For Charlotte Hardin, John Huddleston and Kim Berry, the red brick building at 600 N. Benton Ave. is more than just a church.
The three said they were raised in Pitts Chapel, a beloved and historic Black church. They’ve attended many weddings, baptisms and funerals in Pitts Chapel — so many celebrations and memories.
“Just lots of nurturing,” Hardin said. “I know I would not be the same person that I am had I not been raised in and had this church not been such an important part of my life. Not the building, per se. But what came out of the building — the love, the encouragement, the discipline — all of those important things that have carried over to my adult life.
“And for the community, it is definitely a cornerstone of the Black community and one of the oldest churches period in Springfield and Greene County,” she added.
But the three friends said they’ve also watched the building fall into disrepair over the years, including water leaks here and there, the air conditioning going out a few years, mismatched carpets, peeling paint and chunks of plaster falling from the ceiling.
In 2019, the congregation launched a capital campaign to raise more than $250,000 to make repairs and renovations to the building. Though the campaign and renovations took a little longer than expected, thanks in large part to the pandemic, Phase One of the project was recently completed.
Historic Black church to host event Sunday
The Pitts Chapel United Methodist Church congregation was able to start holding Sunday services in the sanctuary again three weeks ago.
A Sanctuary Rededication Celebration is planned for this weekend.
Hardin, Huddleston and Berry invite the community to stop by Pitts Chapel at 3 p.m. Sunday for the event and to see the many renovations.
The theme for this Sunday’s ceremony is “Honoring the Legacy. Fulfilling the Prophecy. See What the Lord Has Done.” Special guests include Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church Bishop Robert Farr, District Superintendent Alice Fowler and Rev. H. Russell Ewell II, who was pastor at Pitts Chapel when the capital campaign was launched in 2019.
“There will be music and praise dancing. We are inviting some of the former pastors of the church to be here and give reflections about the time they spent here,” Hardin said. “There will be a lot of celebration, rejoicing, thanking lots of folks, thanking the donors, thanking the members. … It was God that made it happen, but he moved through a lot of different people.”
Church started by slaves in 1847
Pitts Chapel is the longest continuously worshiping African American church in Springfield. The building on Benton Avenue was constructed in 1911, but that is the congregation’s third location.
The congregation dates back to 1847 when a group of slaves in Springfield were given permission from their master to have a place for worship and religious studies.
Huddleston, a civil and industrial engineer, serves as Pitts Chapel’s chair of building and grounds and oversaw the renovation project. (The 77-year-old said his mom started bringing him to church at Pitts Chapel when he was 6.)
Huddleston explained that renovations included many repairs folks don’t see: fixing water leaks, a new HVAC system, new wiring and electrical upgrades and plumbing issues.
But the big project was the ceiling, he said.
A long time ago — before Hardin, Huddleston and Berry attended the church as youngsters — a dropped ceiling was installed in the sanctuary. A few years ago, plaster from the original ceiling began falling onto the dropped ceiling tiles. By 2018, the chunks of plaster became so big they fell right through the dropped ceiling tiles and onto the pews and floors.
Luckily no one was hurt. But services were moved downstairs into the fellowship hall to prevent someone from getting hit by falling plaster.
“We had to tear down the old ceiling, the dropped ceiling,” Huddleston said, motioning to the now huge and open cathedral ceiling with fresh paint and new light fixtures. “This is gorgeous. We worked really hard to put that up there.”
Lifelong member calls repairs a ‘miracle'
Berry, a lifelong member of the church, served as chair of the capital campaign. She called the renovations and repairs — and particularly the repaired original cathedral ceiling — a “miracle.”
Berry sings with the church’s Praise Team and said she has found herself looking up to the ceiling in awe from her place in the choir.
“I’ve never seen the (original) ceiling because it was the dropped ceiling,” Berry said. “When the ceiling came down, even with all the damage, just seeing the grandness of it being elevated even though it was a mess, it still was awesome.
“It is absolutely the most phenomenal I’ve ever seen,” she said of the renovations and repairs. “As a kid growing up, I remember seeing the walls kind of peeling. We had some water issues, so we would occasionally see the marks that were left from the water that was coming in.
“Our parents and grandparents did the best they could with just keeping the building functional,” Berry said. “When I look around, I have never seen the church look this good in my entire life.”
Phase two of the renovation project will include restoring and repairing the stained glass windows. Though the windows look beautiful from a distance, a closer inspection of the windows reveals chipped paint in many places and cracks in the leading.
“If it's raining really hard and the wind is blowing out of the south, that window will weep,” Huddleston said.
Due to the renovations and the pandemic, Pitts Chapel began offering services via Zoom a few years ago. Hardin said they will continue to offer Zoom services for anyone who can’t make it to the sanctuary on Sundays.
But as the pandemic wanes and people learn about the renovations, Hardin said she expects the congregation to grow a bit. Just last Sunday, six new members joined.
“We are up to about 40 or 50 in person and usually nine or 10 online,” Hardin said. One of those online members lives in Kansas City and discovered Pitts Chapel United Methodist Church online services in early days of the pandemic. She was among those who officially joined the church last Sunday and plans to be at the Sanctuary Rededication Celebration this Sunday.
“The Rededication Service will be her first service here in person,” Hardin said. “We are all excited to meet her and welcome her in person rather than virtually.”
Church focuses on social justice issues
Hardin and Berry agree: the congregation decided to launch the capital campaign in 2019 and make the renovations not just so they could return to the sanctuary for Sunday morning worship.
“We are the community’s church. We didn’t do all of this to be able to stay within these walls and celebrate amongst ourselves,” Berry said. “We want to attract people, to give people a home. We don’t care where you come from. We don’t care about your gender. We don’t care about your sexual orientation. We don’t care about any of those things. It’s all about having an open door for all people who want to serve God.”
In fact, one of the first events hosted inside the newly renovated church building was a panel discussion about police brutality. Hosted by the Springfield Chapter of the NAACP, the panel was held in early February in response to the January death of Tyre Nichols — the young Black man who was beaten to death by five Memphis police officers.
Berry said the renovations were barely complete and ladders had to be moved around at the last minute, but they made the church building available when the NAACP reached out. About 150 people attended the panel discussion and vigil.
“We want to be that place where if there is a panel discussion, if there is a community issue, this is a place people can come and talk about social issues,” she said. “We want to get in the midst of things and help with social change, try to be the voice for those who don’t have a voice.”
Hardin echoed that, adding that Pitts Chapel is located in downtown Springfield and across the street from Jordan Valley Community Health Center — an area of town where unsheltered people often find themselves.
“We are working right now with several other churches and groups to address the needs of the unsheltered population,” Hardin said.
Pitts Chapel has an emergency fund they use to help those without shelter. And from April to November, the church partners with the Connecting Grounds to serve a meal on Fridays. (During the winter months, evening meals are served inside another church a couple blocks away.)
“We want our ministry to be outreach and awareness, and definitely inclusion, equity, social justice and just sharing the love of God,” Hardin said. “That is what we try to do and this building just facilitates us.”
