The Real Presence: Rev. Merrill’s Final Sermon on 37th Street

In his last sermon preached at the pulpit of the Brick Church on 37th street, Reverend William Pierson Merrill spoke to a crowd in limbo. New York City was changing: The New Deal, Great Depression, and early indicators of the second World War were reforming the city. The church, located on 37th and 5th, had been witness to an active congregation and a maturing city, having been previously located on Beekman street. The church had moved uptown in response to a general migration of the congregation in the same direction. In pursuit of community and stable membership, Brick was motivated to change location. Following a similar rationale in 1937, Brick Church decided to follow the growing congregation further uptown to its present site. The move was in response to many changes circling the church community during the era. In 1936, after 25 years of ministry, Rev. William Pierson Merrill expressed the wish to retire. His last sermon at 37th Street pulpit on October 17th, 1937 spoke to the uncertainties of the congregation during a time of relative upheaval. The congregation, soon to be temporarily relocated to the 85th street Park Avenue Presbyterian Church during the construction of the present site, was fraught with transition. Rev. Merrill was certainly aware of the attitude of his audience: the congregation who were witnessing a changing city, country, world, and adjusting their own lives accordingly. 

“It has been instinctive in the heart of man to associate God with special sacred places”, Merrill says in that sermon titled The Real Presence. There is a sentimentality to his tone, an understanding that an end to Brick on 37th Street did not arrive devoid of emotion. Preaching on Exodus 33:14, Rev. Merrill analyzes Moses leaving Sinai, the place where he had “found God…as nowhere else”. In a similar way, much of the congregation had found spiritual community in the 37th Street location: found refuge, peace, and in many ways, God. Rev. Merrill attempts to assuage their melancholy, reminding that “We do not need to go here or there to find Him [God]… He goes with us”. Despite the change weighing heavy on the congregation, Merrill reminded that the spirit of Christianity need not be confined to any one place. He continues by quoting an unnamed Episcopalian leader, saying “for the Catholic, God is localized on the altar, while the Protestant finds God everywhere.”

Though I cannot speak on the experiences or beliefs of Catholics, I can certainly understand the notion of omnipresence in Protestantism. I have been attending the Brick Church my entire life, and for most of that life my faith has been somewhat localized. In awe of its historicity and grandeur, the church has always been a place which I have revered, a place which has expanded my spiritual thinking and religious understanding. I was under the impression that God was native to this place, that here would be where I understand God most potently. The “everywhere” which Merrill quotes did not occur to me until the High School Mission trip to Fairbanks, Alaska in June of 2024. I had attended the mission trip the year prior in Boston, but its proximity to New York fostered similar cultures, attitudes, and landscapes to the city which I call my home. Coincidently, in Fairbanks I met a similar religious awakening to Moses: on a mountaintop. After a week of service in the Fairbanks community, our group was given the opportunity to hike Mt. Healy in Denali National Park on our free day. Once we reached the top, we worshiped amidst the breathtaking view of the park. Below us, a canopy of evergreen trees, above us, a clear sky. While gazing up, we were greeted with a rainbow stretching from behind a neighboring mountain. In that moment, I grew emotional, profoundly moved by the sense of spirituality I had found so far from my church, my home. There my faith grew alongside my sincere appreciation for my church community. My life at Brick has taught me to look for God everywhere, including hundreds of miles away. 

In The Real Presence, Rev. Merrill refers to God as “the architect”, the creator of the ever-present home for those who believe in Him. Merrill preaches to a crowd moving through change and insecurity, ensuring a never-ending sense of belonging in belief. As our current congregation moves through periods of uncertainty, societal insecurity, and personal strife, we can be sure that there will be a home for us in and out of the Brick Church: a home in our faith. 

The Brick Church Sanctuary at 37th Street and Fifth Avenue. (Source)