Second Baptist Church to Celebrate 175 Years
As the nation’s capital is a place filled with iconic landmarks especially when it comes to faith and African Americans and this journey can never be forgotten.
On Nov. 19, Second Baptist Church of Washington, D.C., 816 3rd Street, N.W., will celebrate its 175th Anniversary.
Second Baptist was formally established as one of two of the city’s “Colored churches,” which was conceived in 1827 and officially established as Second Baptist in 1848.
“This anniversary underscores a milestone in African American history [and] their legacy of service,” said the Rev. Dr. James E. Terrell, the church’s pastor and a distant relative of Robert Terrell, whose daughter was the famous civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell.
The church really has a proud family history, said Angela Terrell Heath.
”My father is the pastor now. The Rev. James E. Terrell. I am worship leader and a deaconess. My brother is assistant pastor. My sister sings beautifully and trustee. My mother Judge Terrell is also a deaconess and chair of the anniversary committee.“
Heath explained that the church was affected for years by the construction happening around the Northwest building.
“We are now boxed in on three sides with condos and apartments. Our church yard is the only spot of greenery on the whole block. We used to own the land where the apartments now sit, but it was sold under different leadership. Now we have a sliver of parking. We haven’t been able to negotiate a partnership or parking privileges with the surrounding buildings.”
District historians say the church was a stop on the Underground Railroad and was a venue for historical icons including Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth.
The church is also the site of the founding of the National Baptist Convention and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
Second Baptist has survived slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, two World Wars, several city fires, national lynchings, and the Civil Rights Movement as well as recent development in the neighborhood resulting in high-rise condominiums and apartments on three sides of the church.
Development and the construction of new buildings damaged the church’s foundation, requiring services to be moved to Walker Jones Elementary School and Howard University School of Divinity.
“We want to rebuild the church. We are seeking donations and are looking for grants. We want to partner with downtown businesses,” Heath said. “We want to open our doors to the community. We have a campaign to raise $175,000 to start making repairs.”
A key part of the anniversary service will be to honor Dr. Grace Holloman Davis, the church’s oldest member, who will turn 100 years old this month.
Barber Reminds Students of Their History and Legacy
The historic Howard University Rankin Chapel served, yet again, as a crossroads of faith and social activism as the Rev. William Barber II challenged students to embrace the socialist Justice movement that began on their campus.
Barber, founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, told the students that in the same way college students were involved in the Civil Rights campaigns of the 1960s, they are needed today.
“It just wasn’t about voting rights. It was about raising the minimum wage to a living wage,” said Barber II, who has led efforts ranging from fighting against racism as the head of North Carolina NAACP to leading the war against poverty in D.C. where, “145,000 people in this city live on food stamps.”
Barber II is the former pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Goldsboro, North Carolina. He was also president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach where he led Moral Monday protests in Washington, D.C. and across the U.S.
Before accepting a position at Yale, Barber II was the leader of the Poor People’s Campaign. On Sunday he emphasized to the students that their work in fighting for equity and justice is far from over.
“We can’t let our fight for justice die now. The church just can’t go away now,” Barber preached.
“There are times when the sufferers have to become the delivers.”