All Saints’ Episcopal Church at 43-12 46th St. (Photo: Queens Post)
Jan. 14, 2020 By Christian Murray
All Saints’ Episcopal Church on 46th Street is closing and the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island is in the midst of deciding what to do with the property.
The parish, which was established in 1928, is closing on Feb. 23, as membership numbers fall and the cost of running the church hard for the diocese to maintain. The church property will be administered by the Long Island diocese, with the diocese saying it has no intention to sell the property.
The church, located at 43-12 46th St., was built in 1934 and the structure is not landmarked, according to city records. The parish in its early years was run out of a member’s Sunnyside apartment.
“All Saints Church in Sunnyside will close as a parish congregation on Feb. 23,” said Reverend Lawrence Provenzano, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island. “But the diocese has no plans to sell the property. We will continue to use the church building, including future arrangements with our tenants for at least a year.”
The church is currently used by Amazing Magic Beans, a pre-school, which will remain open—at least until the end of summer.
Church membership has been on the decline for at least three decades.
The church had more than 100 members in 1998, Provenzano said, but that number has dwindled to about 20 and the church can no longer afford to maintain the property and support staff salaries.
The sanctuary is built for about 100 attendees, but only about 12 to 18 people attend each of the two services on Sundays, according to Rev. Gabriel Lamazares, who has led the parish since June 2016.
