Rita Arlen (1933 - 2023) was a pillar of the Fifth Avenue family. As president of the Women’s Association for over twenty years, she guided that faithful group as changes swept the city and our church. Rita kept an office at Fifth Avenue, ran the annual Women’s Association Christmas Tea, and organized the Holiday Bazaar each year, with all proceeds benefiting the church and its ministries.

In grateful appreciation for Rita’s devotion to Fifth Avenue, the Trustees have passed a motion to name an event room on the fifth floor of the Curry Church House in her honor, effective immediately. The Rita Arlen Room is in use throughout the year. It hosts receptions, meetings, and events for church groups and outside visitors. It is also the site of a pilot program where Fifth Avenue invites vulnerable neighbors to rest and refresh themselves during the day.

“We are so happy to name this popular space in our church after Rita,” says Senior Pastor the Rev. Dr. Scott Black Johnston. “She was a fixture of the Fifth Avenue family, a welcoming soul with a great heart, and seemed like a member of the church staff. We all miss her dearly. It is fitting that she requested ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’ for her memorial service before she passed. With the naming of the Rita Arlen Room, her name will stand as an example of great faithfulness for our congregation now and for many years to come.”

The Rita Arlen Room was formerly known as the Corning-Logan Room, in recognition of two past members of the Women’s Association. After an upcoming renovation, a plaque commemorating Barbara Corning and Doris Logan will be installed in the newly refurbished Rita Arlen Room.