“One hundred years. Think about that for a moment! Wrap your arms around it and embrace it,” Rev. Earl E. Nance Jr. writes in his forward to the commemorative book for the Greater Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church Centennial.
The church, located at 1617 North Euclid Ave., will celebrate its 100-year anniversary on Sunday, June 10 at 10 a.m.
Nance, the church’s senior pastor, and his father, the Rev. Earl E. Nance Sr., helped to make the church synonymous with civil rights, education and social reform in St. Louis.
“I think people see Greater Mt. Carmel has always been sincere in their practice of Christian love, whether it’s prayer or someone who needs clothing,” Nance said.
When Nance Sr. arrived, the church had been in a wilderness period for nearly 40 years after beginning as Olivet Baptist Church, originally located at 2920 Market St. The church’s name would change three times. It was a revolving door for pastors and members of the tiny storefront.
“Before my father got there in 1951, the church went through 35 pastors in seven years,” Nance Jr. said. “They were eating them up. But he got there and stabilized the church. He was pastor for 43 years, and I just completed my 18th year. So for 61 years his legacy has been leading the church.”
Leading and growing: the congregation has grown from 18 members in 1951 to more than 800 in 2012.
Nance Sr. spurred growth outside of his church as well.
“Rev. Nance was a mentor to young ministers trying to find their way in the early stages of their ministries,” retired Congressman William L. Clay Sr. writes in the commemorative book.
“Not only did he serve as advisor to five mayors, he also gave advice to a young alderman who later became the first black congressman from the state of Missouri. To us he was a pillar of strength, a beacon for those who believed in justice and a more humane existence.”
Nance: the next generation
One young pastor Nance Sr. nurtured was his son, to whom he passed the torch of Greater Mt. Carmel 18 years ago.
“He gave me no warning – he didn’t say a word to me,” Nance Jr. said. “He got up there that first Sunday in April 1994 and he told the congregation, ‘I’m not retiring, but I’m stepping aside as pastor and now Rev. Jr. will be your pastor.’ I’m sitting there like, ‘Say what?’”
From his father, he learned leadership. He watched his father stand on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement – at times, right next to Nance Sr.’s college roommate, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He saw his father take active roles in local politics and the public schools.
“He showed me that you can’t drive people – you have to lead them,” Nance Jr. said.
Nance has preserved and extended his father’s legacy at Greater Mt. Carmel.
“In the 18 years since he stepped down, and since 2000 when he passed away, the church has continued to grow,” Nance Jr. said. “The church has continued to work in the community and continued to be a voice in the community in social areas and political areas.”
‘A God thing’
Nance Jr. almost didn’t live to see his beloved church hit 100 years. On the cusp of its centennial he suffered a devastating heart attack. He was in a coma from December 18 until February 5.
“When I had the heart attack and it looked like I wasn’t going to make it, the outpouring – and not just from the church community, but the city itself – it was overwhelming,” Nance Jr. said. “They were reaching out to me, but it was because of my ties to Greater Mt. Carmel and its impact in the St. Louis area.”
The legacy continued then, even when it looked like they might lose Nance Jr.
“Nobody left. People still came to church, put their money in the church and everything just kept going,” Nance Jr. said.
“The ministers that we trained knew how to get in a rotation, preach the word and keep that going. I never had any worries. It’s amazing. It was truly a God thing.”
Nance is looking forward to the next 100 years, though he won’t be here to see most of those years.
“I hope that our legacy is strong enough that we will continue the work and teaching the next generation of young people to keep going,” Nance said. “I really want people to understand the legacy of Greater Mt. Carmel. There is the feeling of a long road behind and a long road ahead.”
While Nance cherishes the answered prayers that he would live long enough to see the church turn 100, he smiles at the thought of his father’s presence at the celebration on Sunday.
“I think he would be filled with joy if he were here – he’d be more than 100 himself,” Nance said. “I think he would be overwhelmed with joy that the church has been able to carry on and do the work that it has done.”
Greater Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church (1617 North Euclid Ave.) will celebrate its 100-year anniversary on Sunday, June 10 at 10 a.m. For more information, visit http://www.greatermtcarmelmbc.org or call 314-361-8893.
