First Baptist Church of Gray Summit pastor.
Pacific got more than donations to help restore a historic church at the First Baptist Church (FBC) of Gray Summit Gospel Sing last Sunday.
Six area churches, of black and white congregations, gathered in song to help a group of Pacific citizens restore Historic First Baptist Church of Pacific that was severely damaged by flood water in 2016.
The August 15 music festival was the second Gospel Sing that FBC hosted to benefit the Pacific church restoration project. Music has found a good home here.
For the past three years, FBC has been led by Pastor Tommy Schmitt, a guitar playing songster, who revels in gospel music. Pastor Tommy and his wife Sarah opened the gathering by leading the congregation in familiar gospel tunes that filled up the FBC sanctuary.
The community choir from two area black churches Rose Hill Missionary Baptist and Mt. Calvary Baptist sang a medley of gospel tunes.
The headliner of the music program was a powerhouse black gospel singer, Joy Bryant, a music legend in St. Charles where her home church Mt. Zion Missionary Church is located. With her huge voice and spirited stage presence, Bryant wowed the mixed crowd with her song Joy Unspeakable.
But one captivating performance of the afternoon was not a song. It was a homage to our town. Brother William Wallace, of Rose Hill Baptist Church said it was his job to explain the purpose of the occasion.
If anyone in the audience was not aware of the role that Historic First Baptist Church has played n Pacific history, they were treated to quite a story.
“I have worshipped at that church,” Brother Wallace said. “I know that church and the place it holds in Pacific history.”
He did not mention the damage to the church or the hammer and nails needed to put it back together. He wanted the gathered supporters to remember the 1874 church through the families that worshiped there. It is the oldest African American church in the Pacific area. Five generation has worshiped, been baptized, married and buried from this church. You could look at one family, he said, and know Pacific history.
King William Adams, who had been born a slave, bought the land for the church, only the second purchase of Pacific real estate by a black person. As one of its members from 1870 to 1929, King Adams worked in the yards of well-to-do white families and was known to have a fine hand with flowers. He was also a non-stop talker and teacher, who graced his family and the community of Pacific with a legacy of language. His son Jesse mentored the black community and read the newspaper aloud to his neighbors. His grandson Udell became a business owner who started the city’s first waste hauling service. His great-grandson Herbert served in Pacific government for 34 years as municipal judge and mayor, a position he now holds. The Adams family supported Historic First Baptist for over 140 years.
There were other families, Wallace said, that left their mark on the community who built their lives in that humble church.
But there was much more to the story. The Historic First Baptist congregation was about to give up on their small frame building when it flooded twice in two years. But Norbert Gildehaus, a white man who operates a business across the street from the church looked out at the flood ravaged building and said the community needed to help.
Gildehaus and Bob Masson, a retired Ralston Purina executive and friend of Historic First Baptist pastor, the late Jimmy Perkins, formed a committee and turned to the community to raise the money to restore the historic church.
The restoration committee was a microcosm of the community, Wallace said. He read a list of every member of the committee along with their place in the community: Lloyd Pruitt was a deacon at Historic First Baptist. Carol Johnson was a city alderman. Jerry Holloway is a restaurant owner and former NFL football player. Sue Reed is a local historian and history author. Brad Reed (no relation) is a former alderman and insurance company owner. And Benton Kelley is a local contractor who crafted the plan to elevate the church out of harm’s way and completely restore the sanctuary and education building.
He recognized the late Turtle Johnson and the late Mike Pigg for voicing their belief that the community would reach out and help the committee rebuild the historic church.
“There was never any doubt that the community of Pacific wanted to reopen this church as a place of worship,” he said.
He thanked the Rev. Robert Stevenson, for accepting the role of pastor of the church following the death of the Rev. Jimmy Perkins and said he was all belief that the community would continue to help until the work is done and the church reopens on Thanksgiving Day.
“We will get this done,” he said. “We will worship there again.”
The audience and six area churches donated $2,426 to help restore Historic First Baptist.
In a joint statement Gildehaus and Masson said they were grateful for the outpouring.
“It’s been a humbling experience,” they said.
