How and where to see a Gospel mass in Harlem (New York)

One of the most interesting activities what you can do in your trip to New York es attend a mass in Harlem Gospel in the Harlem neighborhood.

To do this, it is best to make at least one day of your stay coincide with a Sunday, which is when these ceremonies are generally held.

At Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan de New York, which is inhabited mainly by the black community, there are numerous Baptist congregations that every Sunday they meet to attend a religious service.

This service can last up to three hours, and during it the entire community participates with religious songs of Gospel.

Where is the Harlem neighborhood in New York?

El Harlem neighborhood of New York is in the northern Manhattan, limited by 96th Street to the south, the Fifth Avenue, Hudson River to the west, and 155 street to the north.

Although in the past it had a reputation for being dangerous, currently it is usually quite busy with tourists who want to attend these masses.

In fact, attend a Gospel mass in Harlem has become in recent years a typical New York tourist activity.

Baptist congregations very willingly accept the attendance of tourists, who are very welcome, and even allowing in some cases to take photographs and film videos.

If you would like to attend a mass Gospel, do you have two options.

Good to join a agency tour to visit Harlem, which is done with a guide in spanish and includes attendance at a religious service with gospel or, at least, to the choir performance gospel.

Or visit Harlem on your own, attending the ceremony gospel in one of their Baptist churches

How to Visit Harlem and See a Gospel Mass on Your Own

In my case, although on my last trip I took a walk along the main avenue of Harlem, I have not yet had the opportunity to live the experience of attending a religious service with choir gospel.

I have it pending for a next trip to access one of the numerous Baptist churches To attend this very special ceremony, it is recommended by various travelers whose experience I have read about.

Furthermore, in the streets of Harlem neighborhood most visited by tourists, where the main Baptist churches are located, you do not find any special insecurity problems.

The religious services gospel take place Sundays in the morning, and in some cases, also in the afternoon.

Of course, it is advisable to arrive at the church at least half an hour before the start of the religious service, as in some places there are queues of tourists.

And in any case, you must accommodate yourself well in advance.

You should also keep in mind that in most Baptist churches they do not allow taking photos or filming videos.

And, likewise, you must wear appropriate clothing, avoiding shorts and bare shoulders, otherwise you may not be allowed access to the church.

But you should also know that if your stay in New York does not coincide with a Sunday, you also have the opportunity to attend a gospel mass on a Wednesday in the afternoon.

Churches where you can see Gospel mass on your own

Here you have information on where to find the Baptist churches where you can attend a Gospel mass in Harlem.

You can also consult the churches where there are gospel mass on wednesdays.

Spanish Tour of Harlem with Gospel

You should also know that the Harlem neighborhood located north of the island of Manhattan has a long history that goes beyond the songs of gospel.

In this regard, in your New York visit you can sign up for a guided tour of Harlem done by a tourist agency during which you can learn about said history, as well as the most notable places in said neighborhood.

This tour ends with a choir performance gospel.

The Harlem tours are carried out sundays and wednesdaysa tour guide that gives all the explanations en español, and they last about four hours.

This tour includes a route through the most significant points of the neighborhood, such as the Cotton Club, Apollo Theatre, the Brownstone Houses and General Grant memorial.

To finish the tour, visit a baptist church to attend a gospel ceremony, which in the case of Wednesdays is a rehearsal for the Sunday mass.

What is the experience of a tour of Harlem with Gospel?

If you are curious to know What is a sightseeing tour of Harlem like?, here you have our friend's story Salvador Samaranch, who signed up for one of these tours in a Sunday during his most recent trip to New York.

This experience will serve as a reference, although each tour has its characteristics depending on many factors, such as the company you hire, the day of the week it takes place or the Baptist church you visit.

I hope you find it useful.

At 8 o'clock in the morning they picked us up by bus to do the Harlem tour, with Gospel mass included. It is a tour that takes place every Sunday and had to end around 13:XNUMX p.m. About twelve people got into our hotel.

The guide was a young man, the son of Colombian parents but born in New York, quite nice and, as he explained to us, with a wife, mother-in-law and four daughters.

The departure was a bit confusing, as we had to go to the Sheraton hotel to pick up more tourists, and we had to split into two buses.

In this process we had to suffer for a while the impertinence of a Spanish lady (the tour was in Spanish) who was very touchy and did not want to sit at the back of the bus because she considered that to be insulting.

Anyway, after a while the issue was resolved by sending the woman and her self-conscious and embarrassed daughter to the other bus.

Ronnie, the guide, was quite attentive and explained a multitude of things to us. curiosities about New York, about your life, about your experience, about how to attend some attractions or shows for free or at a better price than the official one.

He also told us about the different places we saw during the tour.

Harlem It is a neighborhood of the Manhattan Island which since the 1920s has been an important residential, cultural and business center for the African American community.

Harlem has been defined by a series of boom and bust cycles, with significant ethnic changes accompanying each cycle.

The resurgence of the New York City at the end of the 20th century has also led to the renewal of Harlem.

The neighborhood maintains a predominance of black residents, but in recent years it has grown with new middle-class European-American, Hispanic and Asian residents.

This New York neighborhood has experienced a positive evolution thanks to strong investments and a very tough line against crime.

There has also been a real estate boom, with rising prices, many renovated houses, and now it is beginning to be a neighborhood where it is pleasant to live.

In our Harlem tour we pass in front of the Apollo Theatre, undoubtedly the most famous club associated almost exclusively with African-American artists.

They explained to us that new artists came out on stage to show their art for a few minutes. and that the public acted like a judge, whistling and stamping their feet if they didn't like it, or applauding wildly at the other end.

Artistic talent scouts followed these popular verdicts.

In this central area of ​​Harlem, north of Central Park, we pass, we pass by Sylvia's, a reference point for southern food, for the Liberation bookstore and Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

We also saw two of the most important streets that bear the names of relevant black leaders, the 125 street y Lenox Avenue, also called Martin Luther King y Malcom X.

On the west side, bordering the Hudson River, we saw the Columbia University and the enormous Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the largest in the United States.

Also in this area is the Spanish Society of America.

We made a brief visit to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, and from there we headed to Sylvan Terrace, a small street that leads you to Morris Jumel Mansion Museum.

On this cobblestone street there are rows of historic wooden houses that date back to 1882.

La Morris-Jumel Mansion, located in Washington Heights, is the oldest house in Manhattan. It served as headquarters for both sides during the American Revolution.

From there we went to the Memorial Baptist Church to the celebration of Gospel mass.

We attended the first part of the ceremony, where tourists occupied more or less half of the capacity, which was not very large; I estimated about 400 people.

In the second part of the celebration, only the faithful of the area remain, without tourists. The African-American attendees were all very elegant.

The religious service was presided over by a priest with the help of several assistants, and the choir was made up of men and women, all black, except for one singer who was white, all in their gala dresses.

In this first part of the ceremony, to the rhythm of drums and guitars, and with a lot of marching, several songs were sung that sometimes gave you goosebumps. Between them and the local attendees they made great choruses.

When they finished, they gently accompanied us to the exit to continue alone with the Sunday services, letting in more parishioners who occupied the seats that we had left empty.

I sincerely think that the money they charge tourists for this three-quarter hour exhibition goes a long way to the parish.

And from our point of view, it is very worth it because the songs really shake you, and we all end up dancing on the benches.