Truesee's Daily Wonder

The Congression of United Presbyterian Church located at 62-554 60th Place in Ridgewood.

Farriella for NewsGym Director Mark Ortiz and Pastor Henry Fury in the gym in the basement at the Congression of United Presbyterian Church.

It's not easy in this age of dwindling membership and growing costs for a church to tend to its flock and pay the bills.

But one Ridgewood congregation is taking some bold steps to keep services going in its stately 103-year-old church while reaching out to its changing community.

The United Presbyterian Church at 60th Place shares its building with the Rock Fitness Center, which draws fitness buffs and weightlifters from all over.

And it has hired a real estate broker to see if anyone is interested in developing the property.

Ideally, members would like to build senior citizen housing on the land surrounding the church as a way to serve the community and increase income.

But members said they can't rule out the sad possibility that the stunning sanctuary, with its impressive stained-glass windows, may one day be put up for sale and demolished.

"The church is beautiful but it's a beast to heat," said Mike Baldomir, 40, one of the church elders. "Electric and gas has gone up. We can barely make the bills."

Baldomir and the Rev. Henry Fury said the church would rather use its meager funds to run a soup kitchen, food pantry, support groups and other outreach projects.

"This is a magnificent church and no one wants to tear it down," said Fury, the church's pastor. "But are you a church to maintain buildings or to do the mission of the church?"

The church was started in the early 1900s by German immigrants and other Presbyterians who settled in Ridgewood and the surrounding neighborhoods.

But demographic shifts in the area have been tough on the church. German-Americans moved out as Eastern Europeans and Latinos - who tend to be Orthodox Christian and Catholic - moved in.

About 70 families are currently members of the church.

"The congregation is not disbanding," Fury said. "We are exploring our options."

The addition of the Rock Fitness Center has allowed the church to make some money for its programs while providing both an affordable gym for local residents and an outlet for teens.

Church member Mark Ortiz, who used to run a nearby gym, donated the equipment and runs the facility, which is open most days from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

"I'm always here," said Ortiz, 43, who is well-known in fitness circles. "The whole place is run by volunteers." 

Fury is a developer who is currently crafting a potential design for senior housing that would leave the church intact.

"This would also be another way for us to serve the community," he said.

Some preservationists, however, are dismayed that the congregation would even consider selling its historic sanctuary. 

"It is a wonderful piece of architecture and adds variety and beauty to the streetscape," said Christina Wilkinson of the Newtown Historical Society. "Even those who don't attend this church will miss it if it is lost."

Bob Singleton, a Queens historian whose family has deep roots in the Presbyterian church, said he is worried that too many cash-strapped congregations are quick to sell off their property.

"Religious bodies are built by time and treasure donated by their members for religious purposes," said Singleton, who is not affiliated with the church in Ridgewood.

"If they feel they can no longer fulfill that function, they should pass the property on to another religious body who could." 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2010/05/09/2010-05-09_united_presbyterian_church_pays_bills_with_rock_fitness_center_for_body_and_soul.html#ixzz0nQlSHfQ9