Trinity Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Trinity Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the founding churches of the CME denomination, was established by African-Americans removing from St. John’s Methodist Church to forge a spiritual path of their own. According to Garvey’s Spirit of the Centuries: A History of St. John United Methodist Church, “Negro membership numbering 300 or more expressed a desire for a separate place of worship.” Accorded permission to separate, roughly 125 spiritual pioneers set out with lamps in hand to open a new chapter in the religious history of the African-American community. The corner of 8th and Taylor Streets in Augusta became the focal point of weekly worship meetings. By 1843 there was a small prayer house constructed that served as the first meeting place for the congregation.
There is great significance in the establishment of Trinity in 1840. First, Trinity is an antebellum church, founded 25 years before the passage of the 13th Amendment. Secondly, Trinity predates the formal organization of the C.M.E. church by 30 years, making it the oldest C.M.E. church in the world. Trinity in effect has been a rock to many African-Americans through the turbulent years preceding and during the Civil War, and continued to maintain a religious and cultural influence during the Reconstruction period and into the transformative Jim Crow years of the late 19th-early 20th Century.
Initially Trinity maintained many of its ties to its mother church, St. Johns. From 1840 to 1853, St. Johns supplied Trinity’s leadership, however with time the church congregation was able to secure an African-American pastor in the person of Reverend James Harris, “a slave preacher from Athens, Georgia and a man of some formal training.” Shortly after Reverend Harris, Reverend Ned West was called to lead Trinity’s flock. He would serve in this capacity for the remainder of the antebellum period and through the years of the Civil War. During his tenure as pastor other denominations began to recognize the growing importance of Trinity in the South, and thus reached out in an attempt to grow their base South of the Mason-Dixon. Both the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church looked to bring Trinity into the fold. This was not to be, as Reverend West led the movement to keep Trinity a separate entity from the other established denominations. Reverend West, like many of his contemporaries, was seen as a leader within the community, not just relegated to Trinity. He often participated in services and activities that cut across denominational lines, including the 1866 “Emancipation Day” services held at Springfield Baptist Church in which he delivered the Benediction. On October 14, 1851, the City Council of Augusta passed a resolution deeding the lot on the corner of 8th and Taylor to St. John’s, which they in turn deeded to Trinity in 1874.
America was forever transformed by 1865. The Civil War, fought to ensure the freedom, personhood and citizenship rights for 4 million slaves and 250,000 free people of color in the South, gave new opportunity for a segment of America’s population, most only familiar with the bonds of chattel slavery and second-class citizenship. As the country, but particularly the South began to “Reconstruct” its priorities to make way for a new America, African-Americans stepped into a world open to new entrepreneurial, educational, cultural and religious opportunities. It is during this period, from 1865 to 1900 that Trinity, under the guidance of leaders like Lucius Henry Holsey, R.S. Williams and James Bray became the focal point of internal growth and national recognition. Reverend Williams would become Bishop in the C.M.E. church and was described as “a model pastor, a sermonizer of unusually deep logic in his sermon.”
The move to separate from St. John’s Methodist and the Methodist Episcopal Church South was led by Reverend Lucious H. Holsey, who became pastor of Trinity in 1869 at the age of 27. Reverend Holsey would become a powerful force in the expansion and development of the C.M.E. denomination. In his book The History of the C.M.E. Church, Bishop Othal H. Lacey describes this transformational figure as the “Father of Education in the C.M.E. Church.” In addition to his work with Trinity, Reverend Holsey was also a strong supporter of education in the Augusta area, particularly Ware High School. Licensed to preach in Sparta, Georgia in February 1868, Reverend Holsey would become a spokesman and representative for the C.M.E. Church for more than 40 years.
On December 16, 1870, at the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South of Jackson, Tennessee, the denomination formally organized and the formal adoption of Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America as the official name of the denomination was made permanent. In 1871 the Trinity church family had much to celebrate as Reverend Lucius Holsey was elevated to bishop, becoming the youngest member of the C.M.E. denomination to hold the position. Bishop Holsey would also hold the position of Secretary of the College of Bishops.
The African-American church, since its inception, had always provided much more than just spiritual nourishment. In fact, the African-American church provided political, cultural and educational guidance, particularly in the years following the Civil War. Trinity and the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church would solidify its place in the annals of educational development when in 1882 a partnership with their white brethren of the Methodist Episcopal Church South gave rise to Paine College. Booker T. Washington would later praise Paine College as a model for black and white cooperation in a post-slavery South.
The 20th Century brought with it a new set of positives and negatives within American society. The Jim Crow laws, meant to keep African-Americans as second-class citizens, became firmly entrenched in the daily lives of many Americans. America became embroiled in a World War in 1917 that saw many African-Americans cross the Atlantic to fight for their country. There was a mass exodus of African-Americans out of the south and into the north and west to find better opportunity and to get as far as away from the deep-seated racism plaguing the south. In 1929 a depression hit the United States, rendering one out of every four people unemployed. Yet, while American grappled with social and political issues, Trinity remained a constant source of strength for the African-Americans living in the Augusta area. The church population continued to grow during this time and the church itself provided a measure of leadership within the C.M.E. church, with four of its former pastors elevated to bishop, to include Bishop R.A. Carter, one of the first to graduate from Paine College and a force for growth within the C.M.E. Church. In addition, Trinity played host to three General Conferences: 1873, 1886 and 1910. Like his predecessors, Trinity pastor Dr. C.L. Bonner, described by Silas X. Floyd in “Notes Among the Colored” as “the idol of young as well as old”, maintained a very active profile not only within the C.M.E. church family but throughout the greater Augusta community. In May of 1917 Dr. Bonner delivered a lecture at Tabernacle Baptist Church titled, “The Butterfly and the Bee”. Later that year he stood in for Dr. N.F. Haygood and preached at Sidney Park Church in Columbia, South Carolina. In June of 1919 Trinity and Dr. Bonner hosted the “sermon before the graduation” service to honor the six young ladies preparing to graduate from the Lamar School of Nursing. In 1937 Reverend J.D. Hudson and the Trinity church family hosted the Community Forum. Although the Community Forum dealt with various issues within the African-American community, this particular forum focused exclusively on the development of a library in the African-American community. It was in 1937 that the new library opened on Gwinnett Street, and was named in honor of Reverend Hudson’s predecessor, Reverend Samuel B. Wallace.
The post-World War II era saw the same level of growth in Trinity that they experienced during the early part of the 20th Century. In May of 1948 the Trinity church family welcomed Morehouse President Dr. Benjamin E. Mays as the keynote speaker for their Mother’s Day Program. LaVetta Jones, a member of Trinity since 1970 and Regional Director of the Board of Christian Education for 17 years attributes much of Trinity’s growth and standing in the Augusta community to effective church leadership. Under the leadership of a succession of forward-thinking, learned and spiritually gifted individuals Trinity maintained its position as a force for change in the Augusta community. In June of 1956, under the pastorate of L.C. Jones, Trinity hosted the graduation exercises for Luvenia’s School of Beauty Culture. Reverend Grover C. Jay, the last minister to occupy the parsonage on Taylor Street, made the decision to change the order of communion. One of his successors, Reverend Larry Fryer, was an active presence in Augusta’s Civil Rights Movement. As such, many civil rights meetings were held at Trinity. According to longtime Trinity member Lucretia Brown, whose church lineage goes back to the original 125, it was during the tenure of Reverend Fryer that his friend and entertainer James Brown would visit on a regular basis.
Another aspect of Trinity that gave it a different profile from many of its sister churches in the Augusta area were the number of church members that excelled in their respective fields of endeavor. Paine College professor John Wesley Gilbert was considered one of the great linguists of his generation. Mr. J.C. Mardenborough took over as editor of “Notes Among the Colored” in 1923 after the death of Reverend Silas X. Floyd. Channing Tobias was most closely associated with his work with the N.A.A.C.P. during the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. In 1954 Mr. Tobias was the primary orchestrator in having the name “Colored” removed from the church’s official name and replaced with “Christian”. He also served on the international executive board of the Young Men’s Christian Association (Y.M.C.A.). Carrie Mays, the first woman elected to the Augusta City Council, became one of the founding members of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (G.A.B.E.O.) and was Secretary of the State Democratic Party; her son Willie Mays became only the second African-American to become mayor of Augusta. Collectively, the Mays family became synonymous with excellence in business through W.H. Mays Mortuary. W.C. Ervin was the first African-American elected to the Richmond County Board of Education; Luvenia Pearson established the first school of beauty and cosmetology in Augusta for African-Americans; Mrs. Maude Pearson Smith served as President of the Trinity C.M.E. Missionary Society for 26 years, representing Trinity at national meetings. She brought further credit to Trinity through her appointment as the Director of Music for the Augusta District of the C.M.E. Church. Mr. S.M. Jenkins was a longtime executive with the Pilgrim Health and Life Insurance Company; Maude Simmons Carr rose to fame with the production of Porgy and Bess. In more recent years Reverend Da’Henri Thurmond, whose family goes back three generations at Trinity, was appointed pastor of St. Paul C.M.E. Church in Savannah.
The 1990’s became a transformative decade for “Mother Trinity”. On September 23, 1993, the Augusta Preservation Committee unanimously named the Eighth Street structure a historic site in the City of Augusta. However, on the heels of such accolade’s it was discovered that there was a sizeable level of contamination on the grounds occupied by the church. As such it was determined to sell the land to the Atlanta Gas Light Company and move the church body to a new location. On August 2, 1998, the last service was held at the Eighth Street location. Bishop Othal H. Lakey provided the sermon for the day that would usher in a new chapter in the history of Trinity Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Under the leadership of Reverend Donald Ralph Jordan, the new church site on Glenn Hills Drive was selected. On October 24, 1999, the groundbreaking ceremony was held and one and a half years later, in June 2001 the new church was completed.
The church history states, “It all began with a lighted march to a brush arbor on the corner of Eighth and Taylor Streets, with a spirit and vision so profound, that the descendants and future generations of those 125 marchers would take hope with them to a new church facility one hundred sixty years later.” Indeed in its 175th year Trinity still holds true to its founding precepts to cultivate spiritual bonds amongst its members, to mold positive leaders for the community, to bring up the children of the church in a fashion to carry on the legacy of their forefathers and mothers and to be a crowning example of educational, spiritual and religious uplift for all in the state of Georgia and the C.M.E. denomination. This tradition continues with Trinity through its various outreach programs. Trinity played host to the “Trayvon Martin Rally” that brought persons from all over the city to the church to constructively protest the events surrounding the Florida youth’s death. Under the guidance of Reverend Herman “Skip” Mason, Trinity’s “Victory Again” program builds upon Trinity’s continued relationship with the Augusta community. In its 175 years “Mother Trinity” has been a beckon of hope and a tool of instruction within the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and to the members of the Augusta community. The 21st Century will provide a new canvas for Trinity to paint a positive picture of cooperation and partnership throughout the city of Augusta and the state of Georgia.