Church officials will propose a two-story addition (Dec. 29)
By: Marisa Maldonado
ALLENTOWN Skyrocketing membership and expanded programs at the Allentown Presbyterian Church have sent church officials looking to make more room for new parishioners.
Church officials will go before the Planning Board next month to propose a two-story addition that would house multi-purpose classrooms for programs such as Sunday school classes, the Little Tree Preschool and children’s choral programs.
The church’s membership has doubled in the last eight years, and Pastor Stephen Heinzel-Nelson said church leadership has created additional programs that current facilities no longer can hold.
"On pretty much any given day, all of the rooms are being filled," Mr. Heinzel-Nelson said. "With the growth of the area, there’s just been a tremendous amount of growth for the church."
The new wing, which has a ground floor of about 1,700 square feet, will connect the church’s Cornell House for education and the administrative building behind the church sanctuary on High Street.
The project already has received the endorsement of the Allentown Historic Preservation Review Commission.
Construction could begin in the fall if all goes well with the Planning Board, Mr. Heinzel-Nelson said.
Many of the church’s programs have started within the past five years, the pastor said. The church started Little Tree Preschool four years ago, and now 100 children between 2 and a half and 4 years old attend the school from two to five days a week. Mr. Heinzel-Nelson said the school’s wait list would be reduced if the expansion is approved.
Other longtime programs, such as the 200-year-old Sunday school, have seen rapid growth the last five to 10 years, the pastor said. The church has existed at its current location since 1740.
"The church has had such a long and great relationship with the community and has tried to meet the needs of the community," the pastor said. "This is a way for us to continue to reach out."
The Planning Board will meet Jan. 9.

