STAR OF BROOKLYN: Samuel Cruz, Senior Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church
PERSONAL LIFE: Pastor Samuel Cruz, the spiritual leader at Sunset Parks Trinity Lutheran Church, was three years old when his family decided to move to Sunset Park. He spent most of his young and adult life in Brooklyn, until his studies brought him to New Jersey. Cruz currently lives in New Jersey, but considers himself a true Brooklynite.
[Sunset Park is a] wonderful community, he remarked. It has challenges like any other urban area, but I think the Latino community that lives there makes the community a better place. [They] work hard, and struggle to make life better [for themselves] and for their children.
Cruz has a B.A. from the College of New Rochelle, a M.A. from New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Jersey and a Ph.D. from Drew University, also located in New Jersey.