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Feature
City’s First Black Baptist Church Celebrates 150-Year Legacy
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Sunday, members of Beulah Baptist Institutional Church will culminate their anniversary celebration. The church has been in existence since 1865, and celebrates its 150th Anniversary.
Rev. Dr. James W. Fa- vorite moved to Tampa in 1995, and became the church’s religious leader upon the retirement of Rev. Dr. A. Leon Lowry.
Rev. Favorite said, “When I arrived in Tampa, I was told that Beulah was an elite church with elite mem- bers. My concern was, if it is an elite church, then I wanted to be an elite pastor.”
Realizing that he had stepped in to fill the shoes of Rev. Lowry, a noted Civil Rights activist and leader of the church for nearly 40 years, Rev. Favorite com- pleted his own research into the church’s history. “It was like going back in time to the beginning and being a part of it.”
Then, he sought ways to continue the legacy of the first African American founded Baptist church in Tampa.
In addition to continuing the legacy he had inherited, he sought to advance to the next phase. “The church had been involved in a lot of ‘first’ under Rev. Lowry and I wanted to adopt his style and continue to be a re- source for the community and we have done that. We have opened our doors for meetings and we have been involved in several issues.”
Rev. Favorite plans to
REV. DR. JAMES
W. FAVORITE
Senior Pastor, Beulah Baptist Institutional Church
continue the initiatives the church has instituted, as well as concentrating on future endeavors. One such issue is the education of the chil- dren. “If we train our chil- dren, then the leadership of the church is constantly re- plenished. We are taking great pains to invest in our children. But, we have got to train them today and make sure that their needs are met.” Rev. Favorite feels this is an ongoing and ever challenging, but worthy and rewarding mission.
His other ventures in- clude establishing housing for senior citizens; making members disciples of the church; continuing activities for seniors; remain active in political issues; and continu- ing being a part of the com- munity instead of a church in the community.
Anniversary Banquet
The Banquet will take place at the Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore. The Ban- quet will begin at 6 p.m. The theme for the event is
REV. DR. BERNARD LAFAYETTE, JR. Banquet Keynote Speaker
BEULAH BAPTIST INSTITUTITIONAL CHURCH ... Church moved into new building in 1938,
at the corner of Tyler and Pierce Street
BEULAH BAPTIST INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH
... Church moved into new building in 1974, at 1006 W. Cypress, its current location
“Faithful Service to God and Community.”
Legacy Families
During the banquet, the church will honor approxi- mately 75 members who are recognized as “Legacy Families.” Rev. Favorite said some of the families date back to the beginning.
He also said many of their descendents are cur-
rently continuing the legacy and worshipping at Beulah.
They are the: Brown- Lomas; Wilson, Jack- son- Robinson, Andrews, Fields, Cutler, Felder, Forbes, Mason, Larry, Peterson, Franklin, DuBose, Ham- mond, Watson, Shu- man, Rockwell, Harper, Miles, Jackson, Kegler, Ulmer, and Burns Fami- lies.
About The Church
Historical information
shows that the City of Tampa was populated in November 1823. It became a Village in January 1849 and a Town in September 1853. Two years later, on September 15, 1855, citizens abolished the Town government and established a City Charter.
Ten years later, in 1865, at the end of the Civil War, Beulah Baptist Institutional Church was founded by freed slaves as a place of Christian worship.
Since its inception, the church has had 14 pastors.
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2015