A high note bounces off the considerable walls and ceilings of the sanctuary at the Fordham United Methodist Church, reverberating through the room. It hangs for a beat. Soon, more notes follow and the room comes alive as the familiar sounds of Handel’s “Messiah, Part One,” sung by the church’s choir, animate a local institution whose long history nearly mirrors that of the Bronx itself.

“This place has great acoustics,” says Russell Saint John, the choir’s baritone soloist. “This congregation knows its music,” he adds. “They know what’s good, so we have to keep high standards.”

Saint John, like some of the professional singers who perform with Fordham United Methodist’s choir, has performed at some of the world’s great venues, including New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, the Berlin Opera and the Amphitheater at Pompeii, Italy.

The church’s Pastor, Reverend Leo W. Curry, beams with pride at the sounds emanating from the sanctuary.

“I like to say we have this here, in the Bronx,” says Curry, “this” being the church’s choir, which is composed of 21 singers from the Bronx and Manhattan. “We’re not the Upper West Side. We’re not on Park Avenue, or in Westchester.”

Founded in 1852, the church on Marion Avenue (just off Fordham Road) has always been outstanding, according to Lloyd Ultan, the Bronx’s official historian.

“From the very beginning, all ethnic groups were welcome [at Fordham United Methodist],” Ultan says.

While today the church has a large community of parishioners, Fordham United Methodist’s beginnings were as humble as they were diverse. Ultan describes the original structure as “resembling a small house.” It was a one-story building with a wooden double-door framed by a window on either side.

With a policy of inclusion, during a decidedly exclusionary time, Ultan says, the church quickly expanded. In 1892, the original wood structure was replaced with “a brand new brick church,” Ultan says.

During the early and middle 20th century, the Bronx grew rapidly, and the Fordham United Methodist Church, grew with it.

In 1967, when the 1897 structure was demolished and the church’s current structure took shape, the congregation benefited from its inclusionary policy, as benefactors with surprising backgrounds lined up to contribute to the new facility.

The church’s pulpit was donated by Dr. Daniel Mantoccio, a Catholic, and the front panel was a contribution of Benjamin Boboff, a Jewish man, Ultan says. “That’s the Bronx way of doing things,” Ultan says. “Everybody helps everybody else.”

Peter Derrick, a historian former parishioner who grew up in the Fordham area, has fond memories of spending his weekends during the 1960s with the church’s youth group. Derrick says the church helped keep him off the streets, and provided a “really nice place to go every week.”

As the century progressed, the church never lost sight of the diversity upon which it was built. “When Hispanics moved into the area, the church opened its doors,” Ultan says. In 1976, Fordham United Methodist introduced Spanish-language services.

In 2001, Curry and the church’s musical director, Dr. John Banks, put together the church’s first performance of “Messiah, Part One,” George Frideric Handel’s most famous oratorio. “Messiah” recalls the birth of Jesus, and is considered an annual staple at most churches during the holiday season. The well-known “Hallelujah” chorus is part of “Messiah.”

Curry says that the well-attended and professional-grade performance not only shows how far Fordham United Methodist has come as a church, but also how far the Bronx has come as a borough.

The performance is a testament “that the Bronx is not a cultural wasteland,” Curry says. “The Bronx is building.”

The 21 members of the choir, many of whom have been singing at this church for several years (some of the soloists are paid by the church), complement each other well. When singers arrive before their weekly rehearsal, they are often greeted with exuberant and spontaneous bursts of singing. Harmony quickly ensues.

Banks, who is also director of performing arts at Briarcliff Manor High School, says the performance attracts not only Bronx residents, but visitors from afar as well. Banks’ parents, for example, make the trek from Washington, D.C., to see the show every year.

The picture of confidence, Banks has no worries about how the choir’s eighth performance of “Messiah, Part One,” will turn out.

“This is always a big draw,” Banks says. “We’re always good.”

Ed. note: This story first appeared in the Norwood News Holiday Guide. The Fordham United Methodist Church Choir will perform Handel’s “Messiah, Part One” on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 4 pm. Suggested donation is $50. For tickets, call (718) 367-9347, or visit the church at 2543 Marion Ave.