St. Paul AME Church stands on Chestnut Avenue in Newport News, Virginia, as one of the older African Methodist Episcopal congregations on the Virginia Peninsula. Its members trace their roots back to 1887, when a small wooden meeting house went up on a stretch of 18th Street known simply as "the Acre." That first building measured just 20 by 36 feet. Today the congregation gathers on the property purchased and paid off in 1972 under the longest pastorate in the church's history, and it continues the same work that Mr. and Mrs. George Freeman, the Luke, Davis, Hines, Gordon, and Bailey families began with the Reverend Butts in the late nineteenth century.
A Church Born on "the Acre" in 1887
The story of St. Paul begins in what was described at the time as a busy growing seaport. The Virginia Annual Conference met in Norfolk and accepted the mission into its fold, designating it the Little A.M.E. Mission and assigning it to the Portsmouth District. For the first ten years, a succession of circuit pastors served the young church, including the Reverends G. B. Smith, A. J. Kelly, J. W. Throckmartin, F. W. Overton, R. H. Gobans, C. W. Toney, and C. H. Hunter.
A turning point came in 1897, when the Virginia Annual Conference assigned the Reverend James H. Garner with instructions to build a modern church. Brother Jerry Haywood named the new building "St. Paul" after his home church in Raleigh, North Carolina. Over the decades that followed, the Reverend S. W. Williams, Sr. was appointed in 1951 and served until his death in November 1967. His son, the Reverend S. W. Williams, Jr., stepped into the pulpit that same year and went on to record the longest pastorate in the church's history. Under his leadership the current Chestnut Avenue location was purchased in 1972 and paid in full within two years. He would later retire as a Presiding Elder. The Reverend Godfrey R. Patterson took the pulpit in 1997, the Reverend Franklin J. West followed in 2000, and the Reverend Donald F. White, Sr. began his appointment in 2007, a season in which the church grew and the youth department flourished.
At the 2016 Virginia Annual Conference, held at the Marriott City Center in Newport News, St. Paul made history of its own. The Reverend Dr. Oretha P. Cross was assigned as the church's new pastor, becoming the first woman to hold the office in the congregation's 130-year history. Under her leadership, new ministries have been established, community involvement has expanded, and major renovation plans for the sanctuary and adjoining rooms have been set in motion. Three of the church's sons - the Reverends J. C. Fauntleroy, S. W. Williams, Sr., and S. W. Williams, Jr. - went on to be appointed Presiding Elders of the district.
The Reverend Dr. Oretha P. Cross, Pastor
Dr. Cross came to pastoral ministry after a corporate career spanning more than two decades. A former executive of three Fortune 500 companies, she retired from Panasonic Electronic Corporation after 21 years to devote herself full-time to ministry. Her academic work includes a Bachelor of Science, graduate studies in guidance and counseling from Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, a Master of Divinity from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology in Richmond, Virginia, and a Doctorate in Education from Nova University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Within the wider denomination she serves as Chairperson of the Ministerial Efficiency Committee and a member of the Board of Examiners for the Virginia Conference, Financial Secretary of the Portsmouth/Richmond/Roanoke District, President of the Tidewater and Vicinity Ministers Alliance of the Virginia Conference of the Second Episcopal District, and Co-Chair of the Second Episcopal District Disaster Readiness Commission. She has been elected as a General Conference Delegate for 2020 and previously served in 2016 and 2012. She is also a member of the Iota Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., in Norfolk, Virginia. Her favorite scripture is Isaiah 40:31: "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
Mission and Vision
St. Paul A.M.E. Church frames its mission as bringing salvation and hope to all people and leading them to accept Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. The congregation works to meet spiritual, cultural, and social needs within the church and the surrounding community by offering a Christian worship experience open to all regardless of age, race, creed, or gender; developing programs that contribute to the spiritual, cultural, and intellectual growth of young people; and providing support for the sick, senior citizens, the hungry, shut-ins, the needy, and those experiencing homelessness.
The mission statement also commits the church to counseling and referral services, health fairs, mentoring, tutoring, and prison ministry, alongside advocacy in the areas of human rights, political, racial, and economic relations, temperance, world peace, and social justice. The congregation's working motto sums up the spirit of this work: "Advancing God's Kingdom by winning the lost, helping the hurting, and empowering believers for victorious living." The longer vision is to bring people to Jesus and into membership in his family, to develop them to Christ-like maturity, and to equip them for their ministry in the church and their mission in the world.
Worship, Bible Study, and Prayer
Weekly life at St. Paul centers on three regular gatherings. Sunday School begins at 9:00 a.m., followed by the worship service at 10:00 a.m. A midday Bible Study is held on Wednesdays at 12:00 noon. In addition to these in-person rhythms, the church maintains a morning Prayer Line for those who wish to join from home. Visitors who would like to request prayer or simply be in touch may fill out the visitor and prayer request forms on the church's site, and the office at (757) 245-6181 is staffed during the week.
Music and Musicians
Music holds a central place in worship at St. Paul. The Musical Director is Roxanne Reaves, supported by percussionists Tara Abaya and Charmers Reed, and saxophonist Jude Bethal. Together they shape the liturgical and gospel music tradition for which the African Methodist Episcopal Church is known.
Ushers and Hospitality
The Usher Boards describe themselves as the first point of contact for the communal celebration of liturgy. They assist with seating, attend to the needs of the pastor and visiting speakers, maintain decorum in keeping with the church's tradition, watch for the safety of the congregation, assist with the offering, and serve at the altar during the sermon's invitation. Hospitality and Culinary Ministry members plan menus, purchase and prepare food, set up and serve meals, and clean up the dining and kitchen areas for the church's many gatherings. Private use of the facility is coordinated through the Trustees, and the kitchen is scheduled through the Hospitality President.
Caring for the Newport News Community
Outreach is woven into the life of the congregation. The mission statement calls for support programs that care for the sick and senior citizens, feed the hungry, visit the shut-ins, walk alongside the homeless, provide counseling and referrals, host health fairs, offer mentoring and tutoring, and maintain a presence in prison ministry. Under Dr. Cross, new ministries have been established and community involvement has continued to grow, extending the same work begun by the founders on the Acre more than a century ago.