Phillips CME Church
Phillips CME Church
History of the CME Denomination
The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, familiarly known as the CME Church, was organized December 16, 1870 in Jackson, Tennessee by 41 former slave members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Composed primarily of African Americans, the CME Church is a branch of Wesleyan Methodism founded and organized by John Wesley in England in 1744 and established in America as the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1784. As such it is a church of Jesus Christ adhering to the basic tenets of historic Methodism, welcoming into its fellowship any and all desiring to “flee from the wrath to come and be saved from their sins.” It holds that Jesus Christ is the Incarnate Son of God whose life, teachings, sacrificial death on the cross and glorious resurrection from the dead reconciled humankind to God, overcame sin and conquered death, procuring thereby eternal salvation to all who believe.
The CME Church believes that the Holy Spirit is God’s continuing presence in the world empowering the church to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and fulfill its mission of saving and serving all humankind. Basic to the faith of the CME Church is the conviction that the Bible is the inspired Word of God containing all things necessary for human salvation. Presently the church reports approximately 850,000 communicant members in the continental United States, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, D. R. Congo. The CME Church came into being in the tumultuous aftermath of the civil war and throes of Reconstruction. Beginning in 1619, the enslavement of native Africans, captured in their homeland and transported to America under horrendous conditions known as the Middle Passage, became integral to the American way of life. By the 19th century chattel slavery, especially on the cotton, cane and tobacco plantations of the South, had become the "Peculiar Institution."
Despite the principles and precepts of Jesus Christ, however, the Christian churches of the South not only approved and advocated slavery, but even accepted it in their midst. Foremost among them was the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which in 1844 had separated from the Methodist Church over the issue of slavery. When the Civil War began in 1860, it had more slave members than any other religious denomination. At the end of the war, amidst its devastation, almost 100,000 members remained in the M. E. Church, South. It was of these members that in 1866 the General Conference of that church asked, “What shall be done to promote the religious interests of our colored members?” The answer was predicated on the expressed desires and requests of those “Colored” members. For example, Isaac Lane of Tennessee, and later Founder of Lane College, said, “At once we made it known that we preferred a separate organization of our own . . . established after our own ideas and notions.” Lucius Holsey of Georgia, and later Founder of Paine College, wrote, “After emancipation a movement was at once inaugurated to give the Negroes a separate and independent organization.” Aware of these desires, James E. Evans, chair of the committee considering the issue, said, “The General Conference believed that the colored people, now that they are free, would desire a separate church organization for themselves.”
Accordingly, the General Conference authorized the bishops of the church to organize their “Colored” members into their own “separate ecclesiastical jurisdiction.” Between 1866 and 1870 the bishops carried out the dictates of the General Conference. In May 1870 they reported that all necessary and legal steps had been taken to organize a separate church the following winter. So it was that those 41 former slaves gathered in Jackson in 1870 were duly elected and properly authorized to organize their own separate and independent “Colored Methodist Episcopal Church“(changed to “Christian Methodist” in 1954) they elected William Henry Miles and Richard H. Vanderhorst, the first bishops.
The CME Church is organized into eleven Episcopal Districts, nine in the Continental United States and two on the continent of Africa. Each Episcopal District consists of geographical Regions presided over by a bishop elected by the General Conference. Several connectional departments under the authority of a General Secretary carry out the ministries of the church, such as Christian Education, discipleship, evangelism, and missions. Its theological school is Phillips School of Theology, which is a part of the Interdenominational Theological Center, located in Atlanta, Georgia. The CME Church sponsors four liberal arts colleges: Lane College, Jackson, Tennessee; Paine College, Augusta, Georgia; Miles College, Birmingham, Alabama and Texas College, Tyler, Texas. The Connectional Headquarters and publishing operations of the CME Church are located in Memphis, Tennessee.
By Bishop Othal Hawthorne Lakey
References The History of the CME Church, Othal Hawthorne Lakey, CME Publishing House, Memphis, Tennessee: 1985. The Rise of “Colored Methodism”: A Study of the Background and Beginnings of the CME Church, Othal Hawthorne Lakey, Crescendo Press, 1972. Is God Still at Mama’s House? The Women’s Movement in the CME Church, Othal Hawthorne Lakey and Betty Beene Stephens, CME Publishing House, Memphis, Tennessee, 1994. A History of the Women’s Missionary Council of the CME Church, William C. Larkin: 1910. The History of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (1870 – 2009): Faithful to the Vision, Ore L. Spragin, 2011. An Ex-Colored Church: Social Activism in the CME Church, 1870 – 1970, Raymond R. Sommerville, Jr., Mercer University Press, Macon, Georgia, 2004.
Phillips CME Celebrates 160th
Phillips Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 2015. Organized in 1865, around the close of the Civil War, the church is five years older than its denomination, the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. It was assigned to the first Annual Conference in the denomination. It is the second oldest African American congregation in Huntsville.
The Reverend Keith Ellison says he is excited about leading Phillips through this unique celebration of its rich and storied history. “We pay homage to the vision, hard work, courage and ministry of our forbearers,” he said. “We rejoice in a heritage made possible by the grace of God and dedicate ourselves to use our gifts and talents more fully to do God’s will.”
The church launched its celebration with a revival in January 2015. Among the culminating activities was a Black Tie Gala held at the Jackson Center at 7 p.m. on August 21st, highlighting actress, Robin Givens. Ms. Givens and her cast presented excerpts from her stage play “Joy in the Morning.” On September 20, Bishop Lawrence L. Reddick III, son of former Phillips Pastor Reverend Lawrence Reddick, Jr. and Mrs. Elizabeth Reddick, preached at a special 10:30 a.m. worship service. Bishop Reddick is senior Bishop of the denomination.
Phillips has been a cornerstone in the Huntsville community. Known through the years for its unique Vacation Bible Schools, summer enrichment programs, kindergarten, day care center and model after-school tutorial-mentoring program, it continues a tradition of service through its Phillips Brotherhood Community Outreach. Church members have collaborated with CASA, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Blossomwood School, First Stop and numerous other agencies to fulfill their mission.
In addition to Bishop Reddick, former Pastor Charles L. Russell was elected 21st Bishop of the denomination in 1938. The Reverend Robert O. Langford, who launched his ministry at Phillips, was the denomination’s first General Secretary of Evangelism. He organized Langford CME Church in Monroe, North Carolina in 1912 and Brown Temple C ME Church in Ashville, North Carolina in 1924. Mary Lula Shepherd, also a member of Phillips, was a charter member of the Connectional Women’s Missionary Society organized in 1918. Numerous other members have served at all levels of the Church.
In the CME tradition, Phillips has been served by itinerant ministers. Most were builders. Some built churches. Others built up the body of Christ.
Phillips CME Church Facts
Phillips CME Church Facts
- Phillips CME Church was organized in 1865, the year the Civil War ended and five years before the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was organized. It is the second oldest African American Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
- In 1954, the General Conference changed the name of the denomination from “Colored Methodist” to “Christian Methodist.”
- The early years of the church were marked by a series of relocation. Worship services were held in homes, lodge halls and the Fred Davis School, all located in “the Grove” an African American community located in the area where the present church stands. Later, the congregation moved to a converted broom factory on West Clinton Street.
- The congregation purchased Rison Chapel, an edifice located on Church Street, at a cost of $1,200 in 1908.
- The frame building burned in 1916. Pastor A. D. Avery, also an instructor of brick masonry at Alabama A. & M. College, and his students built a new edifice with financial help from Bishop Charles Henry Phillips.
- In 1922, the new edifice was named in honor of Bishop Phillips.
- The congregation moved to its present site, 200 Davis Circle, in 1973.
- The mortgage on the Davis Circle site was burned on Palm Sunday, 1994.
- Bishop Teresa E. Snorton, the first and only female bishop of the CME Church, presides over the Fifth Episcopal District.
- Mrs. Mary Lula Shepherd, a member of Phillips, was a charter member of the CME Connectional Women’s Missionary Society organized in 1918.
- Attorney Robert Jones, a member of Phillips, served on the site Selection Committee for Councill High School in the 1890's.
- Attorney John Kemp, a member of Phillips was an advocate for the establishment of Councill High School in the 1890s.
- The Reverend Charles Lee Russell, Pastor of Phillips from 1913 to 1914, was elected 21st Bishop of the CME Church in 1938.
- The church has fed homeless people through the years and provided for some of their other needs.
- The Reverend Robert O. Langford, who launched his ministry at Phillips, served as the first General Secretary of Evangelism for the CME Church from 1922 until 1930.
- Reverend Langford planted Langford CME Church in Monroe, North Carolina in 1912. The church celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2012. He also organized Brown Temple CME Church in Ashville, North Carolina in 1924.
- The Reverend Lawrence L. Reddick III, son of former Phillips Pastor L. L. Reddick, Jr. and Mrs. Elizabeth R. Reddick and a native Huntsvillian, served as editor of The Christian Index, the official publication of the CME Church for 16 years.
- In 1998, the Reverend Lawrence L. Reddick 111 was elected 51st Bishop of the CME Church. Today, he is Senior Bishop of the denomination.
- Outreach has been and continues to be a strong focus in Phillips’ mission.
- The Church served as a voting site until the Councill Court Community was dislocated.
- In the early 1950s, Mrs. Elizabeth Reddick organized a productive kindergarten at the church.
- In the 1970s, the church operated a day care center.
- During the late 1980s and the ‘90s, Phillips organized and operated a model after-school tutorial/mentoring program.
- Funding for the tutorial program was generated through dinner theaters and banquets featuring nationally known speakers such as Journalist Tony Brown and Mrs. Mary Shy Scott, International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Additional funds were secured through grants from United Way and the State of Alabama.
- The Phillips Brotherhood Community Outreach (PBCO) has ministered to at-risk boys for nearly two decades. The organization collaborates with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, CASA and Blossomwood School. One highlight of the ministry is the annual enrichment trip for the boys to nearby cities.
- In collaboration with First Stop, members and auxiliaries have provided sleeping mats, snack packs, hygiene bags and other items for homeless people.