neighborhoods since its founding, the congregation acquired the present building, a former schoolhouse, in 1941. Extensive renovations were made, and the building now includes a small chapel, school, and living quarters. It once included a museum, but that has been relocated. The chapel was furnished with artifacts salvaged from earlier buildings. On the window behind the altar is a stained glass Huguenot cross (in the center), with medallions of the seal of the Huguenot Society of America, and of the church, on either side. On the side walls are the coats of arms of prominent Huguenot families. For this service, several icons, candles, and incense were placed in front of the altar. The icons were gifts to the parish by the Taizé community in France.

The church

They trace their history back to 1628, when the church was founded as a place of worship for French Calvinist refugees, known as Huguenots. In France, by 1562, there were some two million Huguenots, and as they began to display their faith openly in Catholic France, religious conflicts, often violent, began to flare up. Various waves of persecution led substantial numbers of Huguenots to emigrate, often to England and the Netherlands, but also to Englands North American colonies, especially New York and South Carolina. In 1802 the parish voted to become part of the Episcopal Church – unusual today for a Calvinist parish, but at the time the Anglo-Catholic revival was still in the future, and the French Church became comfortable with its new denomination. The parish now is a mix of French Protestants, parishioners of Huguenot descent, Americans who have a love for the French language, and an increasing number of members from African Francophone countries and Haiti. They maintain strong ties with the Taizé community in France; whenever brothers from Taizé travel to New York, they stay with the rector of Saint-Esprit. They sponsor charitable work in Haiti and provide assistance to immigrants and asylum seekers. They offer Bible study, catechism classes and counseling. And of course, lessons in French. Services are in French, using the French translation of the Book of Common Prayer, and include both holy communion and morning prayer, with frequent Taizé services as well. Their church year is flavored by a number of annual events unique to the parish: for example,La Toussaint (All Saints Day), which incorporates traditional French customs, and Huguenot Sunday, held on the Sunday closest to April 15, commemorating the 1598 Edict of Nantes and celebrating religious tolerance. They also sponsor an annual Bastille Day celebration. Les Joueurs, a group of actors, meet weekly to read, practice, and perform French plays (sometimes in English translation).

The neighborhood

They are located in the center of Manhattan, on East 60th Street between Lexington Avenue and Park Avenue, just down the street from a large United Methodist church. The area is full of specialty shops and small restaurants. The 59th Street stop on the Lexington Avenue subway provides easy access.

The cast

There was no service leaflet, but I surmise that Cynthia Wuco, the parish's music minister, led the singing. This was not a service requiring clerical leadership.