Greater Union Baptist Church

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Coordinates: 41°52′56.81″N 87°40′35.03″W / 41.8824472°N 87.6763972°W / 41.8824472; -87.6763972
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Greater Union Baptist Church
Map
Alternative namesChurch of the Redeemer
General information
Architectural styleRichardsonian Romanesque[1]
Location1956 W. Warren Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates41°52′56.81″N 87°40′35.03″W / 41.8824472°N 87.6763972°W / 41.8824472; -87.6763972
Completed1886
Design and construction
Architect(s)William Le Baron Jenney

Greater Union Baptist Church is a historic church located in Chicago's Near West Side. Built in 1886 and designed by the father of the skyscraper, William Le Baron Jenney, in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, the building originally housed the Church of the Redeemer, a Universalist congregation.

The site was designated as a Chicago Landmark on April 19, 2023.[2]

History[edit]

Church of the Redeemer[edit]

The Church of the Redeemer was established in 1858.[1][3] They originally held services in the upper hall of the West Market on Randolph, before moving to a vacant Presbyterian church later in 1858.[1] A. C. Barry pastored the church from 1858 to 1859.[3] An abolitionist, Barry became an army chaplain in the Civil War.[4][5][6] The congregation built their first church in 1861.[1][7] The congregation held a firmly anti-slavery and pro-Union position on during the Civil War.[8] Many members of the congregation enlisted in the Union Army.[9][1] The superintendent of the Sunday school, J. H. Swan served as a lieutenant, and the church's pastor, J. H. Tuttle, presented him with his sword.[1] Military drills were held in the church's lecture room.[1] In November 1869, a meeting was held at the church to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the introduction of Universalism to America, where $900,000 was raised for the denomination.[10] Chicago Alderman Willard Woodard presided over the meeting and Amos G. Throop was a featured speaker.[10]

In 1885, the property at the corner of Warren and Robey Street (presently called Damen Avenue) was donated by philanthropist Mary H. Talcott, widow of prominent businessman and politician Mancel Talcott, Jr., for the construction of a new church.[1][11][12] The building was designed by the father of the skyscraper, William Le Baron Jenney.[1][13][14] The church was built one year after Jenney designed the Home Insurance Building, the first skyscraper, and preceded many of Jenney's most famous buildings. The church cost $40,000 to build, with the pipe organ, donated by J. S. Dennis, and the furnishing and carpeting valued at an additional $10,000.[1][13][14] Its stained glass windows were fabricated by McCully & Miles.[15] The cornerstone of the church was laid on July 19, 1885, and its opening service was held on Easter Sunday 1886.[16][1]

In 1895, Rev. Thomas B. Gregory, a well-known pastor from Halifax, Nova Scotia, was hired to pastor the Church of the Redeemer.[17] At the time of his hiring, the church had a membership of 525, with attendance of up to 750 for Sunday services.[1] A liberal in his views, both political and theological, Gregory was a vocal advocate for shifting the tax burden to the wealthy and the direct election of U.S. Senators.[17][18][19] On November 21, 1897, Gregory created considerable controversy when he preached a sermon where he declared that Protestant and Catholic Christianity "paralyses the intellect and turns us into driviling idiots", and that modern Christianity was "a wholly different thing from the religion proclaimed by Jesus".[20] These statements were publicly rebuked by many prominent pastors in the area, representing a variety of denominations.[20] In 1899, Gregory resigned as pastor in dramatic fashion, rebuking his congregation for not firing the trustees that opposed him, stating that if the trustees are in heaven "I am going to the other place", and comparing his departure to a prairie dog driven away from his hole by a "vicious peacock".[21][22]

Unitarian minister, magazine editor, and uncle of Frank Lloyd Wright, Jenkin Lloyd Jones preached at the church in 1894.[23] Actor James A. Herne spoke at the church in February 1898, advocating for the adoption of a single tax on valuable land, arguing that the country's present system of taxation fell disproportionately on the poor.[18] On November 7, 1915, Mayor William Hale Thompson addressed the West Side People's Forum at the church.[24]

Greater Union Baptist Church[edit]

In 1928, the church building was sold to Greater Union Missionary Baptist Church, pastored at the time by Rev. J. A. Royal.[25] Originally known as Little Union Missionary Baptist Church, the congregation was formed in 1908.[25] Civil rights activist and Chicago Baptist Institute trustee and faculty member Rev. Shelbia H. Graham pastored the church from 1947 to 1967.[25][26][27][28] In June 1950, the church hosted the National Baptist Sunday School Congress.[29][30] In September 1963, Rev. Graham led a fundraising effort by local pastors for the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, following its bombing by Ku Klux Klan members.[31]

On May 24, 1971, a gospel music concert was held at the church as part of a membership drive for the Chicago Urban League.[32] Performers included Jessy Dixon and the Dixon Singers, Delois Barrett Campbell and the Barrett Sisters, the Norfleet Brothers, Vernon Oliver Price, and the Thompson Community Singers.[32] From 1996 to 2002, the church was pastored by Walter Arthur McCray, who headed the National Black Evangelical Association.[25][33] McCray returned to again pastor Greater Union Baptist Church on September 8, 2019.[34]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Moses, John (1895). History of Chicago, Illinois. Volume 2. Munsell & Company. pp. 385-386. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "Near West Side's Greater Union Baptist Church Is A Chicago Landmark". Blockclub. April 19, 2023. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Ryder, William H. (1881). "The Universalist Denomination in Chicago", Discovery and Conquests of the North-West, with the History of Chicago. Part 6. R. Blanchard & Company. p. 602. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  4. ^ Estabrook, Charles E. (1912). Annual Reports of the Adjunct General of the State of Wisconsin For the years 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864. Democrat Printing Co. p. 42. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  5. ^ "Materials in the Civil War Museum Resource Center", Kenosha County Museums. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  6. ^ "From Madison: Wisconsin Legislative and Military Intelligence", Chicago Tribune. Vol. 17, No. 265. April 6, 1861. p. 1.
  7. ^ "Dedication of the Church of the Redeemer", Chicago Tribune. Vol. 14, No. 177. January 24, 1861. p. 1.
  8. ^ "Church of the Redeemer", Chicago Tribune. September 27, 1861. p. 4.
  9. ^ "A Church Militant", Chicago Tribune. Vol. 15, No. 26. August 9, 1862. p. 4.
  10. ^ a b "Universalism: Commemoration of its One Hundredth Anniversary", Chicago Tribune. November 24, 1869. p. 4.
  11. ^ "Death of Mary Talcott: A Friend of the Poor People Crosses the Dark River", Chicago Tribune. April 18, 1888. p. 6.
  12. ^ "Mancel Talcott", Chicago Tribune. June 6, 1878. p. 4.
  13. ^ a b Andreas, Alfred Theodore (1886). History of Chicago: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. pp. 826-827. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Synopsis of Building News", The Inland Architect and Builder. July 1885. p. 95. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  15. ^ Manford's Magazine. Volume 32. p. 437. 1888. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  16. ^ "The Churches: The Corner-Stone of the Church of the Redeemer Appropriately Laid", Chicago Tribune. July 20, 1885. p. 8.
  17. ^ a b "He Has Fame as a Preacher: New Pastor of the Church of the Redeemer, the Rev. Thomas B. Gregory", Chicago Tribune. June 19, 1895. p. 8.
  18. ^ a b "Actor Talks in a Pulpit", Chicago Tribune. February 7, 1898. p. 9.
  19. ^ "Urges Popular Vote For Senators: Rejection of the Arbitration Treaty Furnishes the Rev. Thomas B. Gregory with a Text", Chicago Tribune. May 10, 1897. p. 10.
  20. ^ a b "Take Strong Exception to Dr. Gregory's Views: Chicago Pastors Indignantly Oppose His Assertion That the Church Has Dwarfed the Mind of Mankind", Chicago Tribune. November 28, 1897. p. 29.
  21. ^ "Warm Words From a Pulpit: Rev. T. B. Gregory, D. D., Says He Will Leave Heaven if He Finds Trustees There", Chicago Tribune. January 10, 1899. p. 3.
  22. ^ "Farewell to His Flock: The Rev. T. B. Gregory Quits the Church of the Redeemer. Uses Illustration of a Prairie Dog Driven from Its Hole by a Vicious Peacock", Chicago Tribune. June 26, 1899. p. 10.
  23. ^ "Poor Standard of Success: The Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones Draws a Lesson from Parkman's Life", Chicago Tribune. April 2, 1894. p. 5.
  24. ^ "Mayor to Tell His Ideals", Chicago Tribune. April 2, 1915. p. 15.
  25. ^ a b c d "Our History". Greater Union Baptist Church. Archived from the original on October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  26. ^ "Baptist School Baccalaureate Rites Set Today", Chicago Tribune. May 31, 1953. Part 3, p. 5.
  27. ^ "NAACP Moves West", The Chicago Defender. October 23, 1965. p. 16.
  28. ^ "November Named NAACP Membership Month", The Chicago Defender. November 20, 1965. p. 8.
  29. ^ "Baptist School Congress Opens Meeting Today", Chicago Tribune. June 8, 1950. Part 5, p. 5.
  30. ^ "Census", Jet. April 11, 1968. p. 20. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  31. ^ "Clerics Send $1,000 to Birmingham", The Chicago Defender. September 28, 1963. p. 15.
  32. ^ a b "Gospel Singers Join CUL Drive", The Chicago Defender. May 20, 1971. p. 10.
  33. ^ Lieblich, Julia. "Black Clerics Open Arms to Bush's Funding", Chicago Tribune. April 6, 2001. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  34. ^ McKeown, Bonni. "From the pulpit to the people", Austin Weekly News. September 30, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2021.

External links[edit]

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