The Snyder Avenue congregation began as a mission of the Greenwich Presbyterian Church in 1984, and in the late 1890s-early 1900s was home to the “Brotherhood of Andrew and Phillip” (memorialized in a large stained-glass window), a men’s group dedicated to praying for men and families in the community who did not belong to the church. Snyder Avenue Congregational’s current sanctuary was designed by architect Charles W. Bolton in 1903.

As waves of refugees and immigrants began moving into the church’s South Philadelphia neighborhood in the 1990s, the congregation opened its doors to several ethnic congregations. Today, as many as seven refugee and immigrant congregations meet in the SAACPhilly-Snyder Avenue building, consisting of refugees and immigrants from Africa (Congolese and other East African countries), Burma (Karen and Chin), Laos, Nepal, and many Spanish speaking countries. They also serve the residents of Irish and Italian descent who first settled in South Philadelphia in the 1800s.

A National Fund grant of $222,500 with $222,500 in matching funds to be raised by SAACPhilly-Snyder Avenue Congregational Church will fund a new roof over the sanctuary, as well as urgent masonry repair of the coping and spires.

Photo by Catherine E. Grainge