Date stone may lead to legal fight

Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Mission has been ordered to re-expose a Protestant date stone.

By JOSEPH MALDONADO
For the Daily Record/Sunday News

The smoke of incense hung heavily in the air as the morning mass at Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Mission came to an end in York. One by one, members left the sanctuary and made their way down the narrow, sharply turning steps to the basement.

For almost 100 years, people of many faiths have made the downstairs exodus for fellowship. One of the topics this Sunday was the city’s Historic Architectural Review Board’s recent decision demanding the mission re-expose a 30-year-old Protestant date stone.

The mission buried the stone in concrete because it found the marker offensive. The group vows a legal fight if the city council sides with HARB. The council is seeking legal advice on the matter.

“One of the first things I would do if I bought a house from the Johnsons would be to change the name on the mailbox,” said Lynn Kearney, a mission member and York resident. “That just makes sense to me.”

The name on the mission’s mailbox has changed many times at 129 S. Beaver St. It was built in 1906 as the Adas Israel Synagogue, the city’s first synagogue.

Strong evidence of synagogue’s existence still can be seen in the mission today. It’s throughout the sanctuary’s decorative wood trim and in thousands of pieces of cut stained glass are several Star of David symbols.

Over time, synagogue membership outgrew the building. In 1973, the property was sold to a group who renamed it the New Holy Chapel Church. A date stone marker was built into the northwest corner of the building commemorating that moment.

For 22 years, members of the Maranatha Church of God in Christ worshipped in the former synagogue. Maranatha maintained ownership of the building after it, too, outgrew it in 1996.

After Maranatha left, the building was used to seed new churches, the last of which was the New Holy Chapel Church of God in Christ in November 2003.

Shortly after, the building was sold to the mission.

Springettsbury Township mission member Warren Hoffman said if the city really wanted to preserve history, it would insist that every church place a marker of remembrance for every congregation using any building.

“If we keep one, why not keep a marker for all?” he asked. “There have been quite a few in here.”

Gradually, the mission has been making improvements to the building, which had fallen into some disrepair. Dr. David Drew, chairman of the mission’s governing body, said almost all of the changes have been met with overwhelming approval and gratitude — almost.

The city, in an effort to compromise, said the mission could cover the date stone once it was re-exposed. But that offer made members shake their heads.

“What exactly is the historical significance of a marker that is only 30 years old?” asked Dan Schriver. “It’s not like it’s there to serve as a reminder of Protestant architecture.”

The building actually is an example of Moorish or Oriental Revival architecture and is the only one of its kind in the city.

“Besides, if they’re just going to let us cover it with a plaque anyway, why not wait and let the next owners (re-expose the stone)?” Schriver asked. “It can’t possibly be that important.”

The marker is not the only sore point the church is dealing with HARB on. Earlier this year, the mission made a request that it be allowed to remove its five copper domes, which also have fallen into disrepair.

That request was denied because the domes, known as Turkish or onion domes, are unique in the county. Repairing the domes is expected to cost the mission at least $30,000.

In November, Drew said the mission did not want to dismantle the tower, saying, “We do want to respect the historical integrity of the building.”

But he doesn’t see the stone’s purpose in accomplishing that goal.

“The stone is offensive to us,” he said. “At this point, (HARB’s) most recent ‘historical’ decision amounts to little more than government tyranny.”

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