In recent years St. John's Baptist Church in Inwood has had a popular Sunday school education program but a lack of classroom space has made holding six classes totallling over 100 people in one main fellowship room quote a challenge. St. John's is hoping to address this problem with a proposed new classroom annex that would allow both the church's youngsters and older adults to receive educational programing in a comfortable learning environment.
St. John's is proposing a 6,000 square-foot classroom annex that would be constructed in the church's parking lot on 4 Henry Street, Inwood. The addition would consist of three floors and include a total of six classrooms, three offices and six bathrooms. Church officials requested variances for the proposed project before the Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals on Feb. 3 with a decision expected next month.
"This should open up a great opportunuty for people to feel they have adequate space," said St. John's Baptist Church Pastor Gregory Stanislaus. "This should add some normalcy to the classroom program."
Money for the proposed annex was raised privately by parishioners, which have moderately increased at St. John's in recent years with church attendance now at around 250 on Sundays, according to Stanislaus. Initial estimates for the project were between $850,000-$1.2 million, he said.
"The Sunday school now has to divide up into sections in the sanctuary," said Inwood resident Rita Williams, who participates in an adult education class at St. John's. "It will be wonderful to have each class have its own classroom."
The current St. John's Baptist Church parking lot has around 23 parking spaces and 11 spots would be removed if the annex is built, according to Pastor Stanislaus. He is not concerned about a lack of parking for parishioners since the Number Four School lot located only about 150 feet from the church and can be utilized on Sundays.
Comments about this story? Nassaueditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 201.
