The Greater Hood Memorial AME Zion Church was the first black church in Harlem, New York. It now receives notoriety as the "Oldest Continuing" church in Harlem. The church’s first house of worship was erected on East 117th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues in 1843.
History
Greater Hood Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church is the 1st black church to be established in the Harlem and now the oldest church to be exclusively located in Harlem, having been in Harlem long before Harlem itself became a predominantly black community. The first name of the congregation was the Harlem A.M.E. Zion Church, nicknamed, "Little Zion." It was given the nickname because the church was started as the uptown branch of Mother A.M.E. Zion Church, the mother church of the A.M.E. Zion denomination (located then in lower Manhattan), to serve those African Americans who were working as servants on the estates that occupied Harlem in the early and mid-nineteenth century. Subsequent names of this congregation have been Rush Memorial, Hood Memorial and now Greater Hood Memorial.
The church’s founding date is confirmed in a letter from the 1st Bishop, James Varick, dated 1825 in which he states the founding date of March 25, 1820. That letter also notes the founder, Rev. VanHas, as “the minister in charge of the aforesaid church in Harlem.
Years later, under the leadership of the Rev. J.A. King, the 66-member congregation of Harlem A.M.E. Zion Church erected its first structure, a small brick building, in the early part of 1843. Tension arose between "Little Zion" and Mother Zion over who had control of the property at 117th Street. The Trustees of Mother Zion claimed title to the property. The issue would not be resolved until 1910 when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of "Little Zion."
As early as 1909, there was a clamoring for a new edifice. The migration of African Americans from the South had brought an increase in membership. A building fund was started, but a new location was not secured until 1911. Upon completion, the church was to be renamed the Rush Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church in honor of Christopher, the second Bishop of the denomination. On October 15, 1911, the cornerstone was laid at the new site, 58-60 West 138th Street, near Lenox Avenue. Bishops Walters, Clinton, and Caldwell were in attendance for the ceremonies, The Rev. Beverly C. Ransom, Pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church in Manhattan, delivered the dedicatory sermon.
During the 1920s, the church increased in esteem among its peers. It was one of the most respected churches in New York City. Bishops who presided over the various Episcopal Districts within the A.M.E. Zion Church graced Rush Memorial's pulpit regularly. Under the leadership of Dr. G.M. Oliver, the church experienced phenomenal growth, taking in 600 new members between 1920 and 1925. One hundred seventy-five new members alone joined between 1924 and 1925. During this time the church's auditorium and vestry were renovated at the cost of $25,000 and many of the church's debts were paid off.
Rush Memorial, like the nation, was caught in the grips of the Great Depression during the 1930s. As the income of the membership began to decline and others lost their jobs completely, the church began to fall into arrears in its mortgage payments. As a result, the congregation lost their building in 1935. The congregation was forced to rely on the largess of other churches to hold their worship services. One of the earliest churches to lend a hand was Rev. T.J.B. Harris and the congregation of Rendall Memorial Presbyterian Church, 65 West 137th Street.
At the 114th Session of the New York Annual Conference, held at the Ralph Avenue A.M.E. Zion Church in Brooklyn in June 1935, Bishop Kyles appointed then pastor Rev. W. W. Prime to pastor in Mt. Kisco, NY and brought Rev. B.J, McClellan from South Carolina to pastor the beleaguered congregation. At the New York Annual Conference held at Mother Zion in 1936, Rev. McClellan was returned to the congregation, which was worshipping at 57-61 West 137th Street. It is in the official minutes of this conference that the name of the congregation is listed as Hood Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church. The Church had been renamed in honor of Bishop James Walker Hood.