Celebrating Our 175th Anniversary
Second Baptist
Church has planned a year-long anniversary celebration in 2008 that began on the
date of its founding, January 6. Former Second Baptist pastor (1971-1985) Rev.
Harold Hoffman of Atlanta preached and an anniversary banquet followed.
Founded in 1833 by
eleven Baptists in St. Louis with a missionary-pastor from the East, Second
Baptist Church celebrates an illustrious heritage of 175 years. The earliest
“Baptist Church of St. Louis” was founded in 1818 by missionary John Mason Peck
who was called “one of the greatest pioneers to set foot in early St.
Louis.” This Baptist church built the first Protestant building in pioneer St.
Louis. The church founded the African Baptist Church of St. Louis in 1828, which
is now named the First Baptist Church of St. Louis. It is the mother church of
many African American Baptist churches in the city. But the early Baptist church
of 1818 went out of existence in 1833, and many of its members moved immediately
to form the Second Baptist Church on January 6, 1833.
The first building
of Second Baptist Church was a prominent structure at the intersection of Third
and Chestnut Streets, and it became the first of five buildings and locations
for the church. The church moved into its current campus at the intersection of
McKnight and Clayton Roads, 3/10 of a mile west of The Galleria, in 1957. A
panel of four local architects once selected the contemporary structure of
Second Baptist Church as one of their five favorite ecclesiastical edifices in
St. Louis. The most striking feature of the church, designed by Frederick Dunn,
is the Sanctuary of the Beatitudes. It is named for the well-known stained glass
windows designed by St. Louis artist Siegfried Reinhardt and produced by Emil
Frei. The eight windows, painted in enamel, represent Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount
and his Beatitudes. The near-perfect acoustics of the sanctuary uses the soft
pink “Chicago common” brick preferred by Dunn. An educational wing was added to
the building with a new arched entrance in 2002 when the historic mansion on the
property was taken down. The widely admired Gale-Blewett Memorial Odell pipe
organ, Opus 164, built in 1879, has followed the church in three buildings.
Dr. Stephen D.
Jones is the current pastor of Second Baptist Church, having begun his ministry
in St. Louis in August of 2007. Dr. Jones follows a long line of theologically
progressive pastors of the church. Author of six books, his most recent is
Peaceteacher, Jesus’ Way of Shalom (@ www.bpfna.org). Jones is the President
of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America.
Second Baptist
Church was a strong Union church during the civil war, reflecting its pastors’
opposition to slavery. Twice in its history, in 1879 and 1949, Second Baptist
Church was expelled by area Baptist churches because of its progressive
practices. There is a strong pacifist tradition among several of its pastors in
the late 1800’s and mid 1900’s. The church is affiliated with the American
Baptist Churches in the USA.
Second Baptist
Church is the “mother church” to 16 other Baptist churches in St. Louis. Its
members have given leadership to area public schools, colleges and universities,
in the establishment of the St. Louis Arch, serving as mayor of the city, as
denominational leaders and many business and civic leaders.
The anniversary
year includes a celebration of the 190th anniversary of the
founding of the first inter-racial congregation in St. Louis with
a free Kim Massie concert on February 17th and the Harris-Stowe Concert Chorale concert on March 30th. Three former pastors
of Second Baptist Church will preach at different times during the year.
The public is
invited to participate in these activities. Other sections of the website
provide more specific information about our anniversary activities. Click
here for information about upcoming events.
A beautiful
lithograph of St. Louis in 1840 featuring Second Baptist Church prominently in
the center is available for purchase for $20 from the church office,
office@2ndbc.org
Posted by Linda Novak on Apr 4, 2008 at 20:8:30 | Article Path: Home: About: Celebrating Our 175th Anniversary
