Harlem's Community Church

On Febrauary 18th, 2007, a group of men and women gathered in front of the Parishioners of Our Lady Queen of Angels church in East Harlem. The reason for their gathering was to send a message to all who were listening that their church is still alive even if the doors are closed. The gathering was led by 6 members of the church, who were later arrested, and their main leader being Carmen Villegas.

Ms. Villegas spoke of having faith and about the group's belief that with faith the doors of the church would open again. She also mentioned her belief that they were being persecuted by a very uncaring bishop of the church. And they exalted in their persecution.

The assembled members of Our Lady Queen of Angels parish, braved the cold, outside of their usual place of worship and thank God for all He has done in the past, present and future. Included were some of the older Italian parishioner going back 60 years, Puerto Rican, Dominican and the new Mexican parishioners.

"Various church and community leaders spoke before and after the "service". Ms. Villegas touched upon the notion that dealing with parishioners with hired security and using what they called "gestapo" tactics were not in keeping with being a Christian. She also mentioned her awareness in reading about the Cardinals past that he is vindictive toward all who would challenge him. More in keeping with a man of power, of the world, than with a Christian."(http://www.east-harlem.com/mt/archives/000138.html)

Harlem World USA

Even though I didnt live in Harlem, it was my second home next to Brooklyn. Harlem also has a wide variety of opportunities available to everyone out there. They to are our future lawyers, singers, doctors, and all.

I went to many after school programs in Harlem such as P.A.L. and the Y.M.C.A. Programs such as these gave a place for children of my age and younger a place to show I greatest potential in where we wanted to make it in life. They offered tutoring, computer classes, and a large amount of fun activities.

The Definition

Most think of communities as a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. But to me your community is your home, they're your unspoken family.

Living in Brooklyn has its ups and downs, I'm not saying it's the best place to live, but you will sure enjoy living there no matter which part of Brooklyn you choose. From its skating rings, pool halls, bowling alleys, and wide seletion of movie theatre's would never leave you bored.

During the summer time, there are many communties activities going on, from block parties to barbeques, you always have some place to be.

Its not as dangerous as the media makes it seem, there's always something happening in Brooklyn, but the media never talk about the positive things we appcomplish or achieve. They always have a way of showing the worst in people, expecially when there is so much more to the story.

Many of our big time rappers, singers, and comedians come from Brooklyn, which goes to show how creative we are and how much potential we have. Brooklyn is where it all began for me.

Brooklyn

I've lived in Brooklyn all my life, but most of my family lived in Harlem, so I also spent alot of time growing up there also. There has always been much controversy between Brooklyn and Harlem, but for some reason I could never find myself only choosing one as my home. So to me, my community is both.

My mother and I move from different houses almost once every year, so its hard for me to be specific on an actual area I prefer to call home.

So what I call home is Brooklyn vs. Harlem