Washington Chapel Church has been treasured for generations in the Parkville community. But the church, built in 1907, is in dire need of renovation, and since 2021, much-needed and extensive repairs to the bell tower, roof and electrical system have prevented members from holding services and community events in the building.
Church members received good news on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday in January.
The church will receive a share of $4 million which will help to preserve 31 historic Black churches across the United States. The church received $160,000 from a Preserving Black Churches grant. The grant comes from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. For all of the repairs needed, and to become ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, the church needs $650,000 in total.
Author, and retired University of Kansas professor, Barbara Luetke, who is working on a book about the African American history of Parkville, said that since Black people were denied participation in Parkville’s political life for many decades, Washington Chapel Church provided leadership opportunities for its members.
“Washington Chapel left its imprint for decades on practically every aspect of life for most African Americans in Parkville,” Luetke said.
The church was vandalized on Jan. 21, 2023. It was broken into, and the large, memorial, stained-glass window was shattered. A piece of the window, which displayed the name of Parkville University co-founder, John A. McAfee was stolen.
“The church has been a cornerstone of the black community of Parkville since it was built,” Luetke said. “We are a small, elderly congregation with an expensive restoration project ahead of us. Now, in addition to that, we will need to not only fix the stained-glass window, but pay for the whole of it to go to the artisan and back again to be installed.”
Congregants Pearl Douglass Spencer and her sister Dr. Cora Douglass Thompson were devastated when they heard of the loss and planned to lead a prayer vigil to raise awareness of the theft of the 117- year-old piece of the stained-glass window. The morning of the planned vigil, the nameplate was returned. “Their mother, Lucille Sears Douglass, was responsible for getting the church listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings and also, along with Gaylon Hoskins, for saving the Banneker School for Black children,” Luetke said.
The children of the Parkville Black community grew up attending the chapel, and restoring the church is important to the Parkville community.
“The church was built by freed slaves, with the help of Dr. John McAfee, who insisted that the students at Park College help with it, and I guess that would be the only integrated effort on the part of the town at that time,” Pearl said.
Initially, the church boasted 80 members, and 56 of them pledged to give one-10th of their income to sustain the church. The leaders of the church were also members of the leading African American families in Parkville. Several of these early leaders played important roles in both the church and also in the integration of Park College. While not allowed to register and receive credit for classes in which they participated, these community leaders were allowed to attend classes and complete course requirements as early as 1938.
“Chiang Kai-shek’s grandson was a guest speaker at the church on several occasions, and Alex Haley, acclaimed author of the novel ‘Roots’ visited on three occasions through the years,” Luetke said. “Foreign students from Park College often joined in the worshiip. Washington Chapel left its imprint for decades on practiclally every aspect of life for most African Americans in Parkville. Washington Chapel deserves to be saved. We must preserve its important history for future generations.”
Donations can be made to Washington Chapel CME Church at 1137 West Street, Parkville, MO 64152.