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Kenmore Presbyterian Church History
The Early Years . . .
On April 6, 1877, Miss Ada Chalmers organized a Sunday School with an attendance of 6. Out of this, seventeen years later, grew the Kenmore Presbyterian Church. The first meeting place was an old log house which stood on Amherst Street near Delaware. A short time later, new quarters were found in an unoccupied house on Amherst Street, and thereafter the work was conducted as a Mission of Westminster Church. In July, 1877, the Sunday School moved to P.S. 21 on Hertel Avenue (then Bird Street) where it continued until December 25, 1887, when the Glasser house (once a tavern) on the S. E. corner of Hertel and Delaware, became its meeting place before the move to Kenmore.
Founding and Growth . . .
In submitting her report to Westminster Church, Henry S. Larned, who served as Superintendent of the “Bird Street School” from 1882-88, expressed the hope that “out of this work a Chapel would arise, which would prove that those engaged in this enterprise were a people whose faith was not without work.” That hope saw its fulfillment in 1890 when Kenmore developer Louis P.A. Eberhardt donated a site on the N.E. corner of Delaware and East Hazeltine Avenues and $2,000.00 for the establishment of the Kenmore Chapel. The offer was accepted by Westminster Church and the Kenmore Chapel was dedicated in 1891. It was to serve as a mission church until 1894, and was often used by the Session of Westminster Church as a meeting place. On November 22, 1894, Presbytery met at Kenmore for the purpose of considering the establishment of an independent church. Upon the presentation of the request of 34 persons who had been granted letters of dismission from Westminster Church, Presbytery voted to organize a new church in Kenmore. The Reverend George Marsh was installed as pastor and three elders were elected. These 34 charter members and the nine additional members added to the rolls in 1894, began the venture of faith which would develop into one of the largest congregations in the Presbytery, numbering nearly 2000 members at its zenith.
The Church Buildings . . . 
At the installation service for Rev. Marsh, Dr. Samuel Van Vranken Holmes, pastor of Westminster Church, was the preacher. In a later report to the Buffalo Presbytery he noted that the sanctuary of the original church was a “very beautiful and convenient house of worship with a good pipeorgan, and the parlors and other rooms now deemed necessary to the completeness of a Christian sanctuary.” In order to keep pace with the needs of the growing congregation, the original building was greatly enlarged during the summer of 1908 by the addition of a gymnasium. For many years the gym was to be the scene of much social activity for the entire village. The sanctuary was enlarged in 1922, but this quickly became inadequate, and plans were made to expand yet once again. These initial plans gave way to the construction of an entirely new and larger edifice which would seat 1100 people. Ground was broken on October 12, 1924, and the new sanctuary was dedicated on February 14, 1926, with nearly 1200 in attendance. In 1948, a second building program was discussed, and it was decided to add a second floor to the education unit, two pastor’s studies, additional offices on the main floor, and a dining room and kitchen on the ground floor. At that time a new pipe organ was also purchased which became a landmark instrument for the Schlicker Organ Company. In 1963 it became apparent that expansion was again necessary, and a major building and remodeling program was undertaken. Completed in 1966, a new Christian Education building was constructed on the site of the demolished gym, the sanctuary was greatly remodeled, reducing the congregational seating capacity and enlarging the chancel area, and a new kitchen and banquet hall were created on the ground floor. Other significant improvements since that time include the redesigning and enlargement of the organ in 1971 and the creation of the Motter Memorial Chapel in 1982. In 1992 the Christian Education rooms, Fellowship Hall and other public areas were refurbished.
The Path Ahead . . .
For over one hundred years, Kenmore Presbyterian Church has been a center of religious, civic, and social activity in the village – a monument to the faith and vision of its founders. Today, no longer just a neighborhood church, KenPres now serves a congregation with a wide geographical distribution. The decline in attendance and membership in many mainstream churches in the late seventies and early eighties was reflected at Kenmore as well, resulting in a smaller, tightly-knit core of parishioners eager to reach out and embrace newcomers. The capital campaign of 1991 brought new funds to upgrade facilities to meet the needs of the present, yet with an eye to the future.
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