More than local church history: a training ground for Dallas-area Black family, community, culture survival
By Norma Adams-Wade
Texas Metro News
One church member can trace her family’s history back eight generations at this historically Black northern Dallas church.
Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church in Richardson — fondly known as “The Rock” — traces its own history back to the Civil War era.
Founded in June 1864, the ancestral church is celebrating its 160th anniversary this month. Researchers say it is the oldest African American church in Dallas County; named after a significant mountain in the Bible’s Old Testament.
The existence of family generations is a hallmark of Mt. Pisgah, said Rev. S. Michael Greene, who last month completed his first year as The Rock’s 15th pastor.
“Part of the excitement for the anniversary is the realization that the celebration is just like a family reunion and homecoming. It’s a gathering of different generations, as well as of sister churches, friends and relatives,” Rev. Greene said. “I wish the public was more aware that we still have a large population of members who are descendants of founding members.”
Elise Clark is one of those members – from a family that goes back eight generations of relatives at Mt. Pisgah – and herself a 5th generation descendant.
Her great, great grandfather, Samuel Fowler, was a founding deacon, who at that time was soon to be freed from slavery, and his wife, Mary Ann Fowler, was among the original women who organized duties at the church.
Mt. Pisgah is so steeped in local Black history in Richardson that it’s hard to choose which aspect of the 160th anniversary captures the essence of Mt. Pisgah’s story, Rev. Greene said.
“I’m proud to be one of the families that have been there since the beginning,” said Ms. Clark, a University Texas at Austin graduate who works in advertising.
Mt. Pisgah’s solid foundation
An Anglo circuit preacher, Rev. Robert Fabius Butler, helped the enslaved Mt. Pisgah founders gather in June 1864 at a site in the North Dallas White Rock Settlement. His presence was needed because law prohibited such gatherings without an Anglo present.
The Rock’s founding location was at Preston Road and Spring Valley before it left that site in 1981 and finally landed at its current site at 1010 S. Sherman St. in Richardson near Buckingham Road and Restland Memorial Park Cemetery.
Mt. Pisgah existed almost a decade before another historic Dallas-area congregation was founded nine years later.
The beloved New Hope Baptist Church was founded in North Dallas in 1873 by seven Black families, giving it the distinction of being the first church in Dallas to be entirely organized by African Americans. New Hope now is located off South Central Expressway in the South Dallas/Fair Park community.
Descendants’ fond memories
Mt. Pisgah members say they take pride not only in Mt. Pisgah’s history but in its staples of community outreach, devoted Bible study, and youth services that include scholarships, emphasizing education, and preparing youths for life’s realities.
Members’ love of members for their church oozes from them as they talk about their memories and Mt. Pisgah’s impact on their lives.
One of Clark’s favorite memories goes back more than 50 years. She fondly recalls being an adolescent and walking and enjoying the peace and comfort with relatives and church members in a planned pre-Easter Saturday morning “hike” to the church.
The “hike” was designed to commemorate Christ’s walk to the cross and later His resurrection. Church women had breakfast ready when the “hikers” arrived, the youth had an egg hunt, and the next day a special Easter service.
“That’s just one of so many special memories,” Clark recalls. “Mt. Pisgah literally is an integral part of who I am. What the elders instilled in me helped me become the person that I am.”
Terrence Suber is another enthusiast and a descendant of familiar Mt. Pisgah ancestor Ray Turner.
Now a deacon, Suber reminiscences about the nurturing he received and the values he said Mt. Pisgah instilled in him. He said he did not realize at the time that he was honing speaking and leadership skills through church auxiliaries, youth programs, Bible study and general discipline.
Suber spent decades in sales and marketing and later became a college business management professor. He proudly proclaimed that the skills he has used throughout his career were developed at Mt. Pisgah as a youth and young adult. One of his fond memories is monthly receiving a $10 donation that the church mailed the first year to all high school students who went to college.
“Closeness and unity was part of the culture at Mt. Pisgah,” Suber said. “I got exposed to leadership … The ability to speak to groups of people started at that little stone church then on Preston Road at the time.
“Mt. Pisgah invested in us and so many of my peers went on to do great things. We were at church all day in various services. I moved up from student to teacher and started teaching Bible class around 8th or 9th grade. My wife, Janice Williams Suber, and I still teach. I could write a book about all I’m proud of with Mt. Pisgah.”
Church historian and lifetime member Elaine Johnson stands on Mt. Pisgah’s history and she is devoted to preserving it.
Her great grandfather, Jesse Lyons, was a pillar of the church. Jesse Arnold, a prominent early Dallas Black community leader and the previous Mt. Pisgah historian summoned her to his bedside in his waning years and told her he wanted her to succeed him as historian. He died later at age 93.
Ms. Johnson has taken the role seriously. In 2019, she secured a state historical marker that stands at the original Mr. Pisgah location at 14000 Preston Road in Richardson. She also is overseeing much of the 160th church anniversary observance.
“He (Arnold) said he’d been watching me over the years and thought I’d be great in the job,” recalled Ms. Johnson, adding that she had always been interested in history. “I’ve been at Mt. Pisgah all my life. It’s like a small town. We call so many of us aunt and uncle. Growing up, all our parents were very close. Mt. Pisgah is a very close-knit family.”
Pastor’s vision for Mt. Pisgah
That’s the family reunion quality Rev. Greene said he noticed right away when he became pastor on May 6, 2023.
He grew up at Concord Church and later served on its ministers’ staff for more than 20 years before taking the helm at Mt. Pisgah. The University of Texas at Arlington and Dallas Baptist University graduate safeguards The Rock’s various ministries. These include vibrant youth and Bible study departments and benevolence projects that include helping members with verified basic needs including rent, utilities, food, transportation, and resource referrals.
Rev. Greene has traveled extensively and also studied at prestigious Oxford University in England. He and his wife, Sabrina, have three children.
His vision is to safeguard Mt. Pisgah’s stellar history while at the same time attracting and nurturing a new generation that brings passion and innovation. As part of the nurturing Rev. Greene has already overseen renovation of the nursery and children’s area – a message to young parents that they and their children are important to the church. He has launched a Teen Church and upgraded the church website as a nod to the social media age of communication.
Additionally, he is testing another new, youthful creation: the church’s first-ever Sneaker Ball – an idea birthed by a multigenerational church anniversary planning committee. The idea was a bit of a hard-sell with church elders who resisted some, but ultimately agreed when assured that the ball would not be at the church, Rev. Greene said.
After discussions, he finally approved the idea, saying he had to “find some good Jordan sneakers to go with my tux!”
160th anniversary agenda:
Saturday, June 1, 2024, noon to 3 p.m. The church held a ribbon-cutting with activities that opened the renovated and enlarged History and Archive room that displays church artifacts and records.
Saturday, June 15, 2024, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Inaugural Sneaker Ball, featuring dinner, children’s dining area, awards presentations, band and DJ with jazz and respectful dance music at Garland Convention and Reception Center, 1931 E. Centerville Rd. in Garland. Tickets are $50 per adult. For ticket information visit https://bit.ly/MtPSneakerBall2024, call 972-241-615, or email info@dallasmtpisgah.org.
Sunday, June 16, 2024, 10:30 a.m. 160th Anniversary Worship Service. Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church, 1010 S. Sherman St. in Richardson.
Norma Adams-Wade is an award-winning journalist and one of the founders of the National Association of Black Journalists. After a stellar career with the Dallas Morning News, Norma joined the Texas Metro News Team.
