By Jeremy Weber
One of two buildings destroyed by an explosion today northeast of Manhattan’s Central Park not only housed a longstanding Hispanic evangelical church—it also reportedly housed one-third of the congregation.
So reports The Huffington Post as more details emerge behind the natural gas accident in New York City’s East Harlem neighborhood that has killed three people, injured dozens, and left 9 missing, reports The New York Times (NYT) amid a sea of coverage.
The six apartments at 1644 Park Avenue housed approximately 20 of Spanish Christian Church’s 60 members, the church’s financial secretary, Carmen Vargas-Rosa, told HuffPo in a widely circulated report.
Vargas-Rosa earlier told CBS-2 during a morning interview that the church’s building had six tenants, and four people were missing at that time. The NYT later reported that “most of the tenants of 1644 Park were parishioners of the church, or affiliated with it in some way.”
One of the fatalities is a 67-year-old member of the church, reports The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The NYT report reveals more details about the church’s tenants, two of which are still missing.
“God is getting me through this,” church pastor Thomas Perez told the NYT.
Read more at http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2014/march/nyc-explosion-spanish-christian-church-homeless-harlem.html