House of Worship Celebrates Big Victory

According to a sign in front of the Community Church of Little Neck, this 85-year old institution calls itself "The Church That Love Built."

And there was a lot of love going around the room on Sunday inside of the church's meeting hall, with parishioners celebrating the of an unused portion of property that leaders said would ensure this neighborhood house of worship's financial future.

"I was literally losing sleep over it, so today is truly a blessing," said T.J. McSherry, who's been attending service at the church for eight years. "We're a really intricate extended family here and the past few months have been hard on all of us because no one could imagine not coming here on Sundays."

Since 2006, has attempted to sell of a portion of its property — all while operating at a loss — in the hopes of generating the capital needed to upgrade their facilities and set up an endowment for the future.

Though talk had been circulating for weeks regarding a possible purchase of the property, Sunday was the first time many parishioners learned about the sale.

"When I found out this morning I was elated... It was an incredible moment coming to mass and learning that our church had been saved," said parishioner Alice Poneros.

For almost a century, the church has been a staple in the community, collecting food for the poor, offering a Woman's Watch Group and hosting a universal pre-Kindergarten.

"It's nice knowing that we finally have the money again to start doing some more community outreach," said Pastor Paul Drake, who led Sunday's celebration.

Behind closed doors after mass, the congregation discussed the specifics of the land deal that went through last Thursday and the future for the church. 

Among the agenda items up for discussion was a proposal to open a senior center for people of all faiths within the Little Neck community, as well as a day care center for children.

"But at this point in time, these are all just ideas we're discussing — nothing is definite yet," said Richard Loffler, chairman of the Board of Trustees for the church.

Even with many plans under wraps, one thing clear on Sunday was that some very relieved parishioners got to celebrate the good news that the church they call home isn't shutting down.

"We're a very loving, accepting group, and it's nice to know that someone up there is looking out for us," McSherry said.