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Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas
Hispanic Presbyterian church turns 130
By VICTORIA MANNING
May 17, 2007 - 1:11AMBROWNSVILLE — One of Brownsville’s oldest churches will be celebrating a milestone this weekend.
Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana Mexicana, the oldest Hispanic Presbyterian church in the United States, will celebrate its 130th anniversary.
A historical exhibition is set for Saturday and a thanksgiving anniversary service is scheduled on Sunday.
Primera Iglesia belonged to the Tamaulipas Presbytery until 2000. It was the only Hispanic Presbyterian Church in the United States to belong to the Mexican Presbytery.
The church’s roots trace back to the Rev. A.T. Graybill, who came to Brownsville as a missionary.
“He worked on both sides of the border,” said the Rev. Joel Martinez, the church’s current pastor.
Leandro Garza Mora was Graybill’s first convert. Mora and Graybill slowly converted more church members and began holding services at people’s homes until 1880.
“We had service at the Anglo Presbyterian Church on Elizabeth and Ninth (Street) ‘till 1910,” Martinez said.
From 1910 to 1914, Primera Iglesia worshiped at Melinda Rankin Elementary. Melinda Rankin was a New England Presbyterian missionary who evangelized in Brownsville and Matamoros during the 1850s and early 1860s. Rankin Elementary was located on Washington and Ninth Street.
Primera Iglesia came to its current location at the corner of Jefferson and Sixth Street in 1914. Its church stood there until 1979, when the building was demolished and rebuilt. The congregation has been using the current building for the past 28 years.
Martinez and Cesar Mascorro Jr.’s families have been attending Primera Iglesia for generations.
Martinez’s grandfather, Arquimedes Martinez, was the pastor from 1922 to 1935. His father, Joel Martinez Lopez, served as pastor from 1966 to 1981. Joel Martinez has been the pastor since 2000.
“I am a fifth generation member of this church,” Martinez said.
Mascorro is related to Garza Mora, one of the founding members.
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