Mount Pisgah AME CHURCH

1866 -

• Name	Mount Pisgah AME CHURCH  [1]
  Birth	1866	Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina   [1]
  Gender	Male
  HIST	Church celebrates 146 years Ret. Bishop Frederick Calhoun James, left, and Rev. Dr. Betty Deas Clark stand in front of the pulpit at the conclusion of the ceremony themed "146 Years ... An Incredible Journey of Faith!" on Sunday afternoon at Mt. Pisgah AME Church. By Rob Cottingham rcottingham@theitem.com With a patchy sky above them, they exit an old building and trickle across the street. They range in age and gate, but they move together. As they finish their trek across the colorless asphalt, they gather at the center of a grassy lot and take their seats beneath a humble construct: an arbor. Nailed to one of the arbor's crossbeams is a rustic sign that reads: Mount Pisgah AME Church. Though church members constructed this particular arbor as part of a ceremony, its true purpose is as a symbol of the church's beginnings, dating back to 1866. Taking the podium at the head of the arbor, Mount Pisgah worship leader the Rev. Dr. Betty Deas Clark spoke gratefully of the transition. "From bush arbor to sanctuary to sanctuary," Clark said. "God, you have guided us every step of the way." After a libation ceremony for their ancestors, the congregation stood and walked back across the street and into the sanctuary. There, the congregation sang hymns of praise before board member and Bates Middle School English teacher Jennifer Jackson stood behind a podium, dressed in ancestral garbs and a tunic of burlap. "You don't know where you're going till you know where you been," Jackson said in an animated tone. "I am Charlotte Ruffin, one of the original founders (of Mount Pisgah AME Church)." Staying in character, Jackson told the story of the church's origin. In 1865, a group of newly freed slaves in Sumter continued a previously established tradition of worshipping at Trinity Church but felt mistreated by the members of the church. A group of them decided they would leave Trinity and begin worshipping beneath a bush arbor on Sumter Street. Many of Mount Pisgah's founding members and elders were among them, including the Revs. James White and Samuel Burroughs, who heard tale of the Rev. Cain from Charleston who was organizing a new church in the South, called AME (African Methodist Episcopalian). In 1865, White and his congregation began to collect offerings as they continued worshipping at the courthouse. Once the collection reached $300, member Joseph Delorme built a bush arbor where the education building stands today. After a time of struggle, the members finally established Mount Pisgah AME Church. "We have been on this corner for 146 years," Jackson said. "Thank y'all for not letting it die." Eventually, a gothic-style church replaced the arbor as the sanctuary for Mount Pisgah. Through the years, the church flourished under numerous leaders, adding education to the church's services in the form of Sunday school and erecting Mount Pisgah Apartments, the first income-based housing offered in Sumter. The church also hosted many activists during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, such as Mayesville native Mary McLeod Bethune, and underwent renovations in the early '70s. Since then, the church has endured many changes and remains standing at the corner of West Bartlette and Council streets. One of the men who oversaw much of the church's history, Retired Bishop Frederick Calhoun James, was present at the event Sunday. The honored guest took the podium and as expected, his speech captivated all in attendance as he retold Jesus' Parable of the Good Samaritan, in which a man, who had been beaten and robbed of all he possessed, received help from a passing Samaritan after numerous others ignored him and walked on by. The Samaritan clothed, fed and housed the beaten man out of the goodness of his heart, James said, adding that the Samaritan exhibited true qualities of a neighbor. Echoing the words of Christ, James delivered his message. "Go, and do thou likewise," James said. "Like the Samaritan, Mount Pisgah has been that neighbor to the people of Sumter. She has been the caring neighbor on Jericho Road." In her closing commentary, Clark looked around the sanctuary with a smile as she noted the group in attendance. "It's not the numbers, but the faith that makes this church special," she said. Clark also praised the determination of past congregations and those present. "Every step, from the arbor to this sanctuary, we needed and received the Lord's guidance," Clark said. Looking back at the church's long history, it's safe to say Clark's assessments were more than accurate, but she said that the past and present are only two pieces of the puzzle. "We embrace our past, but we also need to seek, search and meet the needs of each generation," Clark said after the service. "We've been here for grandma, mom and now we're here for you." Reach Rob Cottingham at (803) 774-1225. Posted in Local news, News on Tuesday, August 21, 2012  [1]
  HIST	Church celebrates 146 years Ret. Bishop Frederick Calhoun James, left, and Rev. Dr. Betty Deas Clark stand in front of the pulpit at the conclusion of the ceremony themed "146 Years ... An Incredible Journey of Faith!" on Sunday afternoon at Mt. Pisgah AME Church. By Rob Cottingham rcottingham@theitem.com With a patchy sky above them, they exit an old building and trickle across the street. They range in age and gate, but they move together. As they finish their trek across the colorless asphalt, they gather at the center of a grassy lot and take their seats beneath a humble construct: an arbor. Nailed to one of the arbor's crossbeams is a rustic sign that reads: Mount Pisgah AME Church. Though church members constructed this particular arbor as part of a ceremony, its true purpose is as a symbol of the church's beginnings, dating back to 1866. Taking the podium at the head of the arbor, Mount Pisgah worship leader the Rev. Dr. Betty Deas Clark spoke gratefully of the transition. "From bush arbor to sanctuary to sanctuary," Clark said. "God, you have guided us every step of the way." After a libation ceremony for their ancestors, the congregation stood and walked back across the street and into the sanctuary. There, the congregation sang hymns of praise before board member and Bates Middle School English teacher Jennifer Jackson stood behind a podium, dressed in ancestral garbs and a tunic of burlap. "You don't know where you're going till you know where you been," Jackson said in an animated tone. "I am Charlotte Ruffin, one of the original founders (of Mount Pisgah AME Church)." Staying in character, Jackson told the story of the church's origin. In 1865, a group of newly freed slaves in Sumter continued a previously established tradition of worshipping at Trinity Church but felt mistreated by the members of the church. A group of them decided they would leave Trinity and begin worshipping beneath a bush arbor on Sumter Street. Many of Mount Pisgah's founding members and elders were among them, including the Revs. James White and Samuel Burroughs, who heard tale of the Rev. Cain from Charleston who was organizing a new church in the South, called AME (African Methodist Episcopalian). In 1865, White and his congregation began to collect offerings as they continued worshipping at the courthouse. Once the collection reached $300, member Joseph Delorme built a bush arbor where the education building stands today. After a time of struggle, the members finally established Mount Pisgah AME Church. "We have been on this corner for 146 years," Jackson said. "Thank y'all for not letting it die." Eventually, a gothic-style church replaced the arbor as the sanctuary for Mount Pisgah. Through the years, the church flourished under numerous leaders, adding education to the church's services in the form of Sunday school and erecting Mount Pisgah Apartments, the first income-based housing offered in Sumter. The church also hosted many activists during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, such as Mayesville native Mary McLeod Bethune, and underwent renovations in the early '70s. Since then, the church has endured many changes and remains standing at the corner of West Bartlette and Council streets. One of the men who oversaw much of the church's history, Retired Bishop Frederick Calhoun James, was present at the event Sunday. The honored guest took the podium and as expected, his speech captivated all in attendance as he retold Jesus' Parable of the Good Samaritan, in which a man, who had been beaten and robbed of all he possessed, received help from a passing Samaritan after numerous others ignored him and walked on by. The Samaritan clothed, fed and housed the beaten man out of the goodness of his heart, James said, adding that the Samaritan exhibited true qualities of a neighbor. Echoing the words of Christ, James delivered his message. "Go, and do thou likewise," James said. "Like the Samaritan, Mount Pisgah has been that neighbor to the people of Sumter. She has been the caring neighbor on Jericho Road." In her closing commentary, Clark looked around the sanctuary with a smile as she noted the group in attendance. "It's not the numbers, but the faith that makes this church special," she said. Clark also praised the determination of past congregations and those present. "Every step, from the arbor to this sanctuary, we needed and received the Lord's guidance," Clark said. Looking back at the church's long history, it's safe to say Clark's assessments were more than accurate, but she said that the past and present are only two pieces of the puzzle. "We embrace our past, but we also need to seek, search and meet the needs of each generation," Clark said after the service. "We've been here for grandma, mom and now we're here for you." Reach Rob Cottingham at (803) 774-1225. Posted in Local news, News on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
  _UID	9EB2C9E0504B48EB8AA10DD07DE7ECA9C8F7
  _UID	9EB2C9E0504B48EB8AA10DD07DE7ECA9C8F7
  Person ID	I281286	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	8 Sep 2012

  
  

  Family	AME Church MOUNT PISGAH,   b. 1866, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina
  _UID	706A905A42F140518D84D43FC8E5C0ACC5A6
  _UID	706A905A42F140518D84D43FC8E5C0ACC5A6
  Family ID	F189084	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	23 Mar 2026

  
  

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  [S18487] Church celebrates 146 years.