Photos and text by Stacie Joy
I recently saw the front gates open at Iglesia Pentecostal El Divino Maestro, one of the many congregations on East Village side streets.
A caretaker invited me inside the church here at 250 E. Third St, between Avenue B and Avenue C...
Part of the building's roots is still on display heading into the sanctuary...
Here's some history of the building via Village Preservation...
In 1946, a new building permit was filed to construct a Jewish synagogue on this site. The synagogue was owned by Congregation Beth Hakneseth Anshel Mieletz.The building is currently owned by a Christian church, Iglesia Pentecostal. The conversion of the synagogue into a church occurred prior to the time a 1980s tax photo was taken, but there is no record of its exact year.
We're told that there's a small congregation today...
Services are on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.) and worship on Sunday mornings at 10, but doors open at 9:15 a.m. Services are in Spanish only by El Divino Maestro Rev. Julio Calcaño.
Neato, I love that church!
ReplyDeleteChurches should pay property taxes. They even say there is a small congregation today. ridiculous
ReplyDeleteThe church purchased the building in 1970, and by 1976 it was already an active church (mentioned in the nytimes that they received a threat someone would burn them). In between they seemed to be on the verge of foreclosure for tax liabilities but finally managed to pay them by 1976.
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