Ebenezer Baptist Church

Last updated

Ebenezer Baptist Church
Biden at Ebenezer Baptist Church (52635229253).jpg
Service in 2023 in the Horizon Sanctuary (built 1999) with President Biden speaking
Ebenezer Baptist Church
33°45′19″N84°22′27″W / 33.75528°N 84.37417°W / 33.75528; -84.37417
Location Atlanta, Georgia
CountryUnited States
Denomination Baptist
Associations American Baptist Churches USA, Progressive National Baptist Convention
Weekly attendance6,000
Website ebenezeratl.org
History
Founded1886
Clergy
Senior pastor(s) The Honorable Reverend Doctor Senator Raphael Gamaliel Warnock

Ebenezer Baptist Church is a Baptist megachurch located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with the Progressive National Baptist Convention and American Baptist Churches USA. It was the church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was co-pastor from 1960 until his assassination in 1968, the location of the funerals of both Dr. King and, in its later expanded sanctuary, congressman John Lewis, and the church for which United States Senator Raphael Warnock has been pastor since 2005. Its historic church building and expanded sanctuary building are located in the historic area designated as the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.

Contents

History

The church was founded in 1886 by Pastor John A. Parker and eight people, [1] on Airline Street. [2] The church's name derives from the Books of Samuel, where the Prophet Samuel names a place "Ebenezer", meaning "stone of help", to commemorate God helping the Israelites defeat the Philistines. [3]

Adam Daniel Williams (maternal grandfather of Martin Luther King Jr.) became pastor in 1894, and the church had only 13 members. It grew to 400 members by 1903 [4] and in 1913, the church had 750 people. [5] In 1922, the building was dedicated. [6] In 1927, Martin Luther King Sr. became an assistant pastor, then senior pastor in 1931. [1] In 1960, Martin Luther King Jr. became co-pastor of the church with his father until his assassination in 1968. [7]

In 1975, Joseph L. Roberts Jr. became senior pastor. [8]

In 1999, a new 1,700-seat church building called the Horizon Sanctuary was inaugurated within the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. [9]

Since 2005, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock has been the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church; [10] he is the fifth person to serve as Ebenezer's senior pastor since its founding. [11] On January 30, 2020, Warnock announced his campaign for Kelly Loeffler's Senate seat during the 2020 special election. In a special runoff election on January 5, 2021, Reverend Warnock defeated Loeffler receiving 51% of the popular vote. With this victory, Warnock made history by becoming the first Black senator from the state of Georgia. On December 6, 2022, Warnock made further history by becoming the first Black senator from Georgia elected to a full six-year term. [12] [13]

The funeral of Martin Luther King Jr. was held at the church on April 9, 1968. [14] The funeral of Rayshard Brooks was held on June 23, 2020, at the church. [14] The funeral of John Lewis was held on July 30, 2020, at the church. [14]

In 2021, it had 6,000 members. [15]

Pastors

The pastors of Ebenezer Baptist Church since its foundation have been as follows: [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coretta Scott King</span> American civil rights leader; wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1927–2006)

Coretta Scott King was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader and the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she was a leader for the civil rights movement in the 1960s. King was also a singer who often incorporated music into her civil rights work. King met her husband while attending graduate school in Boston. They both became increasingly active in the American civil rights movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dexter King</span> Civil rights activist and son of Martin Luther King Jr.

Dexter Scott King was an American civil and animal rights activist, attorney, and author. The second son of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, he was also the brother of Martin Luther King III, Bernice King, and Yolanda King; and also grandson of Alberta Williams King and Martin Luther King Sr. He is the author of Growing Up King: An Intimate Memoir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Luther King Sr.</span> American Baptist preacher (1899–1984)

Martin Luther King Sr. was an African-American Baptist pastor, missionary, and an early figure in the civil rights movement. He was the father and namesake of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. He was the senior pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church from 1931 to 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberta Williams King</span> Mother of Martin Luther King Jr.

Alberta Christine Williams King was an American civil rights organizer best known as the wife of Martin Luther King Sr., and as the mother of Martin Luther King Jr. She was the choir director of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. She was shot and killed in the church by 23-year-old Marcus Wayne Chenault six years after the assassination of her eldest son Martin Luther King Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park</span> National Historical Park of the United States

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park covers about 35 acres (0.14 km2) and includes several sites in Atlanta, Georgia related to the life and work of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Within the park is his boyhood home, and Ebenezer Baptist Church — the church where King was baptized and both he and his father, Martin Luther King Sr., were pastors — as well as, the grave site of King, Jr., and his wife, civil rights activist Coretta Scott King.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernice King</span> American minister and daughter of Martin Luther King Jr.

Bernice Albertine King is an American lawyer, minister, and the youngest child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. She was five years old when her father died in 1968. In her adolescence, King chose to work towards becoming a minister after having a breakdown from watching a documentary about her father. King was 17 when she was invited to speak at the United Nations. Twenty years after her father was assassinated, she preached her trial sermon, inspired by her parents' activism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Lowery</span> American minister and civil rights activist (1921–2020)

Joseph Echols Lowery was an American minister in the United Methodist Church and leader in the civil rights movement. He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr. and others, serving as its vice president, later chairman of the board, and its third president from 1977 to 1997. Lowery participated in most of the major activities of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, and continued his civil rights work into the 21st century. He was called the "Dean of the Civil Rights Movement."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. D. King</span> American Baptist minister (1930–1969)

Alfred Daniel Williams King was an American Baptist minister and civil rights activist. He was the younger brother of Martin Luther King Jr. and the younger son of Martin Luther King Sr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Center for Nonviolent Social Change</span> Not-for-profit organization in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, commonly known as The King Center, is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization in Atlanta, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.</span> 1968 murder in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.

Martin Luther King Jr., an African-American clergyman and civil rights movement leader, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died at 7:05 p.m. He was a prominent leader of the civil rights movement and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was known for his use of nonviolence and civil disobedience.

The Coretta Scott King Young Women's Leadership Academy (CSKYWLA) was opened in Atlanta, Georgia, United States in August 2007. For a short time the academy was simply referred to as "the girls' single gender academy," but it was later named by its first principal, Melody Morgan, in honor of the life and legacy of Coretta Scott King, the civil rights leader and wife of Martin Luther King Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Birth Missionary Baptist Church</span> Church in Woodrow Road at Bishop Eddie L. Long Parkway Stonecrest, United States

New Birth Missionary Baptist Church is a charismatic Christian Baptist megachurch in Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia. Its senior pastor is Jamal Bryant since 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funeral of Martin Luther King Jr.</span> Funeral following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The first memorial service following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, took place the following day at the R.S. Lewis Funeral Home in Memphis, Tennessee. This was followed by two funeral services on April 9, 1968, in Atlanta, Georgia, the first held for family and close friends at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King and his father had both served as senior pastors, followed by a three-mile procession to Morehouse College, King's alma mater, for a public service.

The Reverend Horatius Holipheal Coleman, better known as H. H. Coleman, was an American church pastor and evangelist. Reverend Coleman, who was born in Sandersville, Georgia, was senior pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, from 1935 until his death in 1969. He was the paternal great-grandfather of former U.S. Representative Kendrick B. Meek, and the maternal grandfather of actress Barbara Meek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death and funeral of Coretta Scott King</span>

Coretta Scott King, the widow of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., died on January 30, 2006, after arriving at a rehabilitation center in Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico. Her public funeral followed eight days later at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in her resident state of Georgia. In keeping with her personal wishes, King was buried next to her husband in a crypt on the grounds of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Luther King Sr. Community Resources Collaborative</span>

The Martin Luther King Sr. Community Resources Collaborative named after the late Reverend turned community activist Martin Luther King Sr., held its official dedication ceremony, November 4, 2012. The 8-million-dollar brick complex is located at 101 Jackson Street NE, in the "National Historic King District," of Atlanta, Georgia, which is also known as the Sweet Auburn and Old Fourth Ward Districts. The Collaborative, often referred to as the MLK Sr. CRC, is three stories tall and houses the fellowship hall of Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Reverend King Sr. once pastored and co-pastored with his son Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Also serving as a mini historical museum, the Collaborative, houses and displays relics from Reverend King Sr., such as his sermon notes, documents, clothing, pictures and the original church organ that his late wife, Alberta Christine Williams King played during Ebenezer services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia</span>

The 2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia was held on November 3, 2020, and on January 5, 2021, to elect the Class III member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Georgia. Democrat Raphael Warnock defeated appointed incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler. The first round of the election was held on November 3, 2020; however, no candidate received a majority of the vote, so the top two candidates—Warnock and Loeffler—advanced to a runoff on January 5, 2021, which Warnock won narrowly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raphael Warnock</span> American pastor and politician (born 1969)

Raphael Gamaliel Warnock is an American Baptist pastor and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Georgia since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Warnock has been the senior pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church since 2005.

<i>Behold</i> (statue) Public sculpture in Georgia

Behold is a statue designed by sculptor Patrick Morelli. Dedicated in 1990 by Coretta Scott King, the statue is located in front of Ebenezer Baptist Church, in the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.

Joseph L. Roberts Jr. was an American Baptist pastor. He was the senior pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church from 1975 to 2005.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Finkelman, Paul; Wintz, Cary D. (2009). Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-first Century Five-volume Set, Oxford University Press, USA. p. 119.
  2. ↑ Ridgeway 2009, p. 9.
  3. ↑ Evans, Jason Oliver (January 15, 2021). "How the Ebenezer Baptist Church has been a seat of Black power for generations in Atlanta". The Conversation U.S. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Williams, Adam Daniel (A. D.)". June 12, 2017.
  5. ↑ Martin Luther King, Clayborne Carson, Ralph E. Luker, Peter Holloran, Penny A. Russell, The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Volume I: Called to Serve, January 1929 – June 1951, University of California Press, USA. p. 13.
  6. ↑ Finkelman, Paul (1992). Encyclopedia of African American History: 5-Volume Set, Oxford University Press USA, USA, 2009, p. 119.
  7. ↑ Finkelman, Paul (2006). The Encyclopedia of American Civil Liberties: A – F, Index, Taylor & Francis, USA p. 889.
  8. ↑ Paul Finkelman, Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-first Century Five-volume Set, Oxford University Press, UK, 2009, p. 119
  9. ↑ Sack, Kevin. "A New Place to Nourish One Dreamer's Legacy", nytimes.com, USA, March 8, 1999.
  10. ↑ Greg Bluestein. "Exclusive: Pastor of historic Ebenezer Baptist Church considers U.S. Senate run". ajc.
  11. ↑ Fausset, Richard (January 30, 2020). "Citing 'Soul of Our Democracy,' Pastor of Dr. King's Church Enters Senate Race". The New York Times . Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  12. ↑ Fausset, Richard; Martin, Jonathan; Saul, Stephanie (January 6, 2021). "Democrats Win Both Georgia Races to Gain Control of Senate". NY Times. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  13. ↑ Peoples, Steve; Barrow, Bill; Bynum, Russ (January 6, 2021). "Georgia election updates: Raphael Warnock makes history with win as Democrats near control of Senate; 2nd runoff race too early to call". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 Suggs, Ernie (July 29, 2020). "Ebenezer Baptist Church fitting site for John Lewis' funeral". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  15. ↑ Roger House, A tribute to Ebenezer Baptist Church: From Martin Luther King to Raphael Warnock, The Hill, USA, January 18, 2021
  16. ↑ "OUR HISTORY".

Sources

Cited sources
  • Ridgeway, Benjamin (2009). Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   978-0-738-56798-3.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.