MAY 21-22, 2022
FSUMC - THE PEOPLES CHURCH
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1
Contents
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Pastoral Welcome
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History of the Church
9 - 12 Interviews with Community Members 13 - 15 The Church Over the Years 16 - 21 Community Supporters
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Rev. Dorlimar Lebrón Malavé welcomes you to the stories and community of 2
FSUMC—The People’s Church.
FSUMC - THE PEOPLES CHURCH
A HISTORY OF PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL CARE “[FSUMC—THE PEOPLE’S CHURCH] IS AN EVERYDAY CHURCH, WITH EVERYDAY PEOPLE, FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE. [WE] WANT PEOPLE TO SAY ‘I REMEMBER THE HISTORY [OF THAT CHURCH], AND WHAT THESE PEOPLE ARE DOING IS IN LINE WITH WHAT GOD SAYS IN THE BIBLE—[TO CARE FOR THE LEAST OF THESE].” RAYMOND PEREZ, LAY LEADER FOR FSUMC—THE PEOPLE’S CHURCH “[THIS CHURCH] REPRESENTS THE PUERTO RICAN PEOPLE WHO CAME HERE ABOUT A HUNDRED YEARS AGO. HOLDING IT TOGETHER, HOLDING THEMSELVES TOGETHER, AND KEEPING A COMMUNITY.” AUDREY OQUENDO, MEMBER OF FSUMC—THE PEOPLE’S CHURCH
Whether because of its history with the Young Lords, its legacy with the Methodist Denomination, or its story in East Harlem, FSUMC—The People’s Church evokes a rich imagination among all those who hear its name. In so many respects its complex history extends far beyond the red brick building on 111th street and Lexington Avenue since, for 100 years, the church has sought to be faithful to its mission of being a safe haven for the spiritual and physical needs of East Harlem’s residents. While the ways that mission has manifested has shifted over time as the church has grappled with the realities of its historical context, nowhere did this intersecting mission of both spiritual and physical community care become clearer than during the pandemic. In March of 2020 New York City, and indeed the world, was flipped on its head when an unexplained illness ripped through society. This virus came to be known as COVID-19 and as it spread around the world it became clear that the impact of this virus would follow the blueprints of inequality that already existed in our society. Poor communities and communities of color were more likely to be infected, more likely to die, more likely to have children lose a caretaker. While many stayed home to quell the spread of the pandemic as schools, office buildings, and governments shut down, members of these minoritized communities disproportionately comprised those “essential workers’’ that kept society from disintegrating in its entirety: sanitation workers, grocery store clerks, delivery drivers, and the like. Between the loss of life due to COVID and loss of work due to pandemic protocols, social needs increased around the world. In East Harlem, FSUMC—The People’s Church built on its legacy of social engagement to meet the needs of El Barrio.
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Since the beginning of the pandemic, FSUMC— The People’s Church shifted its ministries to serve both the spiritual and physical needs of East Harlem. The Pastor, Rev. Dorlimar Lebrón Malavé, teamed up with a group of ministers to host virtual services via Zoom. This iteration of videoconference-church required a new liturgy, but the ministers involved—among them FSUMC—THE PEOPLE’S CHURCH HOSTS A Rev. Dr. Richard Hayes, COMMUNITY FOOD DRIVE (FEBRUARY 27, 2021) Rev. Dr. Marvin Moss, Though directly responding to the police Rev. Dr. Lori Hartman, Rev. Lydia Lebrón, murder of George Floyd in May of 2020—an and Rev. Ian Harris of the Greate Harlem event that shocked the nation—this march Parish—worked together to provide a made a claim against the violent ways police spiritual salve for those needing often engage Black and Brown communities. groundedness and stability amidst an Through this work the church upended world. Alongside these took a moral stand regarding services, FSUMC—The People’s Church the God given dignity of Black began weekly food drives, health and lives, and a rejection of the viocommunity acupuncture clinics, and hoslence imposed upon communities ted COVID-19 testing on the premises of of color. the church. These social services met the While this work might seem material needs of the people of East incongruent with the ways some Harlem, a community view a church in society, this disproportionately affected by combination of spiritual and the pandemic. But the work of social care directly builds on the church did not stop there. the legacy of FSUMC—The Amid the continued People’s Church. Started in murder of Black individuals at 1922, First Spanish formed the hands of the police, Rev. when a small group of Lebrón Malavé worked with Spanish speaking Methocommunity organizers and dists—mostly migrants activists in the summer of from Puerto Rico and the 2020 to organize a march Caribbean—gathered in through Manhattan lower Manhattan. As this which culminated at the congregation grew, they church. moved north and planted their banner in East 4 Harlem when they
FSUMC - THE PEOPLES CHURCH became co-located with the Church of the Saviour at 111th and Lexington Avenue. Under the leadership of its first pastor, the Rev. Ferdinand Aparicio, this Spanish speaking church defined itself by the ways it cared for the spiritual and physical needs of the growing immigrant population in East Harlem. Throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s, this Spanish mission at Church of the Saviour established Bible Studies, Sunday Services, and regularly held Public Worship outside the doors of the church. Yet as welfare programs expanded in New York City, this Spanish church also helped establish economic relief programs, ministries to visit and care for the sick, and youth mentorship programs that were targeted at the Spanishspeaking population of East Harlem. Rev. Aparicio even worked with leaders from at least eight denomnations to facilitate this work—a clear connection to the ways ministers have collaborated during today’s pandemic. Due to divisions and discord with Church of the Saviour, the First Spanish Church—as it came to be known— moved its ministries across many locations throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
This “peregrinacion” (wandering), as the congregants called it, shaped the church as its members struggled with the economic devastation and financial strain of the Great Depression. Amid instability, by 1946 First Spanish Church returned to 111th Street and Lexington Avenue and became co-located with Church of the Saviour once more. Disagreements about leadership and use of space persisted in this second co-location, but times had changed. Demographic shifts in New York City led to an increase in African Americans and Puerto Ricans and a sharp decrease of White New Yorkers. These trends affected churches. First Spanish saw a swell in membership in the 1940s and 1950s while the population of Church of the Saviour sharply declined. Leadership in the First Spanish Church appealed to the New York City Society in 1954 and asked that the building of Church of the Saviour be granted to them. They wrote to the Executive Secretary of the New York City Society, “We are asking a Church building for our own use in order to serve the community and God more efficiently.” By 1956, Church of the Saviour dissolved, and the building at 111th Street and Lexington Avenue became the First Spanish Methodist Church.
NEWS CLIPPING FROM THE DAILY NEWS DETAILS THE FIRE AT 111TH AND LEXINGTON (JULY 6, 1964)
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The coming years were turbulent for the church. A fire in 1964 destroyed large parts of the building. After the embers faded the church worked with the City Society and Methodist Denomination to rebuild. Internal focus helped the church erect the building that still exists today. In the Fall of 1969, the location of this building and its new facilities prompted a radical group of Puerto Ricans called The Young Lords to ask church leadership for space to host free breakfast programs for children, clothing drives, and a daycare center for working mothers. Church leadership at the time was more politically conservative than the Young Lords, and wanted to have control and ownership of the building they had just re-built. As a result, they rejected the proposals of these activists. Sunday after Sunday in November and December of 1969, however, Young Lords met with church and community members to explain the work they wanted to do—to establish community service programs and “serve the least of these” as was the call of Jesus. Talks between church leaders and Young Lords escalated on December 7, 1969 when the activists tried to speak at a testimonial Sunday and plead for the use of space in the building. Plain clothes police officers emerged from pews and beat and arrested the young activists, sending some to the hospital with broken bones and lacerations. The Young Lords attempted to negotiate with church leaderhip twice more. Amidst appeals from youth at the church to meet the activists half-way, church leadership denied their requests. In the face of continued denials, on December 28th, 1969 the Young Lords occupied the First Spanish EFRAIN GONZALEZ, PRESIDENT OF THE FSUMC Church. For eleven days, the activists ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD, NEGOTIATES WITH THE renamed the building “The People’s YOUNG LORDS (DECEMBER, 1969) Church” and hosted breakfast for children, a clothing drive, classes on Puerto Rican history, and evening celebrations of Puerto Rican culture and heritage. Actvists, ministers, celebrities, and reporters from across the country went to the People’s Church to see what was happening. Many reflected that these young people were doing the Lord’s work: caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, and taking care of the least of these. After the occupation came to an end in January of 1970, Methodist denominational leaders and church leaders went to court with the Young Lords. During the occupation, charges were raised against the activists for trespassing on and occupying the church building. In these negotiations the charges against the Young Lords were dropped and the Methodist leadership agreed to help the First Spanish Church establish a daycare center in the church—one of the principle demands of the activists. Though the Young Lords occupied the First Spanish Church for a second time in 1971, following the death of one of their members while in police custody, the church continued with the plans of opening a daycare center. In 1972, through a partnership with the City of New York Department of Social Services, the New York City Society, the Methodist Denomination, and the First Spanish United Methodist Church, a daycare center was opened within the church’s walls. Though within a few years this daycare center would close due to financial difficulties that plagued it since its inception, it serves as another example of the ways this church has historically sought to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the community it serves. 6
FSUMC - THE PEOPLES CHURCH
YOUNG LORDS LEADERSHIP HOLDS A PRESS CONFERENCE INSIDE THE PEOPLE’S CHURCH (DECEMBER, 1969)
While the work of the Young Lords served as a profound rupture for the members of the First Spanish Church— many of whom are still hurt by the ways the church they fought for was taken from them in an instant—it has also served as a moment of reflection for the legacy of the church. In 2019, before the pandemic, members of the Young Lords and the First Spanish United Methodist Church were invited into the church building on 111th Street and Lexington Avenue for an event entitled
“They Joined with Their Hearts: A Conversation with the Cadre of the New York Lords.” This event marked a profound turning point for the legacy of this church as it provided an opportunity for Young Lords and church members—for the first time in half a century–to come together and discuss the occupation of the church. One speaker, Gilbert Colón, spoke about visiting his grandmother, María, after the takeover in 1969.
“THEY JOINED WITH THEIR HEARTS” PANEL (DECEMBER 7, 2019)
Gilbert was a Young Lord. María was a member of the church. When he visited his grandmother, María asked Gilbert “what were you people doing at the church, because that was disrespectful.” Gilbert responded to his abuela, explaining that the Young Lords were doing “God’s work,” caring for the poor, caring for the needy, caring for the sick. Gilbert reflected that his grandmother’s look softened, and she simply responded “esta bien mijo” (it’s alright my child). 50 years after this interaction, Gilbert further reflected:
This [church] right here, this is a sacred space… and the older I get the more I understand that the actual takeover, the first takeover, might have been very offensive to some people…it must have felt as a violation of their personal sacred space. But I hope, sincerely, and I think a lot of people realize now, that our intent was to do what people of every faith tradition aspire to do, which is to take care of the least of these.
In the context of this event, the First Spanish United Methodist Church became “FSUMC—The People’s Church.” This name change seeks to respect and honor the legacy of the First Spanish United Methodist Church—an institution that served as a refuge for Spanish speaking migrants throughout the 20th and 21st centuries and that has gained its place as one of the most significant Spanish speaking churches in New York City history. Yet, this name change also seeks to honor the ways the Young Lords invited the church to live into the mission it had historically embraced: to care for the spiritual needs of the people, be a salve in a broken world, while simultaneously caring for the people through food, shelter, education, and health care as was mandated, 7 first, by Jesus of Nazareth.
WORSHIP SERVICE AT FSUMC—THE PEOPLE’S CHURCH (MAY 1, 2022) FSUMC—The People’s Church is one of the most significant churches in the nation because over one hundred years it has lived at the intersection of spiritual and social healing. Such work includes bible studies and Sunday services as well as food drives, health clinics, and community services. It involves what Jesus commanded in Matthew 25, a passage often quoted by the Young Lords, that reads: “come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” There is no dichotomy between the physical and spiritual needs of the people because we are called to heal the whole person and to prophesy for a world where all are fed, clothed, and healed. Until that world comes, we are the hands and feet that prepare it. Which is why Rev. Lebrón Malavé has said, “Ultimately, I’m a prisoner of hope, a prisoner of possibility… and that’s part of being an activist and a Christian, of not being moved by what is, but by what can be.” Over the last one hundred years this church has sought different ways to bring about “what can be.” May it continue to do so in the hundred to come.
FSUMC—THE PEOPLE’S CHURCH: A HISTORY OF PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL CARE BY : DR. JORGE JUAN RODRÍGUEZ V
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FSUMC - THE PEOPLES CHURCH The following interviews were conducted by Dr. Jorge Juan Rodríguez V between March and April, 2022. Every individual interviewed plays a vital role in the ministry of FSUMC[The People’s Church. By highlighting their stories, we hope to capture the “heart” and “soul” of this congregation, and its signi]cance in East Harlem and the world. INTERVIEWEE: TANYA AND RAYMOND PEREZ
“THIS IS AN EVERYDAY CHURCH, WITH EVERYDAY PEOPLE, FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE…” DATE: APRIL 7, 2022
Although Raymond and Tanya met in June of 2019, their relationship took off later that year when they began working together at FSUMC—The People’s Church. The son of a Puerto Rican mother and Nuyorican father, Raymond grew up in Spanish Harlem and has early memories of the church, having gone to daycare at the church as a child. Tanya—the daughter of an Ecuadorian mother and Nuyorican father—didn’t move to El Barrio until she was six, having spent her earliest years in California and Spain. Yet for both of these individuals, East Harlem is home. It’s no surprise, then, that as adults they wanted to pour into the community. In December of 2019, Tanya and Raymond began their work at FSUMC—The People’s Church by hosting a Christmas Play. Raymond was the first to connect with the church after Rev. Dorlimar reached out to him that summer during a “Salsa Saturday’’ event he was hosting at La Marqueta. Rev. Dorlimar went up to him and said she wanted him to come work at the
church. He didn’t really know what church Rev. Dorlimar was talking about—he even visited the wrong church once looking for her—but eventually it dawned on him that Rev. Dorlimar was working at The People’s Church, the one the Young Lords occupied. And their work took off. Shortly after the Christmas Play, the world shifted as the pandemic upended society. But instead of running, Tanya and Raymond both felt there was work to be done. Alongside Rev. Dorlimar and other members of the community, Raymond and Tanya organized. Without a team, a budget, and hardly a working laptop they came together to collect and distribute food, organize acupuncture and health clinics, host open street events, and make sure the needs of East Harlem were met from the corner of 111th and Lexington Avenue. When asked about the significance of this work, Tanya said “I feel like we were able to provide some hope and faith during a time where everyone was feeling hopeless.” While this church became a healing space for them—Raymond joked that the first time he visited the church Rev. Dorlimar handed him the keys to the building and said “welcome home!”—the work Raymond and Tanya have done through FSUMC—The People’s Church will continue to have a lasting impact. For the last three years, they have “lived, breathed, and dreamed” of the church as they’ve worked hard to develop programs for the community. And they feel this work has been orchestrated by God as they were put in place, at the right time, to help this church. As Raymond shared, they are building an “everyday church, with everyday people, from all walks of life” that serves the people—“which is what God says in the Bible.”
TANYA AND RAYMOND PEREZ
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INTERVIEWEE: DR. SHAKA ZULU
The child of a Barbadian mother and Nuyorican father, Amir Tawfiyq Aziz El—more commonly known as Dr. Shaka Zulu—was born in Brooklyn and raised between the Bronx and Harlem. A Martial Artist, Acupuncturist, Metaphysician, Poet, and Rapper, Dr. Shaka credits his parents as centrally influential to his consciousness raising—his Dad having been deeply influenced by the Black Panthers and Young Lords. For over 30 years Dr. Shaka has been empowering communities in both the combat and healing arts in order to show people that they are worthy of love. This is the work he’s brought to FSUMC—The People’s Church.
“WE AREN’T JUST TEACHING YOU HOW TO PUNCH AND KICK…” DATE: APRIL 12, 2022 In 2020 Dr. Shaka was searching for like minded community organizations that wanted to empower people through martial arts. At this same time, Rev. Dorlimar sought more programs to host at the church. The synergy was clear. For two and half years Dr. Shaka has been leading a martial arts clinic at the FSUMC—The People’s Church, first for children and more recently for women. He wants communities of color to feel that they can defend themselves in this violent world, but it’s about more than that. “We aren’t just teaching you how to punch and kick,” Dr. Shaka shared, “You have to have the right mindset. The knowledge of self. The knowledge of God. The love of God within oneself that can create and build self-esteem [and help you understand that] you are worthy enough to fight for yourself.” In addition to the Martial Arts workshop, Dr. Shaka has helped with the Community Acupuncture Clinic, himself a trained acupuncturist. And he’s happy to do this work at FSUMC—The People’s Church. “There is a cosmic energy called love,” Dr. Shaka believes, “and I feel that love being talked about and taught about at FSUMC—The People’s Church…a pillar in our community…a church that has provided a space to create a beautiful union of healing and rebirth.”
DR. SHAKA ZULU
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FSUMC - THE PEOPLES CHURCH INTERVIEWEE: RITA CORDOVA-PADRON
“TENEMOS QUE SANAR EN COLECTIVO, EN CONJUNTO, SANAR LAS HERIDAS QUE TIENE LA COMUNIDAD…” DATE: APRIL 18, 2022
Though born and raised in Puerto Rico, Rita Cordova-Padron moved to Harford in 1978. It was there that she began establishing her activist foundations as she became involved in the cause of freeing Puerto Rican Political Prisoners. This activist work led her to New York City in 1988 where she began working in reproductive health and HIV and AIDS prevention. Six months before Hurricane Maria landed in Puerto Rico in 2017, Rita began working with Salud y Acupuntura Para El Pueblo (SAPP). Though community acupuncture in the Puerto Rican community has a history dating back to the 1970s, SAPP began in 2015 in response to the collapsing health system in Puerto Rico. Decades of colonialism have closed hospitals and made it difficult for Puerto Ricans to find doctors or access health insurance. In this context, SAPP sought to empower people by training community leaders in acupuncture and holistic medicine while simultaneously advocating and organizing for greater health care on the island.
In 2019, Rita connected with FSUMC—The People’s Church through the 50th anniversary celebration of the New York Young Lords. By December, she and members of SAPP reached out to Pastor Dorlimar to explore a partnership. Though the pandemic slowed initial progress on this initiative, on July 26, 2020 SAPP held its first acupuncture demonstration in the church. From August through November they held community acupuncture and holistic health clinics at the church every Sunday before switching to a bi-weekly schedule in December. SAPP began training community members on acupuncture for drug detoxification while advocating for New York State to change laws that prevent the community from having greater access to these holistic health techniques. Out of this organizing a small group has formed “Salud y Acupuntura Nueva York” and is currently finalizing its mission statement and foundational documents before continuing work in the church. When asked about the significance of FSUMC—The People’s Church, Rita responded, “Nuestro lema [en SAPP] es ‘sanando en comunidad,’ tenemos que sanar en colectivo, en conjunto, sanar las heridas que tiene la comunidad, sanar la pobreza…sanar el sufrimiento…sanar las condiciones que nos enajenan y que arrebatan nuestra tranquilidad…un espacio como la iglesia del pueblo es lugar ideal para continuar [este trabajo]” (“Our tagline at SAPP is ‘healing with community,’ we have to heal collectively, together, heal the wounds of the community, heal the poverty, heal the suffering, heal the conditions that alienate us and that undermine our tranquility…and a space like The People’s Church is ideal for this work.”) .
RITA CORDOVA-PADRON
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INTERVIEWEE: AUDREY OQUENDO
Born in 1934, Audrey Oquendo has a rich family legacy in the Methodist tradition. Though her mother was Catholic, Audrey’s paternal Grandfather—an Afro-Boricua—claimed connection to the Methodist denomination in Puerto Rico. These Methodist connections followed them into the diaspora. Raised in Spanish Harlem, Audrey has fond memories of her father dropping her and her siblings off at the First Spanish Church on Sundays. Her aunt, Providencia Oquendo, was among the founding members of the church and pivotal to its early years in East Harlem—her ministry in the church dating back to at least 1928. “THIS CHURCH REPRESENTS MY ROOTS…” DATE: MARCH 27, 2022
Audrey describes her aunt as a “Bible toter,” always engaged in church and sharing wisdom from the scriptures. But as a child Audrey most vividly remembers the First Spanish Church as a place to commune with her cousins, make friends, and receive clothes and food to take home to her family. At 18, Audrey’s family moved out of East Harlem and to the Bronx. She lost touch with the First Spanish Church after the move until 2003 when she decided to visit the church once more. Ever since, she has continued attending service every Sunday as she is able. When asked about the significance of the church, Audrey reflected that this church has historically developed leaders including individuals like Victor Alicea, President of Boricua College. In addition to the leaders it has raised, Audrey reflected very personally on the church’s importance: “This church represents my roots, my Puerto Rican roots. It represents the Puerto Rican people who came here about a hundred years ago. Holding it together, holding themselves together, and keeping a community.”
AUDREY OQUENDO
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FSUMC - THE PEOPLES CHURCH
C. 1900
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FSUMC - THE PEOPLES CHURCH
C. 1980
C. 2020
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The Center for the Study of Religion and the City The Center for the study of Religion and the City (CSRC) brings together academics, students, and community partners to collaboratively learn about unjust structures in our cities and to support and develop innovative solutions to dismantling these through mentorships for BIPOC students and emerging leaders, oral histories, mapping, exhibits, and other projects, programming, and funding opportunities. The CSRC would also like to congratulate the FSUMC on 100 years of ministry! Our current work on The Good Life Project documents and reflects on lessons learned during the pandemic and helps to grow emerging visions of healthy communities engaging in lifegiving work. We'd love to include your lessons learned and Good Life story in our public digital archive. Learn more at: www.religionandcities.org/goodlife
Contact Us www.religionandcities.org info@religionandcities.org
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We are especially proud to be in solidarity with the FSUMC- The People’s Church and share a collective vision and partnership in addressing community needs and uplifting our community to thrive. Centennial Congrats! East Harlem Community Partnership
Congratulations FSUMC The People’s Church
on your Centennial Anniversary! May God continue to bless the ministry of the church to the neighborhood! Keep up God’s Kingdom Building Pastor Dorlimar!
Rev. Dr. William S. Shillady Executive Director The United Methodist City Society 17
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The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee congratulates the First Spanish United Methodist Church for 100 years of inspired and influential community building, fellowship, and social justice work. Thank you to FSUMC and the Rev. Dorlimar Lebrón Malavé for your leadership, vision, and compassion, which are carrying forward the congregation’s legacy as a true pioneer for human rights.
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F SUM C—T HE PEOPLE’ S CHURCH WOULD A L SO LIK E TO T H A NK T HE FOLLO WING INDI V IDUA L S , B USINE S SE S , A ND ORG A NIZ AT IONS FOR T HEIR CON T INUED SUPP OR T OF OUR MINIS T RY: EL PASO MEXICAN RESTAURANT | 123 EAST 110TH STREET AMOR CUBANO | 2018 3RD AVENUE PABADE CAFE AND BAKERY | 135 EAST 110TH STREET BRISAS DEL MAR | 1787 LEXINGTON AVENUE SAPOARA | 2262 1ST AVENUE LA FONDA | 169 EAST 106TH STREET BORIKEN NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CENTER UNION SETTLEMENT HARLEM ART PARK EAST HARLEM PRESERVATION ATAX—EAST HARLEM EAST RIVER NORTH RENEWAL UPTOWN GRAND CENTRAL GREATER HARLEM PARISH WE ARE EL BARRIO DJ RAYMOND AGUJITA PEREZ TAMIKA MAPP H.O.L.L.A (HOW OUR LIVES LINK ALTOGETHER) REV. DR. JAVIER A. VIERA AND GARRETT EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
DR. PATRICK REYES AND THE FORUM FOR THEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION REV. DR. DAISY MACHADO AND THE HISPANIC SUMMER PROGRAM REV. DR. CRISTIAN DE LA ROSA AND THE HISPANIC YOUTH LEADERSHIP ACADEMY 21
FSUMC | THE PEOPLE’S CHURCH 1922 - 2022