Primera Iglesia Menonita de Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, USA)
The Primera Iglesia Menonita de Brooklyn (First Mennonite Church in Brooklyn), New York, USA, began in 1957 with a core of new settlers in the city from Puerto Rico. On 28 January 1957 Aquilinia Torres was baptized by Nelson Kauffman. Samuel E. Miller, an Eastern Mennonite College professor of Spanish taking courses at New York University helped to organize a congregation that first met in the Torres apartment.
In September 1957 the new group rented a former Chinese restaurant on Suydam Street. The congregation formally organized on 7 June 1958. The church moved in August 1959 to a new location on DeKalb Avenue but had to move again in 1961 because of urban renewal. The new location was at 1050 Broadway. In 1963 it moved again to 12 Jefferson Street where it worshipped until 1965. It then purchased a building for its long-term location at 23 Sumner Street (later renamed Marcus Garvey Blvd.). The building had formerly been a synagogue; Mennonite Disaster Service helped with renovations and repair.
The congregation initially joined the Puerto Rican conference of the Mennonite Church (MC). It then moved to the Ohio and Eastern Mennonite Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference which descended from the "Eastern" part of the conference.
With nine remaining members and no pastor, the congregation closed in July 2019. The building then became the Brooklyn Peace Center.
Bibliography
MacMaster, Richard K. Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches of New York City. Kitchener, Ont.: Pandora Press, 2006: 149-159, 292-295
"Primera Iglesia Menonita de Brooklyn." Atlantic Coast Conference Currents 40, no. 3 (Fall 2019): 13.
Additional Information
Address: 23 Marcus Garvey Blvd., Brooklyn, New York
Phone:
Website:
Denominational Affiliations: Atlantic Coast Conference
Pastoral Leaders at Primera Iglesia Menonita de Brooklyn
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Samuel E. Miller | 1957 |
| Guillermo Torres (1916-1980) | 1958-1979 |
| Peter Abner Oliva | 1979-1980 |
| Aurelio Rodriguez (Co-Pastor) | 1969?-1979? |
| Reinaldo Pacheco | 1980-1982 1986-1994< br />2001-2003 |
| Bolivar Colberg | 1982-1986? |
| Julio Perez | 1989-1991 |
| Nicolas Sandoval | 1995-2000 |
| Moises H. Sanchez | 2001-2007 |
| Tomas Cruz (Interim) | 2007-2008 |
| Confesor Linares | 2010-2014 |
| Liliana Potes | 2016-2018 |
Membership at Primera Iglesia Menonita de Brooklyn
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1961 | 15 |
| 1970 | 20 |
| 1980 | 32 |
| 1990 | 42 |
| 2000 | 20 |
| 2007 | 18 |
| 2019 | 9 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Harold S. Bender. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1068. All rights reserved.
Brooklyn (New York) First Mennonite Church was established in 1958 as a mission church located in the Puerto Rican area of the city. It had eight members in 1959.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | March 2022 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Primera Iglesia Menonita de Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2022. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Primera_Iglesia_Menonita_de_Brooklyn_(Brooklyn,_New_York,_USA)&oldid=173563.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (March 2022). Primera Iglesia Menonita de Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Primera_Iglesia_Menonita_de_Brooklyn_(Brooklyn,_New_York,_USA)&oldid=173563.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.