New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Religion

St. Francis’ Peace Prayer & Paul Schaefer’s Early Writing

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David Bibson's copy of the Saint Francis Prayer for Peace distributed by Paul SchaeferThis October 4th, the Feast Day of St. Francis, the world commemorates 800 years since the Saint’s death in 1226. Every day I pass our living room where, prominently framed on our wall, is a copy of the Peace Prayer of St. Francis, a famous Christian prayer that seeks to make the speaker an instrument of peace, love, and understanding.

This version of Francis’ peace prayer was printed in calligraphy and gifted to many by Adirondack wilderness conservationist Paul Schaefer (1908-1996). [Read more…] about St. Francis’ Peace Prayer & Paul Schaefer’s Early Writing

Martin Luther King In The Catskills, 1968

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king-concordOn March 25, 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the keynote address at the annual Rabbinical Assembly Convention at the renowned Concord Hotel in Kiamesha Lake in Sullivan County in the Catskills.  Ten days later he was dead, murdered by a white supremacist. [Read more…] about Martin Luther King In The Catskills, 1968

Spiritual Trickster Gurdjieff in 1920s New York

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George Gurdjieff (Library of Congress)Almost everyone who encountered Armenian-Greek spiritual teacher Georges Ivan Gurdjieff (ca. 1866-1877 – 1949) in 1920s New York agreed he was enigmatic, strong, and charismatic. Perhaps, also, brash and mercurial. Beyond that, his merits (or faults) lay in the eyes of beholders.

A reporter for Time magazine in 1930 illustrated this, in the way he described Gurdjieff to readers. Gurdjieff, then in his 50s, had recently met with students in a popular Manhattan salon owned by the writer and social activist Muriel Draper. [Read more…] about Spiritual Trickster Gurdjieff in 1920s New York

Sister of St. Joseph Preserve Long Island Pine Barrens Acreage

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DEC, the Sisters of St Joseph, local environmental groups, and elected officials gathered in July 2025 to mark the protection of a 43-acre pine barrens woodland in Suffolk County, NYNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently announced the permanent protection of more than 43 acres of globally rare pine barrens owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph in Brentwood, in the town of Islip on Long Island.

DEC acquired a conservation easement from the Sisters and will jointly manage the property with them for groundwater and habitat protection and public access to open space in an area historically under-served by parkland. [Read more…] about Sister of St. Joseph Preserve Long Island Pine Barrens Acreage

Mid-Century Modern Plattsburgh Church Recognized by Preservationists

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Mid-Century Modern Plattsburgh United Methodist Church, 2025 (courtesy Bonnie Black, provided by AARCH)Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) has announced the recipient of services for their pilot program, Preserving Sacred Heritage: Expanding Opportunities for Sacred Sites as Community Pillars. AARCH will complete a National Register of Historic Places nomination for the mid-century modern Plattsburgh United Methodist Church. [Read more…] about Mid-Century Modern Plattsburgh Church Recognized by Preservationists

Early Saratoga County Religious Communities: Some History

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Ballston Center Presbyterian ChurchThroughout Saratoga County’s long history, many religious and spiritual communities have called our home their home, with the land even being sacred to some. This article will highlight the founding of several of Saratoga County’s religious communities through the 19th century, with a focus on Saratoga Springs.

Today, diverse people of faith have joined those long-established denominations to call Saratoga home, including Jewish communities, several Indigenous Cultural Revival Movements, and a Mosque, Masjid Al-Arqam in Halfmoon. All of them play important roles in the Saratoga Community. [Read more…] about Early Saratoga County Religious Communities: Some History

Brother Andre: Faith Healer St André Bessette’s New York Connections

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Brother Andre - Saint André BessetteFaith healer André Bessette (1845–1937), who was later known as Brother André or Saint André of Montréal, was a frequent visitor to Plattsburgh, NY, especially after Clinton County residents, many of whom were distant cousins, told people about their cures. His special friends were Andrew Wilson and his wife, Mary Picotte, who lived at 33 Broad Street. Brother André would often take the train down from Montreal or friends would drive him down to spend a few days with them.

While he was in the area, he would visit relatives and people who were ill, and the Wilsons would open their home to people who wanted to see their friend. [Read more…] about Brother Andre: Faith Healer St André Bessette’s New York Connections

Spiritualism’s Place: Reformers, Seekers, and Séances in Lily Dale

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Spiritualism's Place: Reformers, Seekers, and Séances in Lily DaleLily Dale is a hamlet connected with the Spiritualist Movement in the Town of Pomfret in Chautauqua County, NY. It’s been a home for Spiritualists attempting to make contact with the dead, as well as a gathering place for reformers, a refuge for seekers looking for alternatives to established paths of knowledge, and a target for skeptics since the late 19th century.

Lily Dale was incorporated in 1879 as Cassadaga Lake Free Association, a camp and meeting place for Spiritualists and Freethinkers. The name was changed to The City of Light in 1903 and finally to Lily Dale Assembly in 1906. [Read more…] about Spiritualism’s Place: Reformers, Seekers, and Séances in Lily Dale

An Unwanted Gift Brings Spiritual Awakening and Joy

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(the dog) Dolly Lama on Great Sacandaga Lake (Pat Nugent)As Patricia Nugent prepared to retire in 2009 from a long and rewarding career as a school district administrator, she had two exciting goals in mind: first, to adopt another Golden Retriever, having been without one for four years; and, second, to write the Great American Novel. [Read more…] about An Unwanted Gift Brings Spiritual Awakening and Joy

Historic Preservationists Oppose Faith Based Affordable Housing Bill Provisions

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New York State CapitolThe New York Landmarks Conservancy and several colleague groups have raised objections to the “Faith Based Affordable Housing Bill” because it would remove religious buildings from landmark regulations and takes away local zoning control.

The bill exempts religious institutions seeking to build mixed use or affordable housing from all local laws except fire and building codes. It requires Building Departments to process applications from religious institutions within 60 days with no review or hearing. [Read more…] about Historic Preservationists Oppose Faith Based Affordable Housing Bill Provisions

The Plattsburgh Old Base’s Memorial Chapel: Some History

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Plattsburgh Memorial ChapelDuring the War of 1812, the Plattsburgh Cantonment was established in Clinton County, NY.  A garrison for American armies it was briefly abandoned by the U.S. Army after World War Two, before being acquired and expanded by the U.S. Air Force in 1953 which operated the facility, now known as the “Old Base” until 1995. The Plattsburgh Memorial Chapel is described by many as the most beautiful building on the Old Base. [Read more…] about The Plattsburgh Old Base’s Memorial Chapel: Some History

Northern New York’s Shrine to Mother Cabrini: Some History

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St. Patrick Church and Shrine enclosure by John RyanNestled in the hills of West Peru in Clinton County, NY, called “the Patent,” with its small yet sturdy steeple prominent among the trees, lies St. Patrick’s Church. Solemnly beside the Church, amid a park-like setting with fourteen Stations of the Cross, is a Shrine to the founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini. [Read more…] about Northern New York’s Shrine to Mother Cabrini: Some History

Teachable Moments Launch A New Book

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Autobiographies are by far the most popular genre in literature. My experience mentoring over 150 adults in completing and sharing a “Life Map” project in a supportive group reinforces this fact. For many of these adults, their Life Map turned out to be one of their best learning experiences. And that in spite of the fact that for about eight percent of adults this “experiment” in self-writing and exploration came up against a “darkside event” or difficult life-chapter that put up a real roadblock. [Read more…] about Teachable Moments Launch A New Book

Dutch-American Stories: Growing Up Dutch

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Portrait of Hendrik Peter ScholteWhat does it mean to be of Dutch extraction in the United States? Pella, situated on the Iowa plains, was the destination of choice for hundreds of Dutch families, led by Hendrick Pieter Scholte, after the Afscheiding (Secession) of 1834 split the Dutch Reformed Church. What is still Dutch and what has changed over time? Valerie Van Kooten, Executive Director of the Pella Historical Society and Museums, tells us about her childhood. [Read more…] about Dutch-American Stories: Growing Up Dutch

Raymond Buckland and Wicca in America

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long island history project logoIf you lived in Brentwood, Long Island in the late 1960s and 70s, you may have encountered a charming, transplanted Englishman named Raymond Buckland. You many not have realized it at the time, but Buckland was in the process of establishing Wicca as a religion in America.

A private practitioner at first, introduced to Wicca by Gerald Gardner, Buckland was soon thrust into the public eye by the press. He then helped popularize Gardnerian Wicca through television appearances, newspaper interviews, and his own numerous writings on the subject. He went on to found his own museum and his own tradition of Seax Wicca. [Read more…] about Raymond Buckland and Wicca in America

Religion and the American Revolution

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ben_franklins_worldInvestigations of the American Revolution often include explorations of politics, ideology, trade and taxation, imperial control, and social strife. What about religion? 

What role did religion play in the American Revolution?

In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World: A Podcast About Early American History Katherine Carté, author of Religion and the American Revolution: An Imperial History (Omohundro Institute & UNC Press, 2021), joins us to investigate the role of religion in the American Revolution.

[Read more…] about Religion and the American Revolution

Parish Lifeblood: Italian-Americans In Williamsburg (Podcast)

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Lifeblood of the ParishIn the latest episode of Empire State Engagements Dr. Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada talks about her ethnographic study of Italian-American men’s Catholic devotion, Lifeblood of the Parish; Men and Catholic Devotion in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (NYU Press, 2020). She discussed her experiences over six years of work engaging the parish community; reading tattoos as devotional texts; playfulness and devotion in masculine spaces; the rich history of Italian-American Catholicism in Williamsburg; and the endurance of this parish, tradition, and community – despite decades of challenges ranging from reactionary clergymen to Robert Moses to gentrifying hipsters. [Read more…] about Parish Lifeblood: Italian-Americans In Williamsburg (Podcast)

Infidels and Atheists: 1820 Religious Revival in Saratoga County

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Rev Asahel NettletonThe Great Awakening was a wave of increased religious enthusiasm led by evangelical Protestant ministers that first swept through the American Colonies in the 1730s. It made Christianity intensely personal to the average person by fostering a deep sense of spiritual conviction and by encouraging introspection and a commitment to a new standard of personal morality.

While the Great Awakening was very effective in reviving religion, the emotion burned out quickly after the first generation and there was much “back sliding.” By the 1820s conditions were ripe for another round of revival, what became known as the Second Great Awakening. [Read more…] about Infidels and Atheists: 1820 Religious Revival in Saratoga County

New Book: The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902

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The Great Kosher Meat WarBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

Scott D. Seligman’s new book The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902: Immigrant Housewives and the Riots That Shook New York City (Potomac Books, 2020) is a full account of the Great Kosher Meat War of 1902, a milestone in the history of Jewish-American women. [Read more…] about New Book: The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902

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