NEW YORK, NY — On May 3, 2026, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church reopens its cherished Kirkland Chapel with a joyful service of worship, marking the culmination of a sweeping two-year renovation that has transformed the century-old space while honoring every detail of its sacred character.

The chapel, a beloved fixture of Midtown Manhattan’s spiritual life since 1925, welcomes its congregation back for the first time since January 14, 2024. What followed was an “above the ceiling to below the floor” renovation that modernized the chapel’s mechanical, electrical, audio, and visual systems, while painstakingly preserving its architectural soul.

“Kirkland Chapel has always been a place where people encounter something larger than themselves,” says the Rev. Dr. Scott Black Johnston, senior pastor of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. “We didn’t just want to repair this space, we wanted to honor it. To give the next generation of worshipers, musicians, and seekers a chapel as beautiful and as true as the one that has blessed so many of us.”

The scope of work was remarkable. More than seventy ceiling bosses, many unseen for generations, were cleaned and restored by woodworkers and plaster specialists. Artisans from Miotto Mosaic Art Studios assembled a landmark Nativity mosaic on the chapel’s west wall. A glass conservator cleaned and restored the stunning chancel and 55th Street windows, which depict apostles, early saints, archangels, and Christ; new lighting ensures their beauty is now visible in ways not seen for over a generation. Expert carpenters and restorers brought the chapel’s historic wooden panels back to their original condition. Engineers upgraded all mechanical and electrical systems for safety and energy efficiency.

“This congregation has a deep, abiding love for Kirkland Chapel,” Dr. Johnston says. “I have watched people step inside and simply go quiet. That is the power of sacred architecture: It asks something of us, and it gives something back. Our task was to protect that gift and pass it forward.”

The renovation was guided by the preservation architects at Ford 3, a firm renowned for meeting the highest standards of historical restoration. More than one hundred weekly meetings in the Betsey Jackson Room brought together the church’s volunteer Chapel Renovation Commission, architects, engineers, contractors, and church leadership to review every detail of the project.

Looking ahead, the chapel will next year receive the Eva and Jack Watson Memorial Organ. This beautiful new pipe organ, from the Glatter-Götz Organ Builders of Pfullendorf, Germany, will provide the community’s worship and sacred music programs with an instrument worthy of the space.

“We began this project with a prayer that God would guide the hands and minds of everyone involved,” says Dr. Johnston. “Standing here today, I believe that prayer was answered. Kirkland Chapel is ready: renewed, luminous, and alive for the next one hundred years of ministry.”

The reopening service will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 3, 2026, at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

About Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church Founded in 1808, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive congregation of approximately 2,000 members, part of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Located at Fifth Avenue and 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, the church continues the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ through worship, fellowship, and service to the city and world.

Media Contact: Sean McAvoy, director of communications and development, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, 7 West 55th Street, New York, NY, 10019, 212-245-3915, www.fapc.org