Old Christ Church

The original building that housed the congregation of Christ Church is located near the historic center of Mexico City.  The congregation first gathered for worship in 1871, and the building was dedicated in 1898.  From the old pictures of the church in its heyday, it must have been a truly lovely Victorian neo-Gothic style building.  Later on, in another blog I will write some about the history of Mexican Anglican Church (they stopped using the term 'Episcopal' in 1995, when they became an independant province of the worldwide Anglican communion.) 

Over the years, the building suffered damage from many earthquakes, and the neighborhood around it began to change from a residential to a commercial district. I was told by a long-time member of the parish that when a previous rector had to step around a dead body on the sidewalk in order to enter the church grounds, it was decided that the time had come to move to a better neighborhood outside the center of the city.  This process began in the 1970's, and culminated in the complex that can be seen on my previous post. 

Unfortunately, due to the complexities of Mexican law, the old building was not able to be sold, and so remained unoccupied and unused for many years.  Eventually, the decision was made to turn the old building (and parish hall with offices and classrooms) into a kind of community center, which is what Old Christ Church on Artículo 123 has become. 

Now known as Santa Juliana de Norwich, it is essentially an outreach ministry of Christ Church in the Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood.



During the week, a number of activities are held, although I'm not exactly sure as to the nature of all of them.  On Tuesday, after the earthquake, I stopped by Old Christ Church with Deacon George, in order to view the damage (of which, fortunately, there wasn't much) and there was some kind of gymnastics class being held.  Fridays is the day of worship at Old Christ Church, and a service is held in the Old Church, and then a common meal.  I was honored to be the celebrant (technically, I am the rector of this congregation as well, although it really is a ministry that belongs to Deacon George and Father Javier, another priest of the diocese who has been leading worship there for several years.) 

What can be seen from these photos is that the building has been heavily damaged over the years.  At the time of the move to the new Church in Lomas de Chapultepec, the pews were taken up, and the stained glass windows were removed.  All of these have found their way to the new church.  Over the years, the carved wood panels that were once on the walls were removed.  The stunningly beautiful gilt and polychrome carved wooden tryptich from this old church now stands behind the altar at the new Christ Church.  However, Father Javier and Deacon George have made a real effort to beautify this worship space as much as possible.  You can see the purple drapes hanging from the stabilizing rods that are keeping the walls standing.  Despite the rather derelict appearance of the building, the effect of the whole is actually dramatic. 

When the service began at 2PM, there were three of us at the altar, and three in the pews.  By the time the service was over, there were about twenty people in the pews.  Deacon George preached, and I had the privilege of celebrating.  They used Eucharistic Prayer C from the Spanish translation of the American Prayerbook ("galaxies, stars, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth our island home..." which language seemed odd to me given the context.)  Music was provided by a pre-recorded tape, and the hymns were very old-fashioned Anglican hymns, all translated into what seemed to me rather elegant and high-brow Spanish.  All in all, it was a very moving experience to me.  The gospel was this coming Sunday, John 12 ("Sir, we wish to see Jesus...) which is one of my favorite texts. 

Following the service, the group gathered in the parish hall for a simple meal. 

The meal was potatoes and nopales in salsa verde.  Nopales are cactus -- it was the first time I had tried it.  They are about the color of a cooked green pepper, with a flavor reminiscent of a mild squash, but a somewhat slimy texture.  Although this seems to be a Mexican favorite, I don't think I will go out of my way to be ordering it next time I'm at a local restaurant.  The meal was accompanied by frijoles and tortillas.  To drink there was the ubiquitous "agua", which in this context means water flavored with fruit juice and far too much sugar. 

Of course the communicants were grateful for the meal, and thankful to be sharing it with the clergy -- I was welcomed very warmly, and treated like an honored guest.

Following the service I prayed with and anointed a young man with AIDS who is facing what sounds like a rather gruesome surgery today. 

One of the other fascinating aspects of Old Christ Church is that it is a national historic site in Mexico, and the former parish hall and offices now house the British-American Museum.  Currently, the parish hall hosts occasional art exhibits, particularly for aspiring artists that might not have any other place to showcase their work. The long-range plan is to have some kind of a permanent archival exhibition of the life of British and American expatriates in Mexico over the years.  Other community events are hosted from time to time as well, including a Medieval festival, a St. Patrick's Day dinner, and concerts. 

All in all, a fascinating place, with a  ministry that reaches into the past and the future in diverse ways.