By Dan Holly

When Cassy Nuñez became lead pastor of Salem United Methodist Church in July of 2021, she inherited a church in a low-income part of Baltimore. The lack of financial resources in the neighborhood forced the church to think a little differently about funding its ministry than it might have otherwise.

“We needed to do a lot more fundraising and be more creative with what we did have,” Nuñez recalled. “I started getting to know community organizations. The church started to become more of a community center. Other things happen here Monday through Friday that are of benefit to the community.”

The church’s higher profile in the community became a matter of opportunity meeting preparation. One of the activities the church hosted was a Covid Vaccine Clinic. One of the attendees was Angelo Solera, founder and executive director of Nuestras Raices, Inc. (“Our Roots”), a local group with the mission of educating, preserving and promoting Baltimore’s Hispanic/Latino culture.

Solera mentioned to Nuñez that the group was looking for a space. They had been meeting in coffee shops, restaurants, and libraries and were looking for a permanent home. The day of the Covid Vaccine Clinic, Solera had an appointment to look at a building that he thought might fit the bill.

It just so happened that Salem United Methodist Church had an old parsonage next to the church, a home for the pastor – if it were livable. But it wasn’t; its problems included walls that leaked when it rained, a nonfunctional basement, and lights and windows in disrepair.

“It was not in a state that we could live in it,” Nuñez recalled. “We could use it for other things….but it would have been very expensive to fix up.”

The church did not have the money and the building stood empty. Nuñez mentioned the parsonage to Solera and told him that it might be another option if the building he was on his way to look at didn’t work out.

As it turns out, it didn’t. Instead, Nuestras Raices took over the old parsonage rent-free for three years. They were able to fix it up with a $45,000 loan from the France-Merrick Foundation, a philanthropical organization “devoted to supporting the people and organizations that make the Baltimore region vibrant and diverse.”

Nuestras Raices transformed the parsonage into Casa de la Cultura (“House of Culture”), which opened in August of 2022. Casa de la Cultura is central to Nuestra Raices’ mission, Solera said. Among the activities the group has held there are art exhibits, theater and dance productions, arts and craft workshops, and guitar classes – all representing Hispanic/Latino culture in some way.

“Casa de la Cultura is the first and only educational and cultural empowering center in the state of Maryland,” he said. “The Latino community is comprised of people from 25 different nations. When they come to the United States, they’re very detached from their home country. When they try to adjust to American culture, they often lose their own culture.”

Casa de la Cultura, he said, “is a place where people can be who they are and become renewed to who they are. …This is a place that helps preserve the richness and diversity of the Latino culture.”

A recent exhibit at La Casa de la Cultura featured Dominican folklore. The artist, who goes by Lusmerlin, said the exhibit shared a part of the culture she grew up with in Santo Domingo. “It was magical to see people from all backgrounds, not only Hispanic, to be enthralled and interested in our stories,” Lusmerlin said.
Pastor Nuñez sees La Casa Cultura as related to the church’s spiritual mission but not in some specific, planned way. “Salem has become a gathering place for the community, and not just people who come to church on Sunday morning,” she said. “The church is also full Monday through Saturday. …This church is everybody’s church.”

One thing she is proud of is how the church has contributed to bridging gaps among various denominations – a goal that is important, she said, because the Latino culture is dominated by Catholicism. Dialogue with other denominations is needed.

“Our mission is to be a spark for the community,” Nuñez said. “No matter what denomination, you are welcome.”