Heritage Column for April 28, 2005
By Fred Anderson
Oregon Hill is an old inner-city neighborhood in downtown Richmond where for 150 years the Pine Street Baptist Church has served as a beacon.
Pastor Philip Wayne Turner likens the community unto an island because it is surrounded by an expressway, a cemetery, the river and a major corporation. Within the urban island there are about 1,000 residents where once there were as many as 2,500. In Pine Street's heyday there were over 2,000 members and for many years the church boasted the largest Baptist Sunday school in Richmond. Today the roll lists some 169 and usually attendance is around 85.
Recently this columnist took a walking tour with the pastor. We started at the church where members were busy cleaning and painting. Already they had laid new carpet, modernized rest rooms and kitchen and generally improved the old building which dates to 1883. Before we left for our walk, Jennifer Metzger Turner briefly joined us. She is the pastor's wife and director of the Richmond Baptist Association's Oregon Hill Center which is located in the church.
Together the Turners are a ministerial team known for their compassion and concern. The Turners and their daughters, Lindsey and Hannah, live in the neighborhood. Philip admits that “Oregon Hill is all they know with its sirens and bumpy sidewalks and homeless people at the door” yet insists: “We enjoy living here. We have found a home here!” His long-ago predecessor, the celebrated Dr. J.B. Hutson, who served the church from 1872-1918, was the last pastor previously to reside on the Hill.
Philip Turner says: “I am grateful that our girls get to see and experience compassion for those in need. When they are older my daughters will remember that they were loved by a church family. Our mentors have been Bill and Evelyn Berry, the community missionaries; and any success we have had can be traced back to them by what they showed us and to continue to have them in the church is a real blessing. I see God's Hand in our story and there is no doubt in my mind that this is where we are to be at this time in our lives.”
In the next block Philip and I passed a new business, the Salvation Tattoo parlor. Around the corner Carter's Dry Goods and Notions, long a landmark in the neighborhood stands empty. We passed Jonah House where Bill Berry, Jr. operates a community-based ministry.
We stood on a certain corner which always has been “a hang out” where “if there's a problem, it usually starts around that corner.” We walked past the entrance to Hollywood Cemetery, the vast Victorian park-like cemetery where so many notable Virginians are buried.
We passed the homes of plumbers, painters and electricians. We also passed the homes of VCU students. An artist was outside taking a photograph of his latest oil painting. Philip paused to pat the head of a neighborhood dog that he knew by name.
A passer-by across the street with a baby on her hip called out to her pastor. Philip identified her as a deacon. “She is a great worker. If I could clone her, I would take about a thousand of her.”
A typical block in Oregon Hill contains a mixture of houses. Some are boarded up and derelict. Some have old sofas sitting on the porch. Some have been remodeled. Some are showplaces. Most are row houses with small yards. We continued to the southern end of the Hill where rows of new houses are under construction. With magnificent views of the James River and the Richmond skyline, these homes sell for upwards of $500,000 and nearby luxury apartments rent for $1,500. The new residents are welcomed to the neighborhood by the church folks but the well-heeled offer new challenges.
We went inside St. Andrew's Episcopal Church which also serves as a private school and offers social ministry. Philip and the rector, David May, are friends.
We returned to the quiet of the Pine Street auditorium. It is a room of simple beauty. Dr. Hutson himself drew the plans for the church. The horseshoe balcony still has its original chairs. In the stillness one can imagine Dr. Hutson on the platform.
On Sunday, May 22 Pastor Turner will portray his illustrious predecessor; and in the afternoon, the Richmond Concert Band will play in the little park just behind the church. Something special has been planned for each Sunday in May beginning with the Anniversary Sunday on May 1 when Temple Myers will preach. Those visiting the old church in this unique neighborhood will sense the church's mission which is “to be a steadfast fellowship of Christians, worshipping God and ministering grace to the community and beyond.” Much has changed but the spirit of old Pine Street remains strong.
Fred Anderson is executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society and the Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies.