Greater Ward A.M.E. Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Greater Ward African Methodist Episcopal Church, out in the Acres Homes Community, ten miles north of downtown Houston. Oldest congregation of its kind in that community.

And the story of how it got there, well, it's the kind of story that deserves a slow telling around a fire. It started in February 1913, when Ward Chapel A.M.E. Church was organized and named in honor of Bishop Thomas M.

D. Ward, the tenth bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Now, they didn't have a grand building to start in.

They had something better. They had the home of Reverend John T. Williams and his wife, Cassie, on what is now Tuskegee Street at Holly Street.

A congregation born in a family home. That's faith workin' with what it has. Then came 1919, and the Wright Land Company donated two lots on Apollo Street near Galilee Missionary Baptist Church.

A generous offer. But this congregation had its own sense of direction. They opted to build instead on the west side of Arabella at Granville Street.

They knew where they were going. A fire came in 1934, the way fire does, without asking permission. But by 1935 a new structure had been erected on that same ground.

And then in 1955, following a major building campaign, a sanctuary rose on the east side of Arabella. Stone by stone, decade by decade, this church kept buildin'. Reverend Ollie Lewis Dawson, one of the congregation's longest-serving ministers, was a community activist who used the church as a meeting place to discuss social and civic matters.

He was active with the NAACP, the Acres Homes Church Union, the A.M.E. Ministers Alliance, and many other organizations. That sanctuary wasn't just a place of worship.

It was a place where a community figured out how to fight for itself. And speaking of fighting, consider Trustee Wiley Adams, who successfully petitioned county officials to name nearby streets Tuskegee, Wilberforce, Paul Quinn, and Dillard, each one honoring a historically Black college or university. The street where Reverend Williams and Cassie once opened their home, Tuskegee Street, carrying that legacy right into the neighborhood's map.

And Ferguson Way, named for Trustee Rendy Ann Johnson Ferguson, another name woven into the landscape around the church. The congregation itself carried many ministries, several choirs, the Daughters of Ward, the Allen Christian League, vacation bible school. In 1972 the church became Greater Ward Chapel A.M.E.

Church, and in 2007 it took its current name, Greater Ward African Methodist Episcopal Church. Started in a living room in 1913. Still a source of guidance and support for the Acres Homes Community today.

Some things, when they're built right, just keep standin'.

What the marker says

Greater Ward African Methodist Episcopal Church (Ward Chapel A.M.E. Church until 1972; then Greater Ward Chapel A.M.E. Church, 1972-2007) is the oldest congregation of its kind in the Acres Homes Community, located ten miles north of downtown Houston. Ward Chapel A.M.E. Church was organized in February 1913 and named in honor of Bishop Thomas M. D. Ward, the tenth bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The first place of worship was in the home of Rev. John T. Williams and his wife, Cassie, on what is now Tuskegee Street at Holly Street. In 1919, the Wright Land Company donated two lots on Apollo Street near Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, but the congregation opted to build on the west side of Arabella at Granville Street. After a 1934 fire, a new structure was erected there in 1935. The sanctuary on the east side of Arabella was erected in 1955, following a major building campaign. Rev. Ollie Lewis Dawson, one of the congregation's longest-serving ministers, was a community activist and used the church as a meeting place to discuss social and civic matters. He was active with the NAACP, Acres Homes Church Union, A.M.E. Ministers Alliance and many other organizations. The church had numerous ministries, including several choirs, the Daughters of Ward, the Allen Christian League and vacation bible school. Ferguson Way was named for trustee Rendy Ann Johnson Ferguson. Trustee Wiley Adams successfully petitioned county officials to name nearby Tuskegee, Wilberforce, Paul Quinn and Dillard Streets in honor of historically black colleges and universities. The church continues to be a source of guidance and support for the Acres Homes Community.