This segment includes interviews with Janis Russell and Edward Moran, who each independently moved to Fort Greene in the 1980s, and are members of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church (LAPC) in the neighborhood.
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Episode Transcript
- English
Directions Facing the street Washington Park, notice the rows of brownstones in front of you. If you look above the brownstones, into the distance, you will also see several church spires.
Narration Fort Greene is a neighborhood of churches. One spire that you can’t see from here is that of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, which is also called LAPC. It is about a ten minute walk from here and has a long history of social activism. Congregants have organized for social justice together since the 1800’s. This legacy draws people from all kinds of backgrounds who are seeking a place that blends spirituality, community, art, and music.
Janis Russell [Singing] only play an incidental music, just to set your mind at ease, cause to say the incidental music, incidental melodies. Uh, da, da, da, da, da, da. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I'll have to go back and get the lyrics again. Ha, ha, ha.
My name is Janice Russell, I'm a singer, and my husband is a bass player, and we came here for music.
Narration Janis is the director of the Lafayette Inspirational Ensemble at LAPC.
Janis Russell First we moved to the East Village. We were young, didn't have any money. Someone hooked us up with this five floor walk-up on East 6th Street. It was a cold water flat with a bathtub in the kitchen. So we moved in, plastered walls, plastered the ceiling, and put in a little portable water heater. It was nice in the East Village back then.
From there, we moved to Brooklyn in 1980 and eventually we found LAPC, Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. People were friendly and you could tell that it was an honest feeling.
Edward Moran My name is Edward Moran. I'm originally from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. I've lived in New York since 1969, in Brooklyn since '74. I came to Fort Greene in 1980.
Narration Edward Moran is a longtime member of Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, as well as the unofficial church historian.
Edward Moran Well, I'm a child of the 60s. I was very active in the anti-war movement in the 1960’s and then I got involved in the early LGBT movement. The 70’s was a very rich period for theater in New York. I used to write theater criticism for show business back in those days. Lafayette Avenue Church had a theater company called the Big Apple Theater Company, which was run by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. So I got involved in that project, and then I learned about the church. I've been a member for 48 years.
Janis Russell My relationship with church and music started before I was born because my parents were always in church. And music was always drilled into me from the time I was young.
It is interesting to have a gospel choir in a Presbyterian church. We don't look like a regular gospel choir. But then again, LAPC is not your typical Presbyterian church, so. Really it’s always been, basically, an activist church since the time we’ve been there.
Edward Moran I was the chair of the Social Justice Committee in the 70s, '77, '78. It was illegal in those days to ordain someone who was openly gay. But we said, no, we want to change that. In 1978, We were one of the first churches in the country to go on record that we would support lesbian and gay ordination. It was a protest. I was the first openly gay elder at Lafayette Avenue Church.
Lafayette Avenue Church has always been open to new ideas, new thinking. We were involved in the peace movement, the anti war movement. We're not rooted in the past, even though we have such a historic past.
Janis Russell With the ensemble, it's the same way that I learned, the same way people learned way back. You repeat everything. You learn by rote. It’s more of a way to experience the music.
I remember one time at rehearsal, there was somebody who was singing and she was just a little, getting a little flat, a little flat, but at the performance, you could almost feel everybody pushing her, you know, supporting, and that's what it's about. People feel that and everybody who comes through actually takes something away, and they leave something when they leave.
Directions Follow the map to exit the park via the northeast corner, where you will start the next segment.
- Español
Direcciones Mirando hacia la calle Washington Park, fíjense en las hileras de edificios de ladrillo rojo que tienen enfrente. Si miran por encima de ellos, en la distancia, también verán varias agujas de iglesias.
Narración Fort Greene es un barrio de iglesias. Una aguja que no se ve desde aquí es la de la Iglesia Presbiteriana de Lafayette Avenue, también conocida como LAPC. Se encuentra a unos diez minutos a pie de aquí y tiene una larga historia de activismo social. Les feligreses se han organizado para luchar por la justicia social desde el siglo XIX. Este legado atrae a personas de todo tipo de orígenes que buscan un lugar que combine la espiritualidad, la comunidad, el arte y la música.
Janis Russell [Cantando] solo toca una música incidental, solo para tranquilizar tu mente, porque decir la música incidental, melodías incidentales. Uh, da, da, da, da, da, da. Ja, ja, ja, ja, ja. Tendré que volver atrás y buscar la letra otra vez. Ja, ja, ja..
Me llamo Janice Russell, soy cantante, mi esposo es bajista y vinimos aquí por la música.
Narración Janis es la directora del Lafayette Inspirational Ensemble de LAPC.
Janis Russell Primero nos mudamos al East Village. Éramos jóvenes, no teníamos dinero. Alguien nos consiguió un apartamento en el quinto piso sin ascensor en la calle East 6th Street. Era un apartamento sin agua caliente, con una tina en la cocina. Así que nos mudamos, cubrimos las paredes y el techo con yeso e instalamos un pequeño calentador de agua portátil. En aquella época, el East Village era un lugar agradable.
De ahí nos mudamos a Brooklyn en 1980 y finalmente encontramos la Iglesia Presbiteriana de Lafayette Avenue (LAPC). La gente era amable y se notaba que era un sentimiento sincero.
Edward Moran Mi nombre es Edward Moran. Soy originario de Wilkes-Barre, Pensilvania. Vivo en Nueva York desde 1969, en Brooklyn desde 1974. Llegué a Fort Greene en 1980.
Narración Edward Moran es un miembro veterano de la Iglesia Presbiteriana de Lafayette Avenue, así como historiador no oficial de la iglesia.
Edward Moran Bueno, soy un joven de los años 60. Participé muy activamente en el movimiento contra la guerra en la década de 1960 y luego me involucré en los inicios del movimiento LGBT. Los años 70 fueron una época muy rica para el teatro en Nueva York. En aquella época solía escribir críticas teatrales para el mundo del espectáculo. La iglesia de Lafayette Avenue tenía una compañía teatral llamada Big Apple Theater Company, dirigida por los Veteranos de Vietnam contra la Guerra. Así que me involucré en ese proyecto y luego conocí la iglesia. Soy miembro desde hace 48 años.
Janis Russell Mi relación con la iglesia y la música comenzó antes de nacer, porque mis papás siempre iban a la iglesia. Y desde pequeño me inculcaron la música.
Es interesante tener un coro gospel en una iglesia presbiteriana. No parecemos un coro gospel normal. Pero, por otra parte, la LAPC no es una iglesia presbiteriana típica, así que... En realidad, siempre ha sido, básicamente, una iglesia activista desde que estamos allí.
Edward Moran Fui presidente del Comité de Justicia Social en los años 70, en 1977 y 1978. En aquella época era ilegal ordenar a alguien que fuera abiertamente gay. Pero nosotros dijimos que no, que queríamos cambiar eso. En 1978, fuimos una de las primeras iglesias del país en declarar públicamente que apoyaríamos la ordenación de lesbianas y gays. Fue una protesta. Fui la primera persona mayor abiertamente gay de la iglesia de Lafayette Avenue.
La iglesia de Lafayette Avenue siempre ha estado abierta a nuevas ideas y nuevos pensamientos. Participamos en el movimiento pacifista y en el movimiento contra la guerra. No estamos anclades en el pasado, a pesar de tener una historia tan rica.
Janis Russell Con el conjunto, es igual que como aprendí yo, igual que aprendía la gente antiguamente. Repites todo. Aprendes de memoria. Es más bien una forma de experimentar la música.
Recuerdo que una vez, durante un ensayo, había alguien que cantaba y se desafinaba un poco, solo un poco, pero durante la presentación, casi se podía sentir cómo todes la animaban, la apoyaban, y de eso se trata. La gente lo siente y todes les que vienen se llevan algo consigo y dejan algo cuando se van.
Direcciones Sigan el mapa para salir del parque por la esquina noreste, donde comenzarán el siguiente segmento.