Immanuel’s History
Immigrant Community
Immanuel was established on January 11 in 1870 by a group of German immigrants who found a new home in the area. They began meeting in a house and soon had a large enough group, forty-seven, who voted to form a church. Amazingly, they opened a school only three months later in April with the pastor and one lay teacher. Within two years, the school had one hundred pupils. In time, the members purchased land and built a church and a school building. It was a space for worship and for community.
Worship and Outreach
For their 25th anniversary, the congregation celebrated the installation of a huge bell, one of the largest in the Hudson Valley weighing around one ton. They also installed their Steere Pipe Organ which has filled the sanctuary with beautiful music for over 130 years. What seems more unusual is the 1925 addition a bowling alley- the only regulation-size bowling alley in Kingston at the time.
It turns out that this was not as odd as it might appear. While the earliest forms of bowling can be traced back thousands of years, including games played with stones in ancient Egypt, Martin Luther is credited with standardizing the number of pins at nine and even built a bowling alley for his children to enjoy. Immanuel’s bowling alley was open to all and brought years of enjoyment to church members and community members alike. Sadly, the bowling alley’s days have ended.
Multi-lingual
In 1907, the pastor introduced bi-weekly English worship. Up to that time, all worship was in German, the language of the original immigrants. The introduction of English arrived a generation after the original founders. One imagines that their children learned the language of their parents’ new homeland and desired to worship in English, along with other Kingston residents.
Change and New Life
In 1964, a disastrous fire destroyed much of the sanctuary, but made way for renovations that created a brighter and lighter space for worship.
In 1970, finances forced the closure of the school, but the church partnered with the Children’s Home of Kingston to host a Children’s Enrichment Program that offered childcare and educational resources for the mothers.
Also, in the early ‘70s, Immanuel was instrumental in planting the seeds that grew into Kingston’s People’s Place. The church partnered with another congregation, St. Clare’s Church of God, in sharing a release-time program that allowed children a weekly time off for religious education. A group of women from the two churches decided to open a thrift shop in a storefront they called “The Building Up Building.” This eventually became People’s Place. Today, People’s Place has a huge impact on the community with a thrift store, food pantry, wellness empowerment center and community café. In 2024, nearly 1,700,000 meals were served.
Today Immanuel builds on its past and seeks to be part of a bright future for Kingston. We continue to welcome immigrants seeking a new home in the area, to balance worship with service and community partnerships that work for justice and the wellbeing of our neighbors.
Like our forebears, our worship includes two languages, but today it is English and Spanish.
It is certainly a time of change, but we trust that the Spirit that inspired and guided our ancestors is with us today and we look forward to the surprises that await.
