The Spanish Tabernacle Church of Christ was established on June 25, 1963. Four years later in 1967, the Congregation purchased its current Church building at 483 Main Street, next to the Howland Cultural Center. The City of Beacon dedicated a Greenway Trail marker to it, identifying it as the “Spanish Pentacostal Church: Built in 1869 as the 1st Methodist church on the former site of St. Anna’s Episcopal Church.”

This Church building was built in a pivotal time when the railroad expanded. Historian Bob Murphy reported in the Beacon Historical Society’s January 2008 newsletter that when this church was built in 1869, “Matteawan' s Main Street…was just emerging: the Howland Library, the Methodist Church, the train station were all newly built within a year or two of each other.”

Now in 2026, the church’s crumbling brick facade and falling slate shingles can no longer be ignored. While the Church has been given an estimate of $1 million dollars for a top to bottom renovation, they have settled on 4 areas to focus on for $500,000, The Tabernacle Church of Christ’s Congregation owns the building - the Church itself owns the building. A Board of Trustees runs it, and Pastor Nelson is the head of the Board of Trustees. They have been holding BBQ fundraisers to raise the money required to take on four major renovation projects for the following areas of the Church (pictures are below for each):

Steeple: Falling slate shingles. The slate is so old that it does not exist anymore. A material has been recommended by a potential contractor who could execute the restoration work. From the steeple, water damage is seeping into the Church’s media center balcony above the pews.
Roof: Along with the steeple, the roof would be replaced in this phase.
Fascia, Trim and Moulding: These details are damaged, rotted and missing.
Brickwork and Exterior Paint: The exterior paint is peeling with damaged brick underneath.

Pastor Nelson Burgos Jr. has been the leader of this bilingual church for almost four years. Having heard his calling after having his first child at the age of 17. He is committed to restoring the church, which has visible water damage from inside over the lively and live music-centered congregation. Sunday school rooms are downstairs, adjoining a beautiful kitchen renovation made earlier.

All are welcome to come in to worship on Sundays. “We have a mix of Hispanic..majority is Hispanic with some South and Central American families who come and visit,” Pastor Nelson told ALBB. “Mixed cultures with our congregation, including African American and Caucasian. Once you are here, we don't see culture, we see family. We accept everyone.”

Prayers From The Red Prayer Box

Pastor Nelson takes us inside the Church to see where the prayers are placed that are collected from the red prayer box out on the Church’s front lawn. "We have a group of brothers and sisters who come every Saturday to pray." The prayers are pinned to a board, and then placed in a cardbox for followup. The most rewarding, Pastor Nelson says, is when they receive followups from the prayers from those who are praying for healing, for jobs, for families, and more.

Historic Designation - Does Not Have

The building does not have a historic designation, which is surprising since it carries a deep history to the architectural and cultural shaping of what was to become the City of Beacon. In 2020, Mayor Kyriacou wanted to designate 35 homes and buildings as historic, but the Tabernacle Church of Christ at 483 Main Street was not one of them. However, the Salvation Army’s Church and the Beacon Hebrew Alliance were both on that list.

Previously, the St. Anne’s Church that was located in this spot was torn down to become the Matteawan Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) Church in 1869. Both of those churches were negatively impacted by the expanding railroad at the time. St. Anne’s church was forced to move, according to Beacon Revisited (read more below).

Currently in 2026, the Tabernacle Church of Christ faces a challenge with the Rail Trail, where the Church will lose their current parking lot to the Rail Trail. The parking lot has been crucial for their senior citizens and families to use. But Pastor Nelson has been unsuccessful with the City of Beacon and New York State agencies in trying to secure an exemption for their parking lot to keep full use of it. That story is for a subsequent article here at ALBB for more exploration.

Tour Inside Of The Church And Bell Tower

For this interview, Pastor Nelson and his son take A Little Beacon Blog all over the Church, including up to the bell tower to ring the worship bell. The bell is located in the steeple, and the room holding access to the pull-rope is not glorious. “We use the Bell Room as storage. We don't use the Bell Room as anything else but storage,” Pastor Nelson told ALBB, since it too has damage.

For the heavenly sound the comes out of the bell housed in the steeple, the room’s condition represents the entire church that is trying to get out the clear message of faith while the walls deteriorate.

Donors can donate online through the Church’s Tithe.ly account, or contact Pastor Nelson directly via email: pastornelsontoc@gmail.com

Below in this article is a brief history of the Church starting in 1869.

The History Of This Church Since 1869 - Courtesy The Beacon Historical Society

The Beacon Historical Society has provided several items to track the history of this building. Those have been expanded upon below.

Methodist Church (now the Spanish Tabernacle Church of Christ) next to the Circulating Library (now the Howland Cultural Center).
Photo courtesy of the Beacon Historical Society.

Historical Background Of What Is Now The Tabernacle Church Of Christ

In 1944, a "Historical Sketch" was published in a pamphlet that was produced with finical sponsorship of businesses and individuals (read pages below). The Beacon Historical Society has obtained that 1944 pamphlet that traces the church building's history from 1842 when the first Methodist Society was formed in Beacon (then known as Matteawan and Fishkill Landing). That Society faced differences and split.

The Mattaewan Society then built the Matteawan Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) Church in 1869, which was the First Methodist Church in Beacon, New York. "It was in the year 1842 that the first Methodist Society was formed in Beacon (then Matteawan and Fishkill Landing) and it was in 1869 that the present Church edifice of the Matteawan Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) Church (First Methodist Church of Beacon, New York [in 1944]) was built."

According to the 1944 pamphlet: "The Matteawan Society purchased a lot near St. Anna's Episcopal Church, the present N. Y. N. H. & H. Railroad Station." But they "could not occupy the church for many years for it was in the path of the proposed Dutchess and Columbia Railroad, now New Haven Railroad, and was sold to them in 1869 for $12,000 during the pastorate of Reverend Oscar Haviland."

Then, the Matteawan Society purchased St. Anna's Episcopal Church (now the Tabernacle Church of Christ) and tore that church down. The price paid for that lot was $5,000 in May, 1869. The Beacon Historical Society also provided to A Little Beacon Blog this passage from page 391 of Bob Murphy's Memory Keeper book about that development, where it is mentioned that the church by the train station is the one that was razed, which was rebuilt to be the Methodist Church, and is now the Tabernacle Church of Christ.

Also on page 71 of Beacon Revisited, the Beacon Historical Society says that "St. Anna's was razed to build the Methodist Church (now Tabernacle of Christ). The Methodist Church bought old St. Anna's, who had moved to the current St. Lukes after the railroad expansion forced St. Anna's to find new home."

According to the 1944 pamphlet, the architect of the Methodist Church that is now Tabernacle Church of Christ was J.D. Kelley. "Construction of the beautiful Gothic brick edifice, which is so conspicuous an adornment of our City, was completed and dedicated 1869-70 under the pastorate of the Reverend O. Haviland. The work on the church was done under the supervision of Edward Kelley as builder, J. D. Kelley as architect, Harris & VanBuren as painters and Benjamin Hall as carpenter. The church is 76 feet 8 inches long, 42 feet wide. At the transepts the building is 53 feed wide. The spire rises 114 feet 9 inches from the first floor level to the summit"

The pamphlet continued to give more financial details: "The new church, including site, cost $42.000. It was dedicated May 7, 1870. The dedication sermon was preached by The Reverend O. H. Tiffany. D. D. of Newark, New Jersey. The deed is dated September 17, 1870. The first sermon ever preached in the Matteawan M. E. Church was by Bishop Jones."