Flooding brings new woes to NYC church hard-hit by COVID-19
This Monday, Jan. 4, 2020 photo provided by Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church shows flood damage in their church in the Manhattan borough of New York after a water main break. The Lutheran church was already reeling from the COVID-19 deaths of more than 60 congregation members during the pandemic. (Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church via AP)
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NEW YORK (AP) — Saint Peter’s Lutheran church in New York City has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 60 members of the congregation dying from COVID-19. Now it has suffered a new trauma, sustaining severe flooding damage after the rupture of a major municipal water main.
The senior pastor says muddy floodwaters caused significant damage to the sanctuary and to basement-level rooms, including a theater.
This Monday, Jan. 4, 2020 photo provided by Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church shows flood damage in their church in the Manhattan borough of New York after a water main break. The Lutheran church was already reeling from the COVID-19 deaths of more than 60 congregation members during the pandemic. (Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church via AP) 
This Monday, Jan. 4, 2020 photo provided by Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church shows flood damage in the music room of their church in the Manhattan borough of New York after a water main break. The Lutheran church was already reeling from the COVID-19 deaths of more than 60 congregation members during the pandemic. (Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church via AP)
The church places a major emphasis on music and has a popular Jazz Vespers program, and the pastor says the badly damaged items included treasured musical instruments and the archives of greats such as John Coltrane and Billy Strayhorn.
