Payne Avenue Christian Church

A SHORT HISTORY OF PAYNE AVENUE CHRISTIAN CHURCH - Taken from a 2003 Sermon

Fifteen years ago (1988) we celebrated the 100th birthday of our church. As part of that celebration, Gwen Molnar, our resident poet, wrote a poem to our church's history and future.

Posterity! What this is all about;
A linking of the future to the past.
You, of another generation, without doubt
Now hold the torch; long wrested from our grasp
Each one of you! Pray God you hold it fast.

Although, way back in eighteen-eighty eight
Very few people had the means of travel.
Even to get to Tonawanda seemed
Never-ending, over roads of dirt and gravel.
Under such difficulties, they struggled much
Each brave soul seeking ways to get to Church.

Clearly a church they needed, and so
Here in North Tonawanda, that brave band
Responded to the need, and thus they were
Inspired to build. The family of George Rand
Sufficient funds provided. And so began
The evolution from “Old Payne” the first
Into the Church today we proudly claim
As our own Payne Avenue Christian Church.
New generations, rising, bless its name.

Come ye apart, dear friends, and rest awhile
Here in the Sanctuary of our Church,
Unto yourselves, each woman, man and child
Remember, we have left a sacred trust.
Come here and worship, sing, praise and adore
Here commune with your loved ones, gone before.

Yes, they left a sacred trust for us. So, let's look back and remember a while who they were.

Back in 1888 the twin cities of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda constituted the largest lumber trading center in the United Sates, some say the world. Those were bustling, busy times. Many new industries were being developed. But back in 1888 getting around the streets of these two small cities was difficult, particularly during a rainy or snowy time, and especially getting from one side of the Erie Canal to the other.
North Tonawanda had a population of around 4,500 people, but it had very few churches. Over in Tonawanda, our mother church was very successful. The Tonawanda Church of Christ (today it is known as Grove Street Christian Church) was located on the corner of Broad and Seymour Streets. Several members of that church lived in North Tonawanda. They complained about how difficult it was for them to cross the canal for services.

And so, with the help of Rev. Frank Talmadge, the pastor of the Tonawanda Church of Christ, on August 5, 1888 a group of 69 members of the Tonawanda church signed a charter, establishing a Disciples of Christ Church in North Tonawanda. The first name of our church was the North Christian Church.

The first services were held in the Ironton School house near the intersection of Oliver and Wheatfield Streets. That school is gone. Today the new apartment complex for the blind stands on that spot. Leaving the school, the North Christian Church met in the Zimmerman home on Lincoln Avenue, and settled for about one year meeting in the German Evangelical Church on Schenck Street. (That church became Frieden's United Church of Christ. Today that building houses the Ghost Light Theater group.) The two most prominent members and leaders of the church were B. L. Rand (of Remington Rand) and George F. Rand, Sr. (the president of Marine Midland Bank, now HSBC).

North Christian Church purchased the lot at the corner of Payne's Avenue and Christiana Street for $1,710 and started building its first home. That church building was dedicated on January 28, 1890. It cost $11,496.

From the outside, it looked like things were going smoothly at the church. But the insiders knew better. There was a falling out between B. L. Rand and George F. Rand, Sr. They no longer seemed to be able to worship together. So, George F. Rand, Sr. decided to establish another congregation.

On February 19, 1899 George F. Rand, Sr. organized a Mission Sunday School. He purchased an old bar and tavern and had it moved across the street to the corner of Oliver and Wheatfield Streets. The mission was a success and a church was officially organized with 46 charter members. They named themselves the Central Church of Christ. In 1902, Central Church of Christ erected on the opposite corner of Oliver and Wheatfield Streets its first building, a church school, at a cost of $20,000. It was called The Tabernacle. The assembly room had a seating capacity of 690 and was often filled to capacity. The Tabernacle boasted its own orchestra. Plans were drawn up for a Spanish style sanctuary wing, but it was never built.

In 1919, while touring war-torn Europe, George F. Rand, Sr. was killed in an airplane crash in France. His children made a gift of $50,000 to the Tabernacle to construct a new, modern church building as a memorial to their parents.

George F. Rand, Jr. was very wealthy. He and his family lived in a stone mansion on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo. (His home is Canisius High School today.) In the 1920's George, Jr. and his wife would have the members of the congregation come to their home for dinner. Adele Hird remembers going to Buffalo on those outings when she was a young girl. Adele said they would all sit in the Rand's ballroom and were served goat cheese sandwiches (Mrs. Rand's favorite).

The Disciples of Christ presence in North Tonawanda began in 1888 with the North Christian Church, which soon changed its name to Payne Avenue Church of Christ. By 1901, Payne Avenue Church of Christ had split and a second group had formed, the Sunday School Mission, which changed its name to Central Church of Christ but soon came to be known as the Tabernacle. In 1920, following the death of George Rand, Sr. (and the end of the division with B. L. Rand), a movement was floated to merge the two Disciples churches into one.

Discussions were held between the leaders of the Tabernacle and Payne Avenue Church of Christ. The congregations voted to build a new church with a new name. In November 1923, both of the old congregations dissolved and they became, together, The Church of Christ of North Tonawanda. The newly merged congregation purchased the lot at the corner of Payne Avenue and Wheatfield Street for the new church. The cost of the building lot was $5,700.

When this location was chosen, this was the area of North Tonawanda where new growth was happening. The new high school was to be erected just three blocks north. The empty fields were soon to be filled with new houses.

Although the two Disciples churches had merged, they did not worship together as one. Services continued to be held at both locations.
Ground was broken for the new church home here at this location on June 28, 1927. The original gift from the Rand children had grown to $70,000. The design of this building was chosen by George Rand, Jr. This building is a copy of an English chapel that Mr. Rand had discovered during one of his European holidays.

The Tabernacle building was sold. When it came time to sell the Payne Avenue Church of Christ building at the corner of Christiana Street, the members of that congregation balked. They chose instead to leave the merged church. And so, while this building was under construction, half of the congregation walked out. The merger was dead. The remaining members from the Tabernacle, with $70,000 in the bank decided to continue with the new building. Although the cost of the new building was over $151,000, times were good, business was booming, and the thought was that the smaller congregation could easily handle the debt.

After the walls of the sanctuary were constructed, it was decided a pipe organ was needed. The Wurlitzer Company was commissioned to build a pipe organ for the church. The cost of the organ was $5,245. However, there was no room in the design of the sanctuary for the organ. So, the architect had to redesign the front of the church to house the organ.

The dedication of this building was on April 15, 1928. It was a most modern facility. It even had one electrical outlet in every room! Within a few months, the stock market crashed, the nation fell into an economic depression, and this congregation was saddled with an enormous debt it could not meet. Struggling to meet its mortgage payments, other functions of the church suffered. During its early years, this building was heated only on Sunday mornings. Melvin Fingerlow remembered coming with his father early on Sunday mornings to stoke the coal furnace. As the furnace roared to life, condensed water would run down the walls on the inside of the  sanctuary. Mel said one of his jobs as a boy was to wipe down the walls before worship. Some say many of today's leaks go back to those days of neglect.

Although the cornerstone of this building says it is the Church of Christ, the congregation changed its name back to Central Church of Christ.
In 1936 the Rand family paid off the remaining mortgage through a gift of $61,000. They also saw to it that the church parsonage was free of debt.

Through the years North Tonawanda had two Disciples of Christ congregations: Payne Avenue Church of Christ (Christiana Street) and Central Church of Christ (here). Both were started and supported by different members of the powerful and wealthy Rand family.

In 1958, according to the wishes of our denomination, both congregations changed their names again. So, the two churches became Payne Avenue Christian Church (Christiana Street) and Central Christian Church (here).

By the 1950's the economy was booming in North Tonawanda. A massive new housing development was under construction. It was the Wurlitzer Park area. To meet the needs of the new neighborhood, the developer of Wurlitzer Park, Pearce & Pearce, set aside two tracts of land for churches: one Catholic and one Protestant.

A site of two and three quarter acres at the corner of Ruie Road and Vanderbilt Avenue was deeded to the Disciples of Christ for a third North Tonawanda church. A nucleus of members came from both Payne Avenue and Central Churches. On May 25, 1958, the first worship service of this new church was held at the Wurlitzer Organ Plant. Meeting at the Wurlitzer Plant for 20 months, the new congregation set about building its new church facility. The first service held in the Community Christian Church at 1400 Ruie Road was on January 24, 1960.

After years of separation, the congregations of Payne Avenue and Central Christian Church voted to merge on February 19, 1961. March 26, 1961 (Palm Sunday) was the first worship service of the merged church. The merged congregation voted to use the Central Church building (Payne Avenue and Wheatfield Street) and take on the name Payne Avenue Christian Church.

The old Payne Avenue Church building was sold to the Church of the Nazarene. That church disbanded several years ago. After years of standing vacant, the building was purchased and is now a private residence.
Community Christian Church disbanded on June 30, 1970. The building was sold to the Sutherland Lodge.

In 1996 the congregation of Payne Avenue Christian Church voted to move to a location where a modern, new building could be built with a large parking lot and room to grow. The first proposed location was the then vacant and unfinished strip mall on Niagara Falls Boulevard in front of Crestview Nursing Home. That location was eventually by-passed.

About five years ago, we purchased 20 acres of farmland on Shawnee Road. We recently purchased an additional five acres.

This building was for sale for four years. During that time we did not have one credible offer. We took the building off the market. Shortly after taking the building off the market, the congregation of St. Mary/St. Moisis Coptic Christian Church made an offer to purchase the building. This unexpected opportunity has necessitated our hurried leaving.

For now, we will be meeting at the Sutherland Lodge - formerly Community Christian Church - at the corner of Ruie Road and Vanderbilt Avenue while our new building is under construction.

We have a hundred and fifteen year presence in North Tonawanda. We have met in many different locations: a school, a bar, a private home, and four different church properties. We have had many names: North Christian, Payne Avenue Church of Christ, Central Church of Christ, the Tabernacle, the Church of Christ, Community Christian, and Payne Avenue Christian Church.

But through it all, we have been a family. We have sung together and prayed together, worshipped together and played together. We have mourned and laughed. We have grown and studied and learned together. Sometimes we even argued and fought, hurt and angered each other. But through it all, we found an avenue to love each other.

We're not done, not yet! We're just beginning. So, we will say farewell to this old place, this wonderful old place. We will take with us so many memories and history.

Wherever we go, we will see the goodness of the Lord. Be strong. Take courage. Wait for the Lord!

Credit: Donated to the Museum by Ed Wokersien