Grace Tabernacle settles into former Kingsbridge synagogue after years of moving

Lead pastor Kerlin Calderon, left, wants the church to serve as a community space, as well as a place of worship.

After nearly a decade of jumping between rental spaces, bilingual Christian church Grace Tabernacle settled at 3115 Corlear Ave., where it held its grand opening Oct. 4.

The church has built a loyal Spanish-speaking congregation, but in an effort to include more community members, is transitioning to include English-language services as well, lead pastor Kerlin Calderon said. This will start with monthly Bible studies, walking the neighborhood and continuing to host events. Once the church understands how to best serve residents, it plans to hold fully English-speaking services.

“We don’t just see this building as a space where we’re going to do religious services,” Calderon told The Press, adding residents are welcome to celebrate birthdays or hold meetings in the space. “We want it to be a beacon in this community.”

Despite the gloomy weather, dozens gathered outside of the church for a ribbon cutting ceremony and remarks by members of the congregation ahead of the first service, soon making their way inside to a large auditorium. About 300 other churchgoers filtered in, embracing their neighbors and worshiping alongside each other to a dynamic blend of drums, trombone, guitar and a team of vocalists.

Leslie Polanco-Linares, an immigration attorney who lives in Riverdale, is the church’s English ministry leader. In the last nine years, Grace Tabernacle has led services from the St. Peter The Apostle Greek Orthodox Church on Bailey Avenue, the Bethel Global Methodist Church, which is a Korean-language church also on Bailey Avenue, and most recently the Church of the Mediator on West 231st Street. But none of them were home, Polanco-Linares said.

“We weren’t really able to serve the community as best as we wanted to,” Polanco-Linares said. “Now we get to do that.”

The three-story building was formerly a synagogue called the Kingsbridge Center of Israel, and parts of it are still under construction. But since the church bought the building in May, it has finished several rooms, including a nursery, two children’s classrooms and a young adult room.

Another area, which will be a community room, still has plaques lining the wall that name synagogue members who died. Calderon said the plaques will be preserved to honor those who worshipped and grew up in the synagogue, and they will later be returned to the families.

Throughout the years, money has been an obstacle for the church, Polanco-Linares said. According to city property records, Grace Tabernacle was able to buy the $3.5 million building with the help of the Wesleyan Investment Foundation, an Indiana-based nonprofit that loans money to churches for expansion. The foundation lent a $2.5 million mortgage, records show.

To offset the remaining cost, Grace Tabernacle has been fundraising, and so far has raised $300,000 out of its $600,000 goal, which will also support operating expenses for four to six months, according to Polanco-Linares.

Seeing the church finally able to plant roots is meaningful, Calderon said, adding efforts to raise money, evangelize and spread gospel to the community are bearing some fruit. Still, he said the building is just a means to continue doing the work he and others have been called to do.

Margie Calderon, Kerlin Calderon’s wife who works in the children’s ministry, echoed similar sentiments, expressing her excitement.

“No more having to set up chairs and tables, take out crayons and notebooks,” Margie Calderon said. “It’s a space for all,” and the church is ready to serve the community’s needs, she added.