Church’s history key to future

A northeast Oklahoma City church is celebrating its 121st anniversary with a week of activities designed to commemorate its historic past and launch bold plans for the future.

Among the activities planned by Avery Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church is a congregational walk from the church’s former site at NW 1 and Stiles to its present location at 1425 N Kelham Ave.

The Rev. James McLaughlin, senior pastor, said the April 17 walk of about three miles is symbolic of the faith church leaders showed when they made the move from the Deep Deuce in 1959.

He said the church was started in a tent in Oklahoma City on the day of the Land Run of 1889. Seventy years later, the late Rev. Robert Alexander led the congregation that was determined to knock down walls of discrimination to claim the highly prized property where the church sits today.

McLaughlin said the church hopes to recapture the original vision of Alexander and other church forefathers. He and Alexander’s son, attorney Robert Alexander Jr., said the early church leaders believed the church could help solve many of life’s dilemmas through the application of Scripture.

McLaughlin said he would like the church to become a haven for children and teens in the community who need direction and guidance. He’d like to see tangible help — mentoring programs, substance abuse recovery, a gated community for older adults, an expansive child care center — along with spiritual aid.

Once the church spreads its influence outward, the surrounding neighborhoods will reap the rewards along with the congregation, he predicted.

"I’m just carrying on the legacy that has already been established, and the vision is not just for us — it’s for everybody.”

Heritage of faith

Alexander said the Avery congregation chose his father as pastor in 1952 and charged him with leading the congregation to another location. He said the church building sat in historic Deep Deuce, and the adjacent parsonage was once home to literary great Ralph Ellison, author of the classic "Invisible Man.”

Alexander said the congregation wanted to purchase a building complex on Kelham Avenue being sold by a white Baptist congregation.

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