About West End

Welcome

West End Presbyterian Church is a vibrant, diverse congregation on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. We gather each week — in person and online — to worship God, to grow in faith, and to serve our neighbors. Whether you are new to the area or a lifelong New Yorker, young or old, a churchgoer or simply curious, you are welcome here.

Here you will find a foretaste of God’s beloved community: from the young to the old, nontraditional as well as traditional families, both rich and poor of many lands and cultures — worshiping together, inspired by thoughtful preaching, hands-on Bible study, and singing to nourish the soul.

Who We Are

West End is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Our spiritual hospitality invites you ever deeper into a life of faith. We are always learning and growing through the insights, imagination, and energy of the people whom God brings into our midst. No one pretends to be an expert, and no one is left behind as a beginner.

Our History

West End began as a Sunday School in 1887 and was formally organized as a church on February 7, 1888, under its first pastor, the Rev. John Balcom Shaw. The congregation grew rapidly: by 1904 it numbered more than 1,800 members and was among the largest Presbyterian churches in the country. Our main sanctuary, designed by noted church architect Henry S. Kilburn, was dedicated in 1892 and remains in use today.

From its earliest days, West End has been a church shaped by its neighborhood and its music. It welcomed a Spanish-speaking Sunday School as far back as 1897, launched a pioneering radio ministry in the 1920s, and began its present Spanish-speaking ministry in 1966. Over the generations, members from many lands and languages — including Haitian and Eritrean communities — have made West End their spiritual home.

Remarkably, the congregation was served by only four pastors across roughly a century, and it continues to place a deep emphasis on preaching, worship, and gospel music.

What to Expect on Your First Sunday

When: Sunday worship begins at 11:15 a.m., in person in our sanctuary and streamed live on Facebook and YouTube.

Where: 165 West 105th Street, New York, NY 10025, in the Manhattan Valley neighborhood of the Upper West Side.

Getting here: By subway, take the 1 train to 103rd Street and Broadway, or the B or C train to 103rd Street and Central Park West. By bus, the M116, M3, M4, and M7 all serve the area.

Accessibility: The sanctuary is wheelchair accessible through the Parish House entrance.

Communion: We celebrate Communion on the first Sunday of each month, and all are welcome at the table.

Our worship: Services are warm and welcoming, with thoughtful preaching and joyful gospel music led by our choir. Come as you are — there is no dress code, and every visitor is greeted as a guest.

Our Leadership

Rev. Noreen Santos, Pastor

Rev. Noreen Santos is a lifelong New Yorker, born and raised in the Bronx. She has served as the interim pastor of West End Presbyterian Church since July 2021. She considers it a joy and privilege to walk alongside this vibrant, diverse congregation, which gathers weekly both in-person and online. “Together we seek to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world,” she says.

Noreen grew up in the church, attending San Andres Presbyterian Church, where she was active in music, youth ministry, and leadership. She sang in the choir, played piano, joined the youth group Las Melodicas, and helped lead the annual Hispana youth retreat at Holmes Camp in Patterson, New York. She went on to serve as a Deacon, a Ruling Elder, and the director of Acción’s citywide Spanish-speaking youth choir, Voices of Praise.

She earned a dual degree in Religious Studies and Business Administration from Manhattan College, and in 1999, responding to God’s call during a church retreat, she left her corporate career to attend Princeton Theological Seminary. Ordained in 2003, she served as pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church of East Brooklyn for more than 16 years.

Believing in ministry as a holistic calling, she also trained and became licensed as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA), promoting healing and well-being in body, mind, and spirit. With gratitude and hope, she continues to serve the West End community as it strives to love God, to serve others, and to reflect Christ’s light in New York City and beyond.

John Bowen, Director of Music

John Bowen has been the music director and choir director at West End Presbyterian Church since 2000. A native of New Jersey, John attended Syracuse University and did graduate work at NYU and CUNY, studying biology, social work, and piano performance. He is a versatile and well-known pianist, keyboardist, and musical director who has worked extensively on Broadway (In My Life), on national tours (Annie), and in regional theater (On the Town, Paper Mill Playhouse; Kiss Me Kate, Westchester Broadway Theatre; and Curtains, Theatre Under the Stars, Houston). He has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and at Symphony Space. At West End Presbyterian Church, he plays the piano and keyboard, and both accompanies and directs the Gospel Choir and soloists.