Iglesia Evangélica Luterana San Pablo — Puerto Rico Historic Buildings Drawings Society

Iglesia Evangélica Luterana San Pablo

San Pablo Lutheran Church(1916)
Matías Ledesma Street, corner Avenida Muñoz Rivera
Puerta de Tierra
San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Lutheran Church was the first Protestant missionary work in Puerto Rico, at the end of the 19th century in Gustav Sigfried Swensson. The young pastor, who began the Lutheran missionary work in a tailor shop, ministered to army personnel, black Lutherans of Saint Thomas (product of the work of the Moravians in the British Isles) and some tailor’s clients. The place was small and efforts to get first a theatre, then a social room were unsuccessful by the Catholic social pressure. On December 4, 1898, by his own account, held a religious service on the island. The Lutheran Board of foreign missions had objections to enter Puerto Rico, until two seminarians of the Lutheran Seminary of Philadelphia insisted to come as volunteers. The Lutheran General Council sent then in October 1899 Herbert F. Richards and Benjamin F. Hankey, which were welcomed by Swensson, in a ceremony held at the corner of Tanca and Luna Street, in old San Juan, presented them to the Congregation. Newcomers preached in English and Swensson in Spanish.

Being that the young Swensson was not yet ordained pastor, this became the Church officially the Church Evangelical Lutheran from North America, which the first English-speaking Lutheran congregation organized officially on January 1, 1900, with 24 founding members. Its members were from the British Isles most of extraction Moravian, Lutheran, Anglican and Wesleyan. In April of that year the Lutheran Church was founded San Pablo Spanish speaking in San Juan and later, in 1903, the Lutheran Church of Cataño, where the first Lutheran School was established.

With Alfred Ostrom, who came to replace the Rev. Richard in 1905, began "expanding Lutheran from 1905 to 1918, according to Donald Moore book. Missionaries depended on the assistance of lay pastors without order so preach and teach on biblical or Sunday schools. The missionaries reserved the celebration of the sacraments. In 1908, they tried to establish a small seminar in Cataño to train preachers Puerto Ricans. This adapted theological education to the ability of the natives without college education and the needs of the field missionary, as did other denominations. By 1923, Superintendent was of the Reverend Alfred Ostrom and had already spread through the villages of San Juan, Catano, Dorado, San Juan and Toa Baja. They had a school to train workers, two kindergartenes and three industrial classes, as well as 608 members and about 20 buildings.

Adapted from:
www.puertadetierra.info