Pilgrim Baptist Church in St. Paul perseveres, evolves post-pandemic

Frederick Melo, Pioneer Press
Updated ·6 min read
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When the coronavirus pandemic sidelined traditional Sunday services at Pilgrim Baptist Church, elders for the 160-year-old St. Paul institution put their faith in not just God but Facebook and YouTube.

The historically Black Baptist church in the Old Rondo neighborhood began streaming its services online in 2020, and that practice didn’t stop when in-person activities resumed.

“We have people from around the Twin Cities and even beyond that are viewing our service and, in a way, are part of our congregation,” said Althea Rupert, 70, a fourth-generation Pilgrim member who co-chairs the church’s 160th anniversary committee. However, the sanctuary that can hold as many as 400 visitors has been about half empty since the pandemic struck, she said, which “has really made a difference in terms of physical presence.”

The public health crisis froze some of Pilgrim’s community services, and the generational divide bit into others. A men’s and women’s prison ministry stopped operating in 2020, and the Girl Scout troop is on hold, too, for now.

But a Boy Scout troop that has launched 17 young men to the program’s highest rank over the past 30 years just elevated two more Eagle Scouts. Each summer, members still collect canned food and clothing for a food shelf or community meals, a youth center or the Heart House women’s homeless shelter. And the decade-old community garden still raises its vegetable bounty toward the heavens.

A history of triumph, tragedy

The church, celebrating its 160th anniversary this weekend, has faced triumph and tragedy before — so many times, in fact, that its history has become indelibly linked to that of the capital city. It was founded in 1863, a few years after statehood and at the mid-point of the Civil War, by a group that history books might describe as escaped slaves. The Rev. Robert Hickman called the men, women and children who accompanied him out of Boone County, Mo., by a different title: his “pilgrims.”

The lore around Hickman and his followers settling in St. Paul and founding the state’s first Black church has varied over the years. Some members of the congregation believe the pilgrims were smuggled aboard the steamer War Eagle and taken north. In another version, the runaways took to a makeshift boat that gradually fell apart on their journey up the Mississippi River, only to be towed ashore by a passing steamboat as a mob of jeering white dockworkers tried to turn them away.

Hickman first established the church in downtown St. Paul before it moved to Sibley Street and again in 1928 to its current location at 732 W. Central Ave.

On a June day in 1885, church members would help launch the Western Appeal, one of the nation’s first Black-owned newspapers. They later would found the St. Paul chapter of the NAACP, which launched advocates onto the national stage during the civil rights era.

The church also played a role in reopening Maxfield Elementary when construction of Interstate 94 split the Rondo neighborhood in the 1960s. And in the 1970s, Pilgrim Baptist opened Benjamin E. Mays School, which later became part of St. Paul Public Schools.

An assistant pastor bought a house on Portland Avenue and dubbed it “Directions for Youth,” an outreach agency for young runaways. The church also helped establish the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center and the since-shuttered St. Paul Urban League.

The circle of members who can vividly recall the civil rights years has shrunk but is not all that small. Even in the digital era, the church draws a sizable mix of young and old, though elders acknowledge that young people of color today have more options — and more competing for their time and money — than they once did.

“When I was growing up, there weren’t a lot of concerts for people of color,” said church trustee Nate Galloway, 71. “Young people are more free, and they don’t want to be tied down to one activity, such as dealing with a church commitment.”

Weekend events

Still, the church persists.

“Every Founder’s Day, we always recognize those who have been with the church for 50 years or more,” Rupert said. “I am definitely in that category. We have about 39 people who have been in the church for 50-plus years. This year, we’re going to do something special — we’re going to recognize those who have been with the church over 70 years. About eight people fall into that category.”

“My mother attended, and her mother and her mother,” Rupert said. “I can trace my roots back to 1866 when my great-grandmother joined Pilgrim.”

Two events this weekend will commemorate that history. On Saturday evening, an estimated 250 guests will congregate at the Hilton MSP Airport Hotel in Bloomington for an anniversary banquet emceed by entertainment reporter Jearlyn Steele, a member of the Steele family singers, who have performed “The Gospel at Colonus” on Broadway and Carnegie Hall. Steele will be accompanied by her youngest sibling, Billy Steele, assistant music director for the Sounds of Blackness, who will perform with his own band. The Rev. Elijah McDavid III, senior pastor with the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Minneapolis, will deliver the keynote address.

On Sunday, the Rev. Charles L. Gill, Pilgrim’s lead pastor for 19 years, will deliver the 10 a.m. anniversary sermon at Pilgrim. More information is online at pilgrimbaptistchurch.org.

The church building, constructed in 1928, underwent a significant rehab about a decade ago. Its sanctuary features images of its past pastors captured in its stained-glass windows. Among those pictured is Lee Ward Harris, a grandfather to Galloway, who serves as facilities manager and trustee, and still spearheads the community vegetable garden he started shortly before the 150th anniversary celebration a decade ago.

Galloway said his grandfather — the church’s 13th pastor — oversaw the Central Avenue building’s design and fundraising. A prior structure, a small Lutheran church on the site, became its annex but was replaced in 1948 when Pilgrim added its own restrooms, offices, classrooms and nursery in a new addition. In 2010, Pilgrim finished an expansion project that makes all 3½ levels handicapped-accessible, including an elevator.

What does the future hold for Pilgrim Baptist? Someday, Galloway would like to see some of the space that was acquired for the community garden or expansion projects, on five lots just east of the church, converted into affordable housing. It’s served as something of a pop-up park and event space in the interim. A community picnic, open to anyone, will be held July 28.

“You’ve got four walls, but sometimes you’ve got to get out and meet your neighbors,” Galloway said. “If you break down those walls, sometimes you can have better relationships with the people around you.”

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