Our Story

Early History

Christ Church, Troy, NY
Christ Church, Troy, NY

The congregation of Christ Church can trace its roots back to the first community of Methodists in Troy which began holding class meetings in 1793. From that group a church was formed that incorporated into the State Street Methodist Episcopal Church in 1808. Since that time many churches have been spawned by this church throughout the city and beyond. At its height in the mid-1800s this church and its offspring was a powerful force.

After several revivals in the local area the Methodist congregation grew in size until it outgrew the meeting house. In the spring of 1827 the Methodists erected a brick church next to the old meeting house. The new building was finished and dedicated on December 1, 1827. Again the church grew and was in need of expansion. A new church was planned. The architects Woollett & Ogden were hired to plan the church.

The new church, built of blue lime-stone, was dedicated by Bishop Matthew Simpson, on Thursday morning, March 30, 1871. The attractive edifice has a frontage of 75 feet on State Street and a depth of 100 feet on Fifth Street. The sanctuary, 59 by 70 feet, seats 650 with an additional 250 in the balcony. The nineteen foot square tower supports a steeple reaching 175 feet from the sidewalk to the finial. The final cost of building the church was $125,000.

Early in the 20th century, the city of Troy began to decline. Industries that fueled the growth of the city waned and the congregation's size declined as well. Several of the churches that were formed from this church returned and merged with this congregation.

A more detailed history of the church is available in pdf form.

Archives

Our records are available for research at the Rensselaer County Historical Society in Troy, New York. See a brief description of our collection (pdf)

You may also purchase CD's of high resolution photos of some of our Archives.

Technological Renovations

Wire Pulling
Pulling the Wires

On February 6, 2005 the congregation of Christ Church began a process of discernment. The congregation was challenged to transform its worship from a traditional form filled with words, both written and spoken, to service designed around a visual metaphor. The congregation discussed the option throughout the season of Lent, prayerfully contemplating the direction God was calling this congregation.

On April 17, 2005 our congregation made a historic decision to transform our worship experience. In order to make this possible new technologies needed to be added to the sanctuary A new sound system needed to be installed and a brand new visual dimension was needed. A team was called together and devised a plan and an $80,000 budget to implement it.

In order to keep costs down skilled volunteers were used to run wires in the church, install video cameras and terminate cables ready for installation. During the summer many paid and volunteer technicians worked to install the systems needed to project visual images and provide a rich and clear sound throughout the sanctuary.

Included in the renovations were the following items:

Plasmas
Plasma Screens

Control Room
Control Room

The additional technical equipment requires constant attention during the worship service. We have developed several technical teams that run the equipment each week. Each service has a Technical Director that is in charge of the technical crew and meets with those who plan worship each week, so that they have a good understanding of the upcoming worship service. In addition to the technical director there is a camera operator that controls the three robotic cameras so that the recording of the service will be a video rich experience. This video mix is also televised throughout the building for those working with the children. The third technican runs the computer which is a MediaShout driven presentation. The Technical Director runs the scaler which transitions between the video and computer images. They are also in charge of the sound controls if they need adjustment.

Worship Planning Team

The new format for worship also required a new way of designing worship. Our church adopted the worship team approach that gathers together a small group of lay and clergy to develop every single part of the service, from the music to the message. We have two Worship Planning Teams at Christ Church they each run for about five weeks in a row and then rotate. This gives those that plan worship about one-half of the year off and one-half of the year on. Staff do not rotate off and provide the consistency between the teams.