In a wide second-floor room at John Jay High School in Brooklyn, images of a cross, broken bread and a chalice overflowing with red wine decorated a large banner hanging between two columns. In front of it, a foldable table with a white cloth and a green runner bore a wooden cross and three silver chalices.
For Congregations Gathering in City Schools, Time to Move
James Estrin/The New York Times
Because of a court ruling, Park Slope Presbyterian Church relocated its Sunday services from John Jay High School. Chris Segedy packed up the cross after a service.
By JOHN ELIGON
Published: February 5, 2012
James Estrin/The New York Times
A Sunday service on the second floor of John Jay High School, in Brooklyn.
Sunday services were about to begin, but for many there, it would be a prelude to an unwelcome end: It was moving day for Park Slope Presbyterian Church.
About three hours after services ended, the room was practically empty. The remnants of the Sunday ritual were moved to the sidewalk in front of the building, a five-story red brick edifice on Seventh Avenue in Brooklyn. Plastic bins were stacked on wooden dollies, along with fans, chairs, speakers and drums.
The issue of using public schools for religious services has been a matter of debate for decades. Because of a recent federal court ruling that upheld a city policy of not allowing religious services in public schools, dozens of congregations throughout New York have been told that they must move; next Sunday will be the last time they will be allowed to rent space in schools for services.
The Park Slope church got a head start when space at a nearby parish became available.
Nonetheless, congregants expressed mixed emotions on Sunday about having to leave the only place the church has called home since it started eight years ago.
The Rev. Matthew Brown, the church’s pastor, described his feelings after the service as “sadness, disappointment.”
But he quickly injected a bit of Christian optimism: “There’s a part of me that’s excited.”
The debate over churches in schools has been passionate and has provoked harsh exchanges.
Opponents say that the congregations are violating the separation of church and state, causing confusion among children who attend the schools, and that they are trying to impose their beliefs on others in a city known for its religious and cultural diversity.
Supporters argue that they use the schools only when students are not around and that the buildings represent nothing more than a physical space in which they can gather.
Some churches are holding out hope that the Legislature will intervene. The State Senate is expected to consider a bill this week that would allow the churches to continue worshiping in the schools. A similar bill has been proposed in the Assembly and may be debated this week.
Church leaders and their advocates say they will suffer from the decision; some funds used for charitable work will now have to be redirected toward higher rent.
They also say the schools and communities they occupied will be hurt, because they are losing tenants who became interested in the schools’ well-being.
Park Slope Presbyterian bought a new scoreboard for the school, reorganized the library, painted the hallways and tutored students, Mr. Brown said.
Had it not been for the church, Peter Trautmann, 40, said, he might never have gone inside John Jay High School.
“Now I see it and I care more,” Mr. Trautmann said, staring at the sky blue paint on the walls, decorated with drawings and paintings by students.
“Being hosted in someone else’s home, you want to bring something.”
Some church advocates have gone a step further, saying that the city’s policy against religious services in schools disproportionately affected low-income congregations, who could not afford to rent commercial space.
“It really is a class war,” said Fernando Cabrera, a Bronx city councilman and a chief advocate of state legislation to allow churches to continue holding services in schools.
City officials have said that many congregations that worship in schools are in affluent neighborhoods and have members who are working professionals. And despite the rule against worship services, “religious congregations are able to use public school space for after-school programs and a host of other activities and events,” Jane Gordon, a lawyer for the city, said in a statement.
Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the money that church advocates were investing in court litigation to try to remain in schools could have gone toward the charitable causes they espouse.
“If they’re truly about supporting religious freedom, perhaps there’s money to support those churches that are in need of help,” she said.
But for some of those churches in need, any help would probably come too late.
The Victory Outreach Church will be moving from Public School 57 in East Harlem and merging with its sister congregation in Brooklyn, ending an 18-year relationship with the community that included work with gang members, drug addicts and mothers who lost children to gun violence, said its pastor, Tony Valenzuela.
Mr. Valenzuela said the church could not afford to rent a different space in the neighborhood. He and his family are returning to their native California, leaving behind a congregation of about 70 people.
A farewell service on Sunday, Mr. Valenzuela said, will include a video commemorating the church’s work, and a potluck.
