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LOCATION:St. Jacobi is located at 5406 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. This is on Fourth Avenue between 54th & 55th Streets in the Sunset Park neighborhood.
CURRENT LEADERSHIP:
Pastor: Synod Assigned Vacancy Pastor - Rev. Dr. Jane Gaeta
Council President: Rosalia Siu
Organist/Chior Director: Cryder Bankes III
Sunday School: Lelia Johnson
Office: Marion Palm
Contact: Church Office
5406 Fourth Avenue
(718) 439-8978 [voice]
(718) 439-1301 [FAX]
HISTORY:
The Congregation was originally organized in 1889 by German immigrants. Worship was first held October 13, 1889 in a storefront at 63 - 39th Street near the water and the Ferry Terminal. In the early years worship was conducted in German only. But with the United States aware of hostilites in Europe and a growing English section in the Sunday School an English Worship Service was added in 1914 on two evenings each month.
As the congregation grew with immigration from Germany in the late 1800's the congregation aquired its first Church and held services near 4th Ave. and 46th Streets in 1890. However, with continued growth from immigration and second generation births the congreation needed a larger home.
Property on Fourth Ave. between 54th & 55th Streets was then purchased in 1908. A new Church was planned and the cornerstone laid on Sunday, May 16, 1909 for the current Church building. Services were then in German. In 1914 English Services were added. The English speaking portion of the congregation grew from then on as the original and second generation German speaking members moved or died through the next several decades. Then in the fifties there was the beginning of the flight of the upwardly mobile middle-class to the suburbs. Second, third and fourth generations began leaving the neighborhood and the Church's Congregation.
Replacing those leaving the Sunset Park neighborhood were Spanish speaking people mostly from Puerto Rico at first. Then there were immigrants from other countries, mostly Central America and the Hispanic Carribean Islands. St. Jacobi, with other neighborhood Lutheran Churches, tried a Spanish Language Mission outreach. But it did not succeed for us, but it did somewhat for one of the other congregations.
With the 1990's came two or three new groups of immigrants to the neighborhood. These were from Russia, India and the Chinese areas of Hong Kong, the Island of Formosa and mainland China, mostly speaking Cantonese or Mandarin. We undertook a new Mission outreach to the Chinese community and called Pastor Ho Kum Lai who hailed from Hong Kong to lead it.
Pastor Lai was able to gather a group of only a couple dozen. At first we had what was informally called the Chinese and English Departments. However, it was soon felt that there should not be a distinction, as we were all members brought together by God to be the St. Jacobi congregation.
In the late 1990's, knowing that Pastor Lai would be retiring soon, the Rev. Mary Chang was called to continue our Ministry in the Sunset Park neighborhood. Rev. Mary Chang served the St. Jacobi congregation with its many backgrounds, and, continues as a Chaplain at the nearby Lutheran Medical Center of Brooklyn.
Rev. Lai is now retired. Rev. Chang signed as Pastor effective Dec. 31, 2006.
TODAY
Today we view ourselves as a multi-cultural congregation speaking primarily Cantonese, Mandarin or English. We are served by the Synod appointed Vacancy Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Jane Gaeta. We continue to explore the many paths of Ministry to southwest Brooklyn God has us on. Refinements to our ministry are now underway to find the way to greater serve the peoples of Southwest Brooklyn.
We are a member Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Metropolitan New York Synod, the Southwest Brooklyn Conference. We serve our members in 2007 with weekly Bilingual Worship with Communion. Worship is followed by a short Bible Study and/or discussion of the Sermon and a Luncheon for Fellowship for those wishing to partake.
We serve the spiritual and community needs of our Congregation and Community. In our Lutheran Faith we are striving to serve the Lord and grow in numbers of like minded peoples. The St. Jacobi congregation is determined to continue. We welcome all who wish to grow in Spirit and in size here in the Sunset Park neighborhood.
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