Maxwell St.'s Gethsemane Church Celebrates 80th Anniversary, Aug 4
Steve B.
Contacts: Pastor Eric Roberts 708-534-3304, Sister Jesse Charleston
773-637-0789, Sister Marine Curtis 773-261-6753
Maxwell Street's Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church Celebrates its
80th Anniversary
On August 4, 2002, The Gethesemane Missionary Baptist Church of
Chicago, at 1352 South Union (312-829-4404) in the old Maxwell Street
neighborhood, will be celebrating its 80th anniversary. The church
building is well over a 120 years old, being first a German
Congregational Church and then a Romanian Synagogue. Under the
leadership of Reverend Albert Sharp in 1922 it became transformed into
Gethsemane, an African-American church serving the old Maxwell Street
neighborhood. It is now the last Protestant church in the area. The
church seems to have decided that it will move, so this may be one of
the last chances to experience some of the authentic culture of the
old Maxwell Street neighborhood and to commemorate its history.
There will be the usual Sunday morning service beginning with Sunday
School at 9:30AM, followed by devotional/testimonies at 10:45,
culminating with the main worship service at 11:00AM.. At 4PM,
Reverend Brown of the Pamphylia Church will doing guest preaching,
followed by a full dinner pot-luck meal.
From about 1:30PM to 4PM, the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation
Coalition will be showing old and contemporary documentary videos
about Maxwell Street, and History Professor Al Stein of Roosevelt
University (son of Maxwell Street merchants) will be conducting oral
history interviews with the help of his students. Carolyn Eastwood,
author of the new book about Maxwell Street, Near West Side Stories,
will be autographing books.
The Church is at Union and 14th Street, four blocks south of Roosevelt
Rd. and one block east of Halsted. There is plenty of free parking in
the Church parking lot and on the street. All are invited to these
festivities.
-00-
Brent P
> For immediate release: 8/3/02
> On August 4, 2002,
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It may really help attendance to announce these events more than a
day before. Over the last couple of years I've seen maxwell street
events posted that I would have liked to go to, or could have gone
to if they had been posted ahead of time. Instead I often read the
announcement after they have occured or after I've made other plans.
I am sure I am not unique in this regard.