GOSHEN – The former Goshen United Methodist Church is feeling its age. In need of paint and repairs, with some aging infrastructure systems, the 109-year-old church, now an active spiritual and performance space on Route 47 in Goshen, received a new “roadmap” to its future June 23.
The church was rechristened in 2017 as St. Babs, named after Founder and Executive Director Will Keenan’s deceased mother, Barbara Keenan. Keenan left a career in movies and digital entertainment to open St. Babs in 2017, as a space where spirituality and performance arts coexist in an environment that is also supportive of those in addiction recovery.
Beginning in April, USA Architects, the same firm working on plans for Cape May’s proposed public safety building, began a pro bono exercise in helping the church conceptually frame the building and grounds, including the old cemetery, for a new future.
The effort was part of a grant to St. Babs from Philadelphia’s Community Design Collaborative, in partnership with Sacred Places/Civic Spaces. The aim of the grant program is “to re-envision underutilized, purpose-built religious properties as community hubs.”
Members of the church community turned out for a presentation of design concepts by the architects June 23. A formal report will be completed in the fall. The public meeting offered an opportunity for individuals to see the concepts being considered.
About 30 members of the community attended, all of whom seemed to know Keenan and many of whom spoke favorably about his efforts on behalf of the neighboring area.
Jim McAuliffe, associate and senior project manager for USA Architects, said the church is in reasonably good shape considering its age. He and others from the firm presented ideas for renovation, which focused not only on improving the condition of existing space, but also on adding some form of roofed deck that would provide additional space for community events.
Several options for a deck along the back part of the building were presented, located so that the overhanging roof structure for the deck would not interfere with the sun’s rays through the stained glass.
Another part of the renovation concept was the creating of paths through the cemetery, making it easier and safer to navigate. It would also allow people to absorb the grounds as a historic site, as well as visit the graves of loved ones. The cemetery area would see some new fencing and landscaping as well.
McAuliffe said Keenan would not be able to take the final report and begin any type of construction since it does not aim to provide that level of detailed design. What the report will do, however, is capture design options which provoked community input. Financing and construction lie ahead.
Throughout the presentation, an old sheet music stand was used as an easel for design boards. That act seemed symbolic of the structure’s evolution from a formal Methodist Church built in 1910 into a mixed spiritual/performance/recovery/community space under the direction of a founder who came to the community by way of Bollywood, among other locations, in his film career.
Since a planned Halloween graveyard tour in 2017, which produced an uproar among some who had family interred in the cemetery, Keenan has positioned St. Babs as a community venue.
Ruth Wiley, Jack and Fran Strauss-Baxter, David Cassidy, and Patty Moore-Campbell were among those who attended the presentation. They demonstrated their interest and involvement in the process that seeks to define St. Babs’ future.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
