From a Front-Yard Prayer Band to North Eighth Street
St. Phillip African Methodist Episcopal Church stands at 815 North Eighth Street in Wilmington, North Carolina, where a small congregation has gathered for more than a century. Its members worship under the motto "Serving in the Spirit of Excellence in Christ Jesus," and its roots reach back to 1917, when four Wilmington teenagers began holding prayer meetings on the sidewalk in front of the McRae home on Second and Cowan Streets.
Roots in a Wilmington Prayer Band (1917)
The story of St. Phillip begins with four teenagers, David and James McRae and Nathan and Henry Brooks, who started gathering for prayer in front of the McRae home in 1917. Two adults lent a hand: Flora Russell, sister to the McRae boys, and Dora Solomon. James McRae preached, Mrs. Russell beat tin pots for rhythm, and David played the washboard. The young group carried their "play church" from house to house, and as the congregation grew they rented a vacant house on the corner for a dollar and a half a week, knocking down walls to make one large meeting room.
A Name, a Building, and a Place in the Conference (1921 to 1924)
Rev. I.D. Dunlap agreed to serve as the first pastor and, with Mrs. Dunlap, purchased the building where services were held. In 1919 the old structure was torn down and work began on a new one; the members moved into it in 1921. Rev. Dunlap gave it the name Saint Phillip Church. By that time James McRae had been called to the ministry and preached his initial sermon there. In November 1924, at the Annual Conference held at St. Stephen A.M.E. Church, St. Phillip was admitted into the AME connection under presiding Bishop Davis.
Three Buildings, One Congregation
The next pastor, Rev. L.E. Grady, helped the members raise money to buy land on Bladen Street between Eighth and Ninth. St. Phillip was rebuilt on that site in 1939, on the lot where the parsonage still stands. The Willing Workers Club, led by President Mary Davis, purchased that parcel of land. A succession of pastors followed: A.H. Douglas, J.C. Grady, A.P. Pearce, A.C. Sinclair, B.C. Fields, R.P. Harrison, and, after Rev. Harrison's death, Rev. Mackle, who finished the unexpired term.
In November 1968 Bishop G.W. Baber appointed Rev. Joseph Wesley (J.W.) Smith, who would stay for fifteen years. Under his leadership the congregation acquired property and, on the fourth Sunday of May 1971, marched from Bladen Street to a brand new St. Phillip A.M.E. Church at 815 North Eighth Street, the building members still worship in today. The Fellowship Hall was completed and dedicated on January 17, 1988 by Bishop John H. Adams during the pastorate of Rev. L.E. Humphrey.
Rev. Walter V. Howard, Jr. arrived in May 1990 under Bishop Hartford Brookins and liquidated the parsonage debt, cushioned the pews, and installed carpet. His successor, Rev. William J. Stewart, started a Wednesday noonday prayer service, established a ministry for the chemically dependent, and built a witnessing and feeding program for the homeless through the Missionary Society. After Rev. Stewart's death on January 7, 2000, Rev. A.O. Carmichael was appointed and preached his first sermon as pastor on Sunday, February 27, 2000. Rev. Dr. DeOther Melvin arrived in 2007 and served until his retirement in May 2013.
Pastor Patricia L. Freeman: A First for St. Phillip
At the North Carolina Annual Conference in May 2013, Bishop William Phillips DeVeaux appointed Rev. Dr. Patricia L. Freeman to St. Phillip. She made history as the first woman to pastor the church in its more than ninety years as part of the North Carolina Conference. Bishop James Levert Davis reappointed her in 2017 and again at the May 2018 Annual Conference.
Pastor Freeman answered her calling thirty-one years ago. She holds a Master of Divinity from Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, and a Doctorate in Ministry from Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, North Carolina. A native of Southport and a graduate of Leland High School, she worked for several federal agencies, including the U.S. Air Force Project Management, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Secret Service, and earned a degree in business administration from Mount Olive College. She has served on the North Carolina Conference Board of Examiners, the district finance commission, and the Board of Ministers at Campbell University School of Divinity.
Under her administration the church added a noonday Bible study, purchased its first church bus, and began refurbishing the Fellowship Hall. Two favorite scriptures guide her ministry: Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end," and 1 Corinthians 13:13, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
Worship, Christian Education, and Bible Study
Sunday mornings begin at 9:00 AM with Church School for adults, young adults, college students, teenagers, and children, offered in person and via Zoom. The Sunday Worship Service follows at 10:00 AM, also in person and on Zoom. Wednesday nights at 6:00 PM bring a Bible study held over Zoom. The pastor's office is open Tuesday through Thursday; Monday and Friday are spent outside the office, though the pastor remains accessible. Sunday mornings are reserved for preparation and meditation before worship, and the pastor is available by request after the morning service.
The Boards that Carry the Work
St. Phillip's ministry is shaped by the AME Church's traditional boards. The Steward Board shepherds, teaches, exhorts, and prays for the sick, and serves as members of the pastor's cabinet. The Trustee Board oversees the buildings, legal matters, and budget. The Stewardess Board prepares the elements and implements of Holy Communion and Holy Baptism and assists during those rituals, with Holy Communion celebrated on first Sundays. Class Leaders, appointed annually by the pastor, keep in touch with members by phone, letter, email, visit, or social gathering, providing a listening ear and a link between the members and the ministerial staff.
The ministerial staff includes Rev. Dr. Patricia L. Freeman as Pastor, Rev. Alase Woodberry as Local Minister, and Sis. Erma L. Johnson as Exhorter.
A Family of Methodist Believers
St. Phillip belongs to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a denomination founded by people of African descent and heritage and rooted in the family of Methodist churches. The word Episcopal refers to its form of government, led by bishops as chief executive and administrative officers. The church's guiding motto, "God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, the Holy Spirit Our Comforter, Humankind Our Family," sets the tone for both belief and service.
Vision, Outreach, and Connection
The AME Church's stated vision is to seek out and save the lost, serve the needy, and involve every member in church training. St. Phillip continues that work locally through the feeding and witnessing program for the homeless that began under Rev. Stewart and through the ministry for the chemically dependent. Beyond Wilmington, the church belongs to the Southern District of the North Carolina Conference, part of the Second Episcopal District, where Bishop Reginald T. Jackson serves as Presiding Prelate and Rev. Evelyn G. Dunn serves as Presiding Elder of the Southern District.