Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., spoke twice beneath the roof of the historic Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church.
Decades later, the roof which has faithfully protected faith leaders, worshipers and community icons, needs replacement.
Leaks have caused extensive water damage to the interior sanctuary and Pastor Donnie Robinson is reaching out to the St. Louis community with a call to action and request for help.
“We are working to raise $500,000 to replace the roof and address damages to the upper sanctuary of the church,” said Robinson.
Known as the “Friendly Church,” it conducts food drives, stocks food pantries, provides food for community members in need on many Saturdays, and has been a cultural center hosting plays, concerts, and music school programs.
“Our numbers are growing but not fast enough to out-pace the water damage being done to the church. Our membership is still not back to pre-COVID numbers, and the damage is more extensive than we can handle now.”
The church, located at Washington and Compton Avenues, is also seeking state and federal funding.
Washington Tabernacle survived a devastating fire in 1945, and the congregation rebuilt the church and rededicated the building in 1948. “We have successfully weathered many storms,” said Robinson.
Known as the “Friendly Church,” it conducts food drives, stocks food pantries, provides food for community members in need on many Saturdays, and has been a cultural center hosting plays, concerts, and music school programs.
It has served as a gathering place for Boy Scout troops, health fairs, gang summits, and its members have organized transportation to polls, and Black history programs.
The church has also been an education center offering academic workshops and financial assistance to students across the metropolitan area through the John E. and Reginal S. Nance Scholarship Fund.
For 122 years, this great church has celebrated a rich legacy of inspiring leadership and service to the community.
“Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke from this pulpit twice. A. Phillip Randolph held strategy sessions from here, and Sara Newton Cohran, wife to our first pastor, organized the St. Louis Colored Orphan’s Home – now known as the Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center,” said Robinson.
The church was designed by St. Louis architect, C. K. Ramsey, and construction ran from 1876-79.
To put its age in perspective, the Battle of the Little Big Horn took place while the church was being built.
Listed as a St. Louis Landmark in 1984, the Gothic-Victorian vernacular cross-form church was built of rusticated limestone blocks for the “Washington and Compton Avenue Presbyterian Church.”
In 1926, the building was purchased by the “Washington Tabernacle Baptist Church.”
The church has been home to many leaders in the African American community who have demonstrated significant achievement and was the chosen site of two King appearances in St. Louis.
He spoke at a civil rights rally on May 28, 1963, two months before the March on Washington.
“In commemoration of the 122 years the church has worked in this community, we invite the greater St. Louis community to support The Powered Preservation Project and help us preserve this historic community treasure by donating $122,” requests Robinson.
To support the Washington Tabernacle initiative, please visit Givelify at https://giv.li/0Kcp2n. or mail a contribution to the church at 3200 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103.
The church asks the contributors note, “The Powered Preservation Project” in the memo section of a check and any correspondence.
Grants are available
Washington Tabernacle and other Black churches are eligible for grants through the Preserving Black Churches project of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Annual grants are intended to preserve historic Black houses of worship—either with active congregations and non-active congregations—and advance ongoing preservation activities while strengthening capacity for historic congregations and preservation and community organizations to steward, manage, and better utilize their historic structures.
Grants range from $50,000 to $500,000. Applicants may apply for one of five Project Categories: Capital Projects, Endowment and Financial Sustainability, Organizational Capacity and Operations, Programming and Interpretation, or Project Planning.
For this grant, eligible applicants are entities representing Historic Black Churches, which are defined as:
- Religious historic buildings built and erected by Black congregations and continuously occupied by active Black congregations. Buildings must be no less than 50 years old.
- Religious historic buildings designed and/or constructed by Black architects/builders, currently occupied by active Black congregations, or repurposed for Arts, Culture, Community, and Social Justice programs. Buildings must be no less than 50 years old.
- Religious historic buildings not originally built by or for Black congregations, but continuously occupied by an active Black congregation for at least 50 years.