Our HIstory
Our Church History
St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church first came into being as Jones Chapel Church, located somewhere near the present Johns Chapel Cemetery. We regret very much that we do not have written data concerning our beginning.
But for our Roots, we must rely on traditions and sayings that were passed down to us by our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents.
The first Jones Chapel began in a corncrib for worship service perhaps shortly afterEmancipation. This we are told was used until they outgrew its facilities. So, they began building on this present site, and when they moved here it was named St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church, but shortly after moving into the new church, it was destroyed by a tornado.
The Bible and books were found in the Blue Clay area, which is two or three miles away. The second St. James was built. The stone shows March 1880. This stood for 32 years, until 1912, when it was torn down and the third church started, and service was held in the Odds Fellows Hall. This was under Rev. C. C. Miller as pastor, and in 1915, the first service was held in this sanctuary with Bishop J. Albert Johnson presiding. So, after sixty-six years in the third St.James, we have moved into the fourth sanctuary in 1981 on this spot, where we have worshipped God for more than one hundred and forty-three years. The kitchen was remodeled, and a porte-cochere added in 2008.
After, a long line of male preachers, the 30th pastor of St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church we were blessed with our first female, the Rev. Dr. Theresa McLean Holmes. She is also the wife of our 28th pastor, Rev. Dr. Roosevelt “Pete” Holmes.
One of our members, Frankie DeVone Grady, passed away in 2016 and left the church in her will. This was the first endowment in the church’s history to be used for the church. She was a dedicated worker in the Hospitality Ministry as well as other boards of the church. The Fellowship Hall was named in her memory “The Frankie DeVone Grady Fellowship Hall.”
honoring those before us
We have been blessed to have the listed dedicated
and God-inspired men to serve as pastors:
Rev. R. R. Nichols • Rev. E. E. Robinson • Rev. S. M. McKeithan • Rev. C. C. Miller •
Rev. A. A. Thompson • Rev. B. B. Bethea • Rev. G. W. White • Rev. J. W. Stanley • Rev. A. M. Jones •
Rev. C. W. Parker • Rev. I. J. Williams • Rev. H. L. Ingram • Rev. D. F. Saunders • Rev. W. H. Murph •
Rev. J. M. Smith • Rev. T. J. DeBerry • Rev. A. A. Blocker • Rev. J. E. Mallette • Rev. H. L. Huggins •
Rev. A. P. Pearce • Rev. R. L. McCormick • Rev. J. A. Humphrey • Rev. H. H. Parker • Rev. Dr. A. R. Watson • Rev. Dr. R. L. Holmes • Rev. Artie Odom • Rev. Dr. Theresa M. Holmes
(our first female pastor)
Called into ministry
Rev. G. G. McGhee
Rev. Joseph Allen
Rev. W. J. Jordan
Pastor Edward McGhee
Rev. D. L. Grady
Rev. S. M. McGuire
Rev. John Baldwin
Pastor James E. Allen
Rev. Bruce Grady
Rev. L. T. Whitted
Rev. Gary Pierce
Rev. J. A. Bryant
Rev. Emily Foy
Rev. G. W. McGhee
Pastor Betty Hampton
Rev. N. L. Whitted
Rev. Sinclair Williams
Rev. Bennie Dudley
Rev. Phoebe Jordan
Rev. Horace Allen, Jr.
Rev. Betty Foy Newkirk
Rev. Angela Clark
Rev. Tony McGhee
Rev. Luke Grady
Elder Marion McGhee
Rev. Pernell Pender
Rev. J. C. Grady
Evangelist Jerilyn Dowd
Rev. L. E. Grady Sr.
Pastor Darryl McGhee
Rev. L. E. Grady, Jr.
Rev. Marsha A. Johnson Pelt