St. Paul's Baptist Church
St. Paul's Baptist Church (larger image)
On Thanksgiving night, 25 November 1909, members of First Union Baptist Church met near Virginia Union University at 2028 Henrico Street (now Botetourt Street) for the purposes of organizing a new church. Shortly thereafter the first members established the church known as "The St. Paul's Baptist Church" and constructed a sanctuary with a seating capacity of fifty people. They called as their first pastor Reverend George D. Pinkney. Four sanctuaries and six pastors later, St. Paul's Baptist Church has grown to become one of the largest predominantly African-American congregations in the Old Dominion.
During its ninety-seven year history, St. Paul's has called six pastors, none serving longer than Reverend Journey Archer Mosby. Mosby was called to St. Paul's in 1929, four years after the membership had constructed and moved to a second sanctuary in the Newtown neighborhood that accommodated over two hundred worshippers. This sanctuary would serve the needs of the congregation until 1950 when Mosby recognized the need for an even larger sanctuary. After several years of fundraising, the congregation sold its building in Newtown in 1957 and purchased an existing church building at 26th and Marshall Streets in Church Hill.
Reverend Journey Archer Mosby ( larger image)
Mosby retired in 1969 but St. Paul's continued to grow under Reverend James E. Leary, who served until 1983. St. Paul's sixth and current pastor Reverend Lance D. Watson assumed the pulpit on 15 October 1985. With Watson as preacher the church experienced tremendous growth and today counts over 6,000 members on two campuses in the Richmond area. Their north campus building was completed on 47 acres of land on Creighton Road in 2002. The south campus was the result of a historic act of generosity, when in 2005 the congregation of Weatherford Memorial Baptist Church voted to give its buildings located on Belt Boulevard to St. Paul's. As St. Paul's nears its 100th anniversary, the church oversees its own credit union, preschool, housing corporation, and scholarship fund for college-age youth.
VCU Libraries is proud to be working with members and staff at St. Paul's Baptist Church to document and preserve their archives as part of the Archives of the New Dominion grant initiative. Materials donated by St. Paul's to VCU Libraries include photographs, church histories, membership directories, minutes, bulletins, event programs, and the recorded sermons of Reverend Watson. For more information on the records of St. Paul's Baptist Church, please contact Special Collections and Archives at 828-1108.
--Alex Lorch, Community Outreach Archivist - Special Collections & Archives