Off the Beat: World’s Smallest Church In Oneida, Ny

(Photo by Chris Clemens, Exploring Upstate.)

I wanted Off the Beat to have an element of romance this month, so I thought I would investigate a claustrophobic wedding venue I heard about. Not that claustrophobia is romantic, but this little church is so small (it has a floor area of under 30 square feet) that there is only space for three adults inside: the person officiating the wedding and the two parties getting married. And that does sound intensely romantic to me.

The tiny house movement is a well-publicized trend, but did you know that there have been, for some time, a number of tiny churches in the US? I started reading about them, and Cross Island Chapel in Oneida (about two hours north of Binghamton by car) is, despite some half-hearted competition for the title, pretty much officially the world’s smallest church. The endearing white dollhouse-like building sits in the middle of a pond that seems to be mossy green year-round. It perches upon a wooden platform near a rocky “island” (just a few feet in diameter), to which a wooden cross has been affixed. Two stained glass windows punctuate the sides of the building; at least one of them depicts a dove, but they are disproportionately small even for this tiny structure and can’t be seen distinctly from the shore. A welcoming sign near the edge of the quiet pond states that Cross Island Chapel was built in 1989, is non-denominational, and is “available for special occasions and meditation.” The chapel can only be reached by boat - or visitors could be lowered from a noisy helicopter.

The cameo of a church off Sconondoa Road is somewhat legendary. The story goes that the first couple was married in the chapel sometime around 1990. The couple, along with the presiding minister, rowed out to the island, while the guests peered over from the shore. The wedding party surrounded the little jewel in rowboats, leaving the ceremony inside a compactly private affair. But the more I read about the chapel, the more I discovered that there were more unanswered questions than answered ones.

The pond seems to have no name. The phone number on the sign is out of service. Though Cross Island Chapel has an active Facebook page, continues to attract curiosity seekers and devotees, and still gets a fair amount of attention from the press, the only other account I found (from anyone who actually entered the building) was from three worshippers who held an Evensong service there back in 2005. They never saw the unnamed caretaker who left a rowboat for them at the shore and told them, in advance, that the door would be unlocked. They reported that four kid-sized chairs and a pulpit were inside. Their overall impression was of a gloriously peaceful experience.

When I made inquiries to a well-respected pastor of another church in Oneida (an active house of worship with a congregation), senior pastor Jeff Leahey of the Church on the Rock certainly knew of “the world’s smallest church,” but nothing concrete. He said he had driven past it recently and had been thinking about it. There was a particular tenderness in his voice when he spoke of Cross Island Chapel.

So, instead of romance we have something of a mystery. Perhaps if enough people seek uniqueness, non-denominational acceptance, and a sojourn with tranquility, Cross Island Chapel may be revived as a miniature haven again.