El Rito Presbyterian Church

El Rito Presbyterian Church is a church in Chacón, New Mexico Early settlers came to Chacón (El Rito de Agua Negra) from Chamisal, where they were reportedly persecuted because of their Protestant beliefs. Their faith was enriched through the study of Spanish Bibles, provided by the Sandoval, Arqüello, and Ortega families. A school was started by the Arqüello's, which further encouraged Bible reading. In 1879, the group was organized as El Rito Presbyterian Church by the Rev. John Annin, the minister in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Elder Juan P Ortega, licensed as a lay evangelist, preached at Chacón through the 1880s. In the 1890s, the congregation was served by the Rev Joseph J. Gilchrist, who also produced a Protestant newspaper in Spanish, and trained local men to work as evangelists. Native-born ministers educated at Presbyterian schools and colleges in New Mexico and elsewhere, predominated at Chacón from 1900 to 1958. During this period, an elementary school, staffed by women teachers from the Presbyterian Board of National Missions, taught children and sent them on to Allison-James in Santa Fe and Menaul School in Albuquerque, both in New Mexico. The school nourished the church, and also served the community as advocates, clinic and community center. The church grew steadily until the 1930s, becoming one of the largest Spanish-language congregations in the Presbyterian

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