The Baptist Church of the Center of Bariloche celebrated its 70 years of service to the community | Bariloche Give your opinion | News from Bariloche.

With an emotional act and an extensive program of activities, the Evangelical Baptist Church of the Center of Bariloche celebrated this Sunday (11/12) its 70 years of permanence and service to the community.

The meeting, which brought together some 300 people, was held at its historic facilities in gallardo streetwith the presence of pastors and members of the church and missionary works that make up their community, and special guests from other churches in Bariloche and the area.

Among them were the shepherds Hernán Carrillo (Centro), Pedro Boretsky (Esquel), Pedro Hernández (Las Mutisias), Omar Pereyra (Nuestras Malvinas), Carlos Wlasiuk (Melipal), Guillermo Larroca (La Angostura), and Luis Valverde (Epuyén ) who was in charge of the central message, among others.

Among the authorities, the governor Arabela Carreras, the mayor Gustavo Gennuso and the legislator Julia Fernández were also present.

Numerous were the testimonials and memories of important moments lived by the congregation. It was also a time of reunion for many families that throughout these years left their legacy in the church.

“We see the fidelity of God during all these years with each one of those who have been and are part of His church in Bariloche. We thank God and recognize the legacy left by those who laid the foundations of the Baptist congregation in our city; for his vision and service, and the privilege that we have today to continue it,” said Carrillo moments before discovering a plaque at the entrance to the historic temple commemorating the anniversary.

There the stanzas of the Argentine National Anthem were sung with the participation of the Band of the Military School of Mountain.

“Beyond the role that each one plays in society, it is important to identify what we have in common, what each of us is looking for. We believe that in this search for common objectives, we must not forget spirituality. Each one professes a religion or a faith, but spirituality is a component that is sometimes forgotten in daily life, and when this happens, problems begin, ”reflected the governor when expressing her greetings to those present.

Along these lines, Mayor Gennuso rescued the history of the birth of the Baptist work in Bariloche, considering that it is the “very history of the formation of our city. They got together, they dreamed, and they built.” In this sense, the community chief also recalled passages from the Bible in which the bases of what it means to “live in community” are established.

The day concluded with a time to recognize the legacy of the pioneers of the Baptist work in the region, and to renew the challenges of the churches responding to the needs of their neighbors and taking the message of Christ to the communities.

A little history

In the year 1930, Bariloche was a small town in the national territory. His connections and relationships with the neighboring Chilean area were very strong, due to family, commercial, and communication reasons.

Some of the Chilean workers who were temporarily in the area began to have difficulties, since they could not find an evangelical Christian church where they could congregate.

The first believers began to meet in the last house in the Estación neighborhood (in the Railway Zone), whose occupant was Don Eduardo Tobares, an employee of the General Roca National Railway. There they shared the word of God and some hymns. Also present was Don José Sach Krause, an employee of Chile-Argentina, and possibly his sister Marta.

Over the years, now definitively established on this side of the Cordillera and having increased in number, they understood the need to have a stable and independent place to hold their meetings, as well as a more effective form of organization.

For this reason, Mr. Sachs requested permission from the Chile-Argentina company to use the basement of the house located at Anasagasti 36 that he owned and looked after, to hold the meetings of a Chilean-Argentine evangelical group, beginning in the year 1944.

April 6, 1946 is remembered as the date of the first baptisms in San Carlos de Bariloche. They were carried out by the pastor Romanengui, who came from Neuquén, on the banks of the Ñireco river. On that occasion, Elisa de Leiva and José Sachs were baptized, and a large part of the town gathered in amazement to see a baptism by immersion.

The meetings continued in the first months of 1946, in that basement that was quite deteriorated, made of rammed earth, and functioned as a chicken coop at night. In the mornings it was swept and for the meetings they distributed newspaper sheets so that they could kneel and pray.

On June 14, 1947, a letter arrived from the Board of Missions of the Argentine Baptist Convention announcing that at their last meeting they had decided to establish the Bautista missionary work in San Carlos de Bariloche.

The year 1949 brought many changes. In June, the seminarian Antonio Rebollo arrived as a newlywed. Here a cot awaited him in a small room and the great work of uniting the group that was mostly made up of various denominations and had grown to the number. There were already 16 adults.

Soon they began to dream of their own temple, since the Anasagasti house seemed very far from the center, so on the recommendation of the Baptist Convention they began to look for a better location.

Don José Sachs discovered a beautiful piece of land in Gallardo at 245, which was bought in 1950 from Mr. Crespo Blanco with offerings collected in churches throughout the country. Thus grew the dream of building the southernmost temple of the moment.

Finally, on December 7, 1952, the ten members of the congregation met to form the First Baptist Church of Bariloche. They were; Elisa de Leiva, José Sachs, Miguel Almonacid, Carmela de Flores, Juanita Barrientos, Raquel Sachs de Almoncid, Francisco Boretsky, Ester de Boretsky, Antonio Rebollo and Nélida García de Rebollo.

The Baptist Church of the Center of Bariloche celebrated its 70 years of service to the community | Bariloche Give your opinion | News from Bariloche.