Parish Profile (May, 2019)

The information for our parish profile was gathered from St. Gabriel’s parishioners through our Parish Summit, Parish Survey, Neighborhood Prayer Walk and Church documents. Our neighborhood information has come  from NYC Department of City Planning Website. We are grateful to everyone for their participation in this project.

 Writing/Profile Committee

 Edna Loncke & Handel Andrews (Co-Chairs); Dena Cox, Editor

Edith Lewis, Secretary; Lorna Blackwood, Silvia Lavalas,

Keith Williams, Gordon Wilson, Noel Browne. 

St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church, Brooklyn

“Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:2.).

And may God’s Spirit guide and strengthen you always.

Mission Statement

"To expand God’s work in His Kingdom through joyful worship, witness, education, and outreach."

Introduction

Our place of worship is located in the middle of the Hawthorne Street block between Nostrand and New York Avenues. It’s a 9,000 square foot structure containing worship space on the main level, with an adjoining two-level office and conference room on the main and upper levels. On the lower level is the “Golden Hall”, a parish hall/activity space with a commercial kitchen. The building is fully air-conditioned and accessible to persons living with disabilities. The sanctuary has seating for 342 persons at worship. The Golden Hall has capacity for 292 persons for banquet seating, or 386 persons for community hall events. Both the sanctuary and the Golden Hall are equipped with audio visual support devices.

Other buildings connected with our parish include a rectory and an adjoining parish house. The parish house, separated from the church by our small parking lot, is used for programs and small social and community events.

Flowers adorn the exterior of our church, greeting you as you enter the sanctuary from the front door or exit the premises from the lobby. A statue of our patron, Saint Gabriel, stands out amidst markers dedicated to loved ones who have passed on.

This spiritual sanctuary is ready to welcome you.

Our Community

Location and Socio-Economic and Demographic Snapshot 

St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church is located at 331 Hawthorne Street, in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn (Zip Code: 11225) and within the boundaries of the political subdivision known as Brooklyn Community District 9. According to its website, (https://communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov/brooklyn/9), Community District 9 encompasses a total land area of 1.7 square miles with an estimated population density of just over 61,500 per square mile and includes portions of the neighborhoods known as Crown Heights, Flatbush, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and Wingate. The District is bordered by: Prospect Park (Ocean/Flatbush Avenues), Eastern Parkway, Lincoln Terrace Park (Rochester/Utica Avenues), and Clarkson Avenue.

Eastern Parkway, along the district’s northern boundary, is one of Brooklyn’s most elegant thoroughfares and a main route for the largest West Indian parade and carnival in North America every Labor Day. The district includes such prestigious cultural institutions as: The Brooklyn Museum, the Jewish Children’s Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Brooklyn Public Library (Central Branch).

Other notable institutions in the District include: Kings County Hospital Center (one of the largest hospital complexes in the world); SUNY Downstate Medical Center (the only academic medical center for health education, research, and patient care serving Brooklyn); Kingsboro Psychiatric Center; Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center; and the 71st Precinct.

Within our community, public educational institutions include: Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York, four high schools; four intermediate schools, and eleven elementary schools. A significant number of private and parochial schools also exist within the District.

Religious institutions include several large (Roman) Catholic churches; some of the oldest Protestant churches in the Borough; the World Headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Movement, and several Pentecostal and Non-Denominational churches.

The District’s 111,300 residents (2012-2016 CD9 estimates) are also served by a wide variety of small and medium-sized businesses, including cafes, restaurants, liquor stores, supermarkets, fruit and vegetable stands, discount variety stores, clothing and shoes stores, and health and fitness centers.

Community District 9 is largely a middle-class community. However, over the past five decades, it has undergone extensive demographic changes, creating a unique blend of people of Asian, African, Caribbean, European and Hispanic descent, as well as new residents from other regions of the United States. Broken down by race, CD9 has estimated that Non-Hispanic White residents account for approximately 20% of the population; Non-Hispanic Blacks about 66%; Non-Hispanic Asians slightly less than 2%; other Non-Hispanic races about 12%; and Hispanics about 2% (CD9 2012-2016 estimates). In fact, CD9 has estimated that slightly more than 41% of its residents are foreign born, while 12% of those 5 years or older have limited English proficiency. In recent years, CD9 has witnessed an emergence of a younger demographic – a fact supported, in large measure, by the observations of congregants who took part in a Neighborhood Prayer Walk conducted by our church. Young families as well as single young adults have come to call this community home, due in large part to its affordability, character, and close proximity to cultural institutions, parks and public transportation. According to CD9’s estimates, slightly less than 23% of the district’s residents are under 18 years old, while just over 13% are 65 years and older.

Our History

Like the congregation of the early twentieth century, the present congregation is in large part made up of immigrants. Unlike the earlier congregants who came mostly from Europe, those now attending come mostly from the Caribbean, Central and South America, West Africa, and the United States. Today, God’s work is carried on in a new spacious structure with ample worship and activities space, sufficient to support the numerous activities of the church; including a senior center funded by the New York City Department for the Aging.