Washington Square Methodist Episcopal Church

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}

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| name = Washington Square Methodist Episcopal Church

| image = Washington Sq UMC 135 W4 cloudy jeh.jpg

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| location = New York City, New York

| country = United States

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| denomination = United Methodist Church

| previous denomination = {{ubl | {{nowrap|Methodist Episcopal Church}} | Methodist Church}}

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| people = Paul Abels

| functional status = Converted into apartments

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| architect = Charles Hadden{{cite web |title=Washington Square United Methodist Church |website=The New York City Organ Project |url=http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/WashingtonSqMeth.html |location=New York |publisher=New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists |access-date=October 26, 2021}}

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| style = Romanesque Revival{{cite news |last1= Pereira |first1=Ivan |last2=Grella |first2=Stephanie |date=March 2, 2015 |title=Can They Be Saved |newspaper=AM New York |publisher=Schneps Media |page=3}}

| years built = 1859–1860

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| closed date = 2004

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| division = New York Conference

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Washington Square Methodist Episcopal Church was a United Methodist church which was located at 135 West Fourth Street in New York City's Greenwich Village for almost 150 years. It was built as a new and larger structure by the Sullivan Street Methodist church in 1860; a balcony added later was the first New York City example of one not supported by columns. The building was sold by its remaining small congregation in 2004, which could no longer support maintenance on the structure. This congregation briefly rented space in Trinity Chapel, New York University (1964), before joining with two other Methodist congregations to create the Church of the Village. Washington Square United Methodist Church was known as "The Peace Church" when under the leadership of Finley Schaef resulting from the congregation's opposition to the Vietnam War.{{cite book |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |year=2004 |title=From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |page=291 |isbn=978-0-231-12543-7}} Paul Abels, New York City's first openly gay clergyman, served as the church's pastor from 1973 to 1984 and promoted acceptance of the gay and lesbian community.{{cite news |last=Lambert |first=Bruce |date=March 14, 1992 |title=The Rev. Paul Abels Dies at 54; Gay Pastor {{not a typo|Lead}} 'Peace' Church |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/14/nyregion/the-rev-paul-abels-dies-at-54-gay-pastor-lead-peace-church.html |url-access=limited |newspaper=The New York Times |page=A12 |access-date=June 25, 2017}} The church could not be demolished as it was located in the Greenwich Village Historic District and was instead converted into Novare, a condominium apartment building.{{cite thesis |last=Russiello |first=James |year=2008 |title=A Sympathetic Planning Hierarchy for Redundant Churches: A Comparison of Continued Use and Reuse in Denmark, England and the United States of America |degree=MSc |location=Bath, England |publisher=University of Bath |pages=351, 353}}{{cite news |last=Amateau |first=Albert |date=July 27, 2005 |title=Washington Square Church Is Sold |work=The Villager}}