By Braden, Emelia, Eva, and Jordan
1211 S I St, Tacoma, WA 98405
What is the Shiloh Baptist Church?
Shiloh Baptist Church is a Black Baptist Church in the Hilltop neighborhood in Tacoma. Their church states that “Shiloh is a Church Where Everybody is Somebody and Christ is All!” The church seeks to provide religious engagement as well as support to its members and the broader community through their services and ministries. Shiloh Baptist Church holds worship services every morning at 8am, Sunday School at 9:30am, and a worship service every Sunday morning at 10:45.
When was it founded and who were the founders?
The church was organized on Thursday, July 23rd, 1953 at 2pm in the Holy Communion Episcopal Parish House at 1407 South I Street in Tacoma, Washington. The formation of the church began when two Christian workers at the McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma brought their concerns to the Base Chaplain E.H. Hankerson regarding the need for a church in their community. The council members serving at the time were Rev. F.W. Penick of Peoples’ Institutional Church, Seattle, WA; Rev. Norman Mitchell, Goodwill Baptist Church, Seattle, WA; Rev. Benjamin F. Davis, Mount Zion Baptist Church, Seattle, WA; Rev. Cornelius Brown and Rev. Horton, Seattle, WA. On December 31st, Reverend Brazill was called to be Shiloh’s first pastor who at the time was the pastor of Sinclair Baptist Church in Bremerton, WA. He officially began his position on Easter Sunday of 1955.
What is its membership?
The church’s current membership is over 900 members and approximately 300 attend morning services. Membership grew significantly under Rev. Brazill, as the church gained over 800 members since 1955. Rev. Brazill served for almost 45 years.
Senior Pastor Gregory Christopher
Gregory Christopher is the current pastor of Shiloh Baptist and has been serving the community since January 2000. He is the second pastor of the church, following Brazill. Pastor Christopher is greatly involved in the Tacoma community religiously and civically. Aside from being Shiloh’s pastor he is currently the President of the Tacoma Ministerial Alliance, a board member of the National Baptist Convention USA, the President of the Tacoma Branch of the NAACP, a member of the Tacoma Pierce County Black Collective and on the board of the Tacoma Urban League. Pastor Christopher has been a dedicated in advocating for health care. He was Arrested in Washington DC for protesting repeal of Affordable Health Care Act in 2017.
What are its achievements?
The Shiloh Feeding and Clothing Ministry was formed in 2001 and has served over 800 homeless, displaced, and transient citizens yearly since it’s formation.
The Rites of Passage, for African-American high school boys, and the Young Men of Distinction ministries were organized in 2008, these programs promote prevention of violence, education on drugs and alcohol abuse, and overall academic achievement.
The Approved Workers Are Not Ashamed ministry was formed by the church in 2006. This is an international ministry that is centered around children activities and provides programs for the youth in the community from preschool through high school.
Other ministries that Shiloh Baptist Church runs include several other youth ministries, a health ministry, young adult ministry, and a women’s ministry among others.
What are its goals?
Shiloh Baptist Church’s goals are seen in their outreach to the community through their ministries as well as their services. They are committed to giving youth and adults a place in their community and bringing God into their lives. Pastor Christopher brings God into the lives of his members through his sermons and the church works to support their community through their different ministries, such as AWANA, the Young Men of Distinction ministry, the Feeding and Clothing ministry, as well as others.
What is its significance to communities of color and to the broader community?
Traditionally speaking the African American church has always been a powerful pillar of strength and support within the black community. Ever since the time of slavery, African American churches have been bringing people together and have been doing good works for their communities. This fact holds true with Shiloh Baptist Church.
Shiloh Baptist Church is an excellent example of a powerful African American church supporting communities of color. Shiloh has several ministries including AWANA, The Rites of Passage, and Young Men of Distinction that focus on supporting kids of color in religious activities and education. The Health Ministry does workshops to provide community members of color information regarding healthcare and connects members to physicians and healthcare providers to keep their community healthy. The Clothing and Feeding Ministry reaches out to homeless and displaced members of the Hilltop neighborhood to provide resources. These ministries, as well as others, act as the different ways that Shiloh supports their community. This is important not only for the communities of color that it works closely with, but for the broader Hilltop and Tacoma communities as well. The church serves as a vessel for positive change and good public works for both the members of the church and members of the Hilltop community and the broader Tacoma community. In being a large church with over 900 members, a network of support is provided to all those who are a part of the church. Having a strong and positive influence such as Shiloh Baptist church serves as a pillar of support for all those within the community so that they may either accept the help and generosity of the church or aspire to create a similar pillar in their own intimate communities.
Historical Significance
Although many slaves were forced to convert to christianity where they were stolen from their homes and brought to the new world, religion become centered around the ideas of “protest and liberation” (Stewart & Anderson, 2015, p. 131). It inspired revolutions including the Nat Turner slave revolt. The first African American churches began to emerge during the late 18th century.
During slavery White masters were frightened of their slaves meeting for religious purposes fearing that meeting would lead to revolt and were subject to “strict surveillance by slave masters” (Stewart & Anderson, 2015, p. 131). Religion was a way Black people could come together and have a community through shared experiences. The religion forced upon slaves preached love and compassion, the opposite of the brutality of slavery. Howerever, “African American religion was born out of the contradictions of slavery,”and grew as a way to “protest racism” (Stewart & Anderson, 2015, p. 130). Black churches also contributed a great deal to the abolitionist movement.
Black Churches have also been targets for racist hate based violence. One of the most well known examples is the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama by white terrorist in 1963, killing four little Black girls (aaregistry.org). However the African American church continued to serve as mobilizing force in fighting segregation and oppression. And many prominent civil rights leaders were ministers including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The African American Church is traditionally a strong pillar for the community it serves. This sense of community practice continues today in African American churches. Allowing members to come together and the church to grow through through volunteer work by helping others through raising money for community improvements. Symbolically speaking the African American church also represents a safe space for Black people in their communities. The church also provides education and mentorship opportunities for the youth in the community and is an institution that African Americans can consistently rely on for support if there are any personal struggles that one may have or if a tragedy has occurred. Black Churches “will hardly deny that they are not only religion but also political and economic institutions” that serve their constituents and are a source of community (Stewart & Anderson, 2015, p. 130).
Work Cited:
African American Registry. “The Black Church,” a Brief History. 2019. Aaregistry.org. Retrived from https://aaregistry.org/story/the-black-church-a-brief-history/.
Bennett, L. Before the Mayflower. (2016). Eastford: Martino Fine Books.
Joseph, P. Why the Black Church has Always Mattered. (2015, June 19). The Root. Retrived from https://www.theroot.com/why-the-black-church-has-always-mattered-1790860217.
Shiloh Baptist Church. (2018). https://shilohoftacoma.org/#.
Stewart, J & Anderson, T. Introduction to African American Studies. (2015). Baltimore: Classic Black Press.