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Home My WebLink About1997 News ArticleSunday, August 17,1997 ■ Dave Barry /D3 • ■ School Menus 1D3 ■ Horoscope 1D3 ■ Weddings ID6 Se......... Guillermo Ibarra (above), born in Matamoros, Mexico, was the first pastor of Primes Iglesia Bautista (middle). Nis son, Joshua Ibarra, will preach at Sunday's service at 10;45 a.m. , r The congregation of Primes Iglesia Bautista in August 1922. The Rev. Guillermo ibarra is the first person on the left in the fourth row from the bottom, Mary letterman, the oldest living member of the church, holds her baby in the fourth row from the bot• tom, fifth from the left. t t 1 ~ i / ~•'s fie.. f a , i ~ ~se+rr ~ ~ ~~~Illl'11~~1,~.Il~ll~l r ~ :r ~..:'rY t 1 , ~rw~, ~ ,k 'g x, g~ ' ^w, Eldest members have fond memories of Bryan's oldest Spanish-speaking church t.upe Herrera, 82, looks through a church scrapbook from 1958.One of. Primera Iglesia Bautista's first members, Herrera remembers how the pastor doubled membership in the first year. By MEGHAN BLAIR Lupe Herrera said. "Anytime there's trouble, we pull together." Eagle Staff Writer ■ ■ ■ fitting in a small, white church that seems pieced The church was founded Aug. 15, 1922, by the Rev. Guillermo together from years of growth spurts, Mary Letterman "William" Ibarra, who had immigrated from Matamoros, Mexico, and listens to her children and friends talk about the mem- was ordained by the Firsf Baptist Church of Austin before coming to ories they have of Primera Iglesia Bautista. Bryan to raise a family. "When they were old enough to walk, they came," Lupe His daughter, Berta Ibarra Montero, wrote a history of the founding Herrera, 82, another church member, said about of the church and the pastor's struggle to provide Spanish services to Letterman and her children. the Hispanic residents of Bryan. Even though Letterman, just a year shy of 100, can't see Lupe Herrera said that, in the beginning, Ibarra went out in search the church anymore, she has her own memories, saying she was hap- of a congregation. He had gathered approximately 35 members at its piest when she could do the work of the church and walk there with founding, and 77 a few years lacer, The report said Ibarra was convert- others because they had no cars. ing others continually by striking out on foot or by horse-and-buggy, The church is younger than Letterman, celebrating its 75th anniver• and that he used the river to baptize the new converts. sary this month -which makes it the oldest Mexican church in Bryan As the number of members increased, the need for a meeting place and Letterman its oldest surviving member, arose. The congregation had been meeting outside at various places, Another member, Raul "Roy" Bosquez, remembered that his father but a Bryan woman, Mrs. T. R. Batte, donated her house an Parker would drive the family to the church in a horse-drawn wagon. He, like Street. In exchange, she took the few dollars the congregation could his father before him, is the deacon of the church and four generations offer, later giving it back to help pay for their expenses after she saw of his family still attend services in it. their commitment to the church. August was declared Primera Iglesia Bautista month by Bryan The church later used that building as a parsonage and added a sang Mayor Lonnie Stabler in response to the church's history, and from thm'Y in 1933. Just as the church was nearing completion, it came up Eagle photos/Slew N~imE Aug. 2 through Aug. 17 the congregation celebrated its long service to short $262 but, during a meeting of the Woman's Missionary Union at The Rev. Moses Herrera, Lupe Herrera's son returned from another the Spanish-speaking community of Bryan. the First Baptist Church in Bryan, the women were asked to donate ' , ministry to help his home church in Bryan. The Rev. Joshua Ibarra, son of the first church pastor, will speak at what they could. By the end of the meeting, the church s bill was paid. an anniversary service Aug. 17, as will the son of the second pastor of "Those ladies all worked so hard to help us," Lupe .Herrera said. " " Community " the church, the Rev. Ciro Garcia. All of Letterman's 15 children who survived past infancy were They all pulled together for us. The church then moved to its current location on 16th and Sims . He believes now that the congregation is able, it's time to start gfv- brought into the congregation, which has lasted through 18 pastors, dwindling local membership and the lack of a building in its early Street in 1954, building a new house and adding a sanctuary with the help of church members. ing back. Were honoring the past, but our goal is the future," he said. " days. Out of our 153 members, we only have three who live in the area Now, the church sits in a residential area on Sims Street in Bryan ■ ■ ■ now," he said. "It's not really a problem, but it's caused a lack of , made of wood in some places and steel in others, but held together by Moses Herrera believes thepve had a lot of help along the way, too, involvement. a stronger mettle. and that's why they picked the theme they did for the church's "The best thing is that we've been working together for so long," anniversary celebration: "A Gift to Our City and a Gift to Our Please see CHURCH, Page D8 f ar ~r~'~ rF xi t r l~ I Church From D1 _ "They will come in on Sunday and leave, come back on Wednesday and leave again, and start the whole thing over again. This celebration is the biggest touch we've had with the commu- nity in a long time." Moses Herrera, who had been raised in the congregation by Manuel and Lupe Herrera, left for Fort Worth, went to college and became a minister, only to return home because Primera Iglesia Bautista needed him. "We never thought he'd become the minister of our church," Manuel Herrera said. Moses said he wasn't really planning on it either, but God led him back home because the church needed him. "I started thinking about com- ing back, but I was too involved in Ft. Worth," he said. "So I decid- ed that,, if the Lord wanted me to go, he would take away what I was doing now." Herrera said that, the following week, his position in helping the Salvation Army at the time was eliminated because of a loss of funds and that the minister he'd been training to replace him showed a readiness to take over his position. He then became his church's minister. "So, the ground was being pre- pared all the time without me even knowing it," Herrera said. Herrera, who became the church's pastor in 1990, said he has seen a new direction for the church after reflecting on the cel- ebration. "We were thinking about what impact this church has had the last 75 years," he said. "Yes, we've put out good men, but when ...,......L....7.. .....a L___ _r Eagle photo/Stew Milne Members of Primero Iglesias Bautista include: (Back row) Manuel Herrera, the father of the Rev. Moses Herrera; Virginia Perry, daughter of Mary Letterman; the Rev. Moses Herrera, Daniel Letterman, the son of Mary Letterman, and Roy Bosquez. (In front) Mary Letterman, 99, is the oldest member of the church, and Lupe Herrera, the mother of the Rev. Moses Herrera. church, it's over. That has been the level of involvement for a while." Herrera said a lot of the church's time had been spent on simple maintenance - a trap he said many churches fall into. "That's not what it's about - it's about saving souls and mov- ing forward," he said. And Herrera believes you can't serve God without serving man. "God put this church here, not us," he said. "We have a responsi- bility to this neighborhood." Herrera said that, last week- end, approximately 250 people came to the church for a barbe- cue. Some were Hispanic, some weren't, he said. "There were no strings attached. We didn't necessarily want them to join, but we wanted them to know that God's presence is in this building," he said. ■ ■ ■ Letterman, who speaks mostly Spanish, said "Oh, yes," when asked if she was proud of what the church had become. She said she hoped the church will contin- ue to grow, and that God gives her the strength to continue forward as well. "Sometimes, she sits on the swing in front of her house and we ask her what song she wants us to sing. She tells us what num- ber, because she knows them all by heart," Lupe Herrera said. "We have to cheat and look it up, but she knows them." The church, like Letterman, has needed strength, but is mov- ing forward despite its age.