Diane Rhynes had little time to grieve about losing her job. Her sister was getting married. So she stopped by United Baptist Church to ask Rev. Kenneth Paramore if he would officiate the wedding ceremony.
Paramore told her he knew of someone that was hiring. He asked her to meet him at the church that following Monday morning.
She’s worked at the church since that week in 2001. “I had no idea it would be him hiring, or the church,” said Rhynes, a member since the early 1990s.
When Leo Armstrong and his wife returned to United Baptist Church on a Sunday morning in the late 1980s, the sanctuary was so crowded they were nearly turned away at the door. There were no seats available.
Then-pastor Robert C. Pounds spotted them.
“No, you’re not leaving. We’re gonna find seats for you.”
The Armstrongs have attended services here ever since.
As United Baptist Church celebrates a century of ministry, stories from members like Rhynes and Armstong offer a glimpse into the role this faith space at 1007 S. Hawkins Ave. has played in the lives of several generations of members. They call it “Saving Souls and Salvaging Lives.”
For some, the church was the place where they first accepted Christ. For others, it’s been a place where their spiritual relationships blossomed through fellowship, worship and guidance.
“In all those efforts and more, that mission comes to fruition in the lives of everyday people,” said the current pastor, Rev. Kevin G. Rushing, the seventh leader in the church’s 100-year history.
“The church is like a hospital. It’s the place where sick folk can come and be healed, delivered, and made whole. All of us who show up at the hospital [church] got an issue we need help with. My issue may not be your issue, but we all got issues. And what we at UBC tell people, is to come on in with all of your issues so you can get the same kind of help we are getting.”
That mission has supported Akron residents like Flora “Flo” Loftin, a former member who returned to the church this year to attend a centennial celebration event.
Her parents were married here, and her grandmother was part of the nurses’ guild. It’s the first place she performed in a choir. Where she said she experienced her first interaction with God.
“And now it’s easier for me to pass it down to my daughter,” she said.
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This weekend: Three days of festivities
Already, the church, its current and former members and community members have celebrated this centennial achievement through a host of events, including unveiling a visual timeline of its history and hosting a gospel comedy night and Sunday best fashion show.
Celebrations conclude this weekend with three days of events:
- Friday: Choir reunion rehearsal (4:30 p.m.) and an off-site bowling mixer (7 p.m.)
- Saturday: Centennial banquet (5 p.m.) The keynote speaker is Sen. Raphael G. Warnock, who also serves as the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
- Sunday: The 100th Anniversary Worship Celebration (10 a.m.) and the Old School Communion Service — featuring the UBC Reunion Choir (6 p.m.)
From two churches to a legacy of service: ‘We have a real deep impact’
In the fall of 1926, two churches — Gladstone Baptist Church and Springfield Baptist Church — merged to form United Baptist Church.
For the decades that followed, the church has fed members and other Akron residents. It’s clothed them. It’s supported Helen Arnold, Crouse, Schumacher and Buchtel students and their families — the schools are in close proximity to the church. The church has provided free housing to pregnant women in an effort to combat infant mortality; it’s comforted grieving families; stood with residents facing injustices; and helped pass legislation that members felt put people first. United also has assisted residents facing financial hardships through its benevolent fund. Based on need and available resources, it provides grocery and retail gift cards.
Rushing, the current pastor, has worked with organizations like Freedom BLOC, Akron Urban League and the Akron chapter of the NAACP to lobby for current ballot issues 11, 12 and 13. He serves in the Greater Akron Fellowship of Clergy as its social chair.
“Not all pastors want to be political,” he said.
“There are times where I do have to … make sure that whatever I put my name on or whatever I stand in agreement with always aligns with what I believe Christ would do and that we see throughout scripture.”
During his tenure, Rushing has expanded the church’s reach through community initiatives, such as the West Akron 5K — proceeds from the annual race are divided equally among the local schools. Also, United stocks staff refrigerators at the adopted schools. And it hosts coat and shoe giveaways for the community.
“I’ve noticed a lot of things that this church specifically has done for the community is to make it easier for the kids in our community. When things were taken out of our community, and we didn’t have places to go, our community center got built,” Loftin said.
“United is not just another storefront church to me; we have a real deep impact.”
The Gus Johnson Community Center, named after the Akron native and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, opened next door to the church in 2000. The center serves as a multi-purpose community hub that offers childcare, educational programs and adult services.
Joe Pitts, a member of the church’s usher board since 2008, said that a church that has lasted 100 years balances longevity and legacy, highlighting the work that continues to happen inside — and outside — its doors.
“Where I grew up, we didn’t have a whole lot, and we relied on the church,” Pitts said. “This church has been around 100 years, and we’ve been giving to Buchtel High School, scholarships and programs, for the kids. What better way to do that than to do it through the church and help your own folks in this life?”
His wife, Deedee Pitts, a member of the centennial planning committee, agreed.
“We’re trying to do things to make an impact,” she said, “the most impact we can on the community.”
An Akron legacy of faith: ‘Things started happening’
As a young child, missing Sunday service wasn’t an option in Armstrong’s household.
He was a part of the church’s Boy Scout Troop 84. In 1965, at around age 13, he said he gave his life to Christ.
After he was baptized, he joined the church choir and remained involved for years. As he got older, he said he eventually stepped away from the congregation, although not from his God.
Then he became a father.
He and Shirley wanted their child to experience a spiritual upbringing similar to theirs. He now serves as a deacon at the church.
“So we started coming back,” Armstrong said, “and then things started happening.”