La Churcha Samana

La Churcha

I must confess that one of my most moving memories of the Dominican Republic was a visit to La Churcha Samana. I say that even though I am not a particularly religious person.

If you look at the map to the right you can see that Samana in is the East of the Dominican Republic. It is accessible by road and plane.

The Dominican Evangelical Church Saint Peter Samana [to give it the full name!] otherwise known as La Churcha Samana, has had a colourful history.

La Churcha is an old church building shipped out all the way from England in 1824. As it came out by boat the building is prefabricated and has a tin-roofed structure. Occasionally in the past it has received storm damage hence the reason for our visit ie to make a donation towards its repair.

Who can imagine the determination and ingenuity needed to ship a church out from England to the Dominican Republic in 1824?!!![cont right]

The purpose of La Churcha was to house the freed North American slave congregation who became the nucleus of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.

Today it is the Dominican Evangelical Church, and its the romantic Victorian architecture has lured many a photographer to its portals.

You can find La Churcha Samana short walk from the seafront up a slight slope. It often works harmoniously with the African Methodist Episcopalian Church which is another interesting building, a short walk away.

The below video is a small glimpse of our visit to La Churcha. We received a wonderfully warm welcome from Rev. Moses James and his congregation.