Ninety+

Still growing

September 26, 1916, a small band of people, which had been meeting as the Union Grove Prayer Meeting Club for several months, joined together to form the Pilgrim Baptist Church. (Among this group was J.A. Finney, who became chairman of Pilgrim’s first deacon board, his wife, Juanita Finney, Georgia Hansberry, L. Whitely, and S.S. Harkness, who were assisted by Rev. F.A. McCoo, Rev. E.T. Martin, Rev. E.L. Bennett and Rev. W.L. Carey).

They located the church to 4910 S. Wentworth Avenue under the auspices of Rev. J.D. Luck, who became Pilgrim’s first pastor in January, 1917. Rev. Luck’s pastorate was brief. In July, 1917, Pilgrim’s congregation elected Rev. J.E. Jones as its second pastor. The congregation continued to grow and the edifice located at 37th and Indiana Avenue, (later known as St. Luke Church) was purchased.

Under the pastorate of the renowned S.E. J. Watson, Pilgrim outgrew several previous locations. Pilgrim eventually moved from 37th and Indiana Avenue to a new church home at 3301 S. Indiana Avenue, which has been Pilgrim’s home for Ninety years.

The structure that has housed Pilgrim since 1922, was designed by famed architect Louis Sullivan and engineer Dankmar Adler, and was built as the home for Kehilath Anshe Ma’ariv Synagogue in 1890. In December of 1981, Pilgrim was awarded Chicago Landmark Status. In December 2001, this architectural jewel was distinguished by being placed on the national Ten Endangered Sacred Places to Save List by Partners for Sacred Places, a Philadelphia-based religious preservationist group.

In ninety-three years, Pilgrim Baptist Church has become one of the leading churches in the country (serving as a role model and a beacon of light for other churches in the area and for those that would be later organized). That distinction still prevails today.

 

It has been the church home of many distinguished and renowned people in various fields of endeavor, musical talent and ability. Among them: Rev. S.E. Watts, Rev. J.C. Austin Sr., Rev. J.C. Austin, Jr., Jack Johnson, first heavyweight boxing champion, Bessie Coleman, first black woman aviator, Thomas A. Dorsey, Sally Martin, Professor L. Randolph, Dolores Barrett Campbell, Bernadine C. Washington, Jacqueline Vaughn, Oscar Brown, S.B. Fuller, Fuller Products Co., Alderman Claude Holman, President Pro-tem of the Chicago City Council for many years. And from Pilgrim came a well-spring of talented ministers who left and became well known pastors at other churches: Rev. Clarence Cobbs, Rev. Louis Rawls, father of singer Lou Rawls, Rev. Elmer L. Fowler, and Rev. Richard Keller, Rev. E.J. Jones, Rev. J.B. Felker Jr., and Rev. Story Freeman.
These are but a few of the many talented, hardworking and dedicated members that have called Pilgrim home.

Pilgrim Baptist Church is a historical church located on Chicago’s South Side in the community known as Bronzeville. Pilgrim has a strong heritage of service that has enriched the cultural and religious life of Chicago and the nation. The Pilgrim Baptist Church congregation possesses a strong, resilient spirit. By current demographics, it is a mature population with promise of rebuilding our historical edifice at Pilgrim Baptist Church. From all of its congregations, Pilgrim has drawn its strength, its individuality and distinction over the years.

In Pilgrim’s Ninety-three years, eight pastors have served: Rev. J.D. Luck, January, 1917-July, 1917; Rev. J.E. Jones, July, 1917-October, 1919; Rev. S.E.J. Watson, May, 1920-July, 1925; Rev. J.C. Austin Sr., January, 1926-1968; Rev. J.C. Austin Jr., February 1969-December, 1991; Dr. Floyd W. Davis, February, 1992-April, 1999; Dr. Hycel B. Taylor, November, May, 2001 - 2005; Pastor Keith E. Gordon, January, 2007 to present.