Religious Leader to Preach in New Bedford

A key religious leader will be preaching at New Bedford's Union Baptist Church this Sunday, January 25, at 11 a.m.
Rev. Laura E. Everett, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, will speak as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

From the press release:

Union Baptist Church, 109 Court Street, New Bedford, cordially invites the public to meet the Rev. Laura E. Everett, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, when she preaches at the 11:00 a.m. worship service on January 25 during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Music will be provided by the Union Baptist Worship Team and the Senior Choir.

The Massachusetts Council of Churches is the state ecumenical network of 17 Orthodox and Protestant denominations, congregations and individual Christians working together for a vibrant, hopeful witness of oneness in Christ in local churches, on Beacon Hill and with neighbors of other faiths. A 36-years-old graduate of Brown University, Ms. Everett received her Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School. A pastor in the United Church of Christ, Laura blogs about denominational identity, Christian unity (and disunity), and social media at www.RevEverett.com. Committed to building relationships with churches across the Commonwealth, Rev. Everett is aiming to guest preach and teach in every county in Massachusetts this year. Her previous visit to New Bedford was in June 2013 when she led an Inter-Church Council workshop on “Religion and Effective Use of Social Media” at North Baptist Church.

Begun in 1908, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated each year in cities and towns across the country and around the world. The theme for the 2015 observance is Jesus’ words to the Samaritan pariah: “Give me a drink.” (John 4:7) The theme and text for each year’s observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are chosen and prepared by representatives of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and representatives of the World Council of Churches. The international texts are developed, adapted and published for use in the USA by the Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute.

The roots of the Union Baptist congregation go back to the African Christian Church organized in 1826 to serve the West End community. In 1840 Frederick and Anna (Murray) Douglass had their first child, Rosetta, blessed there. Today that property is a part of the Carney Academy campus. Members of the Christian church felt a strong leaning toward the Baptist ideals so they formed Second Baptist Church in 1844 in a school building on Middle Street (now Christian Worship Center). There was a division in the congregation and some members went to the Centre Chapel building to form the Salem Baptist Church.

Sgt. William H. Carney, Jr., a member of the 54th regiment, the first African American to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor was a member of Salem Baptist. His father, William H. Carney, Sr., was an escaped slave from the South who worked hard to buy the freedom of the rest of his family. The free and reunited family settled in New Bedford in the second half of the 1850s. Young William learned to read and write, and by age 15 he was interested in becoming a minister. He gave up his pursuit of the ministry, however, to join the Army. In an 1863 edition of the Abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, Carney stated: "Previous to the formation of colored troops, I had a strong inclination to prepare myself for the ministry; but when the country called for all persons, I could best serve my God serving my country and my oppressed brothers. The sequel in short—I enlisted for the war." (www.history.net)

After the war, the two churches--Second Baptist and Salem Baptist--continued ministering in downtown New Bedford until 1895 when the congregations merged to form Union Baptist Church. Both buildings were sold and the proceeds used to build the present church building in the West End. Sgt. Carney was one of the lay leaders during the merger. The shingle style building designed by Nathaniel Cannon Smith was completed in 1899 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

Celebrating its 120th year in 2015, the church is led by Pastor Pajibo Kyne, Minister Robin Ribeiro, and Rev. Ricky Sanderson. In true Baptist tradition it provides many interesting opportunities for its members young and old to lead worship, study the Bible and take part in outreach.