Rooted In Faith, Growing In Community Since 1871
OUR HISTORY
ROOTED IN FAITH, GROWING IN COMMUNITY SINCE 1871
THE BEGINNING OF FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF WHITE PLAINS
The land our church stands on was purchased from the Weckquaeskeck Indians in 1757.
The history of the Church for its earliest years has been recorded by two of its former pastors, and their record covered that period during which many and frequent changes were made in the pastorate.
Reverend Milton W. Covell delivered an address on the Sunday morning of the fifteenth anniversary of the organization of the Church, giving its history to that time. Reverend J.J. Gorham gave a brief sketch of the history of the Church on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary, at which time several pastors or laymen from New York churches participated.
The remaining twenty-five years, except for the concluding years of Reverend J.J. Gorham’s incumbency, have been covered by but three pastorates.
We are therefore indebted to the Reverend Milton W. Covell and the Reverend J.J. Gorham for much of the detail preceding and immediately following the organization of our Church a hundred and fifty years ago.
In the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, it was the custom of preachers of various denominations to hold services in the White Plains Court House. Perhaps two or three times during the year, these services were conducted by Baptist preachers. The Reverend Mr. Lyon, who at one time resided in this vicinity, preached upon several of these occasions. The Reverend William Parkinson, pastor of the First Baptist Church of New York City from 1805 to 1840, was also an occasional preacher at the Court House services.
About 1846, the Reverend Ebenezer Raymond, pastor of the King Street Baptist Church of Greenwich, Connecticut, conducted evening meetings in the homes of residents of the Town of Greenburg in the vicinity of White Plains. From 1856 to 1861, Mr. Raymond and a friend residing in Greenburg, considered the purchase of a building on Lexington Avenue to be used as a meeting house. The record indicates, however, that no attempt was made to organize a Baptist Church at that time. In November, 1870, the Reverend E.C. Romaine, a Baptist evangelist, visited White Plains. A canvas revealed fifteen Baptist families within a radius of a few miles. He secured the use of the Methodist Chapel on Hamilton Avenue, corner of Spring Street, and the first meeting was held on Sunday, November 6th, 1870. It was first decided to organize the Church immediately, but on the following Sunday, November 13th, the vote to organize a Baptist Church on November 22nd was reconsidered. Instead a council from neighboring churches was called on that date. This council recommended the organization of a Baptist Church at an early date. Mr. Romaine believing he had completed his task, left White Plains to devote his entire time to the work at Purdy’s Station where he was endeavoring to establish another Baptist Church.
On November 23rd, a committee was appointed to confer with the officers of the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York. This committee received the assurance of financial aid, and the Reverend J.B. Morse was invited to take up the work in December 1870. On February 5th, 1871, a committee of five was appointed to make all the necessary arrangements for establishing a permanent organization. On March 21, 1871, the organization was finally effected, with twenty-one members; and the First Baptist Church of White Plains had its birth, with Reverend J.B. Morse as its pastor.
First church for First Baptist Church of White Plains 1871 to 1924.
The Sunday School was organized the second Sunday in April. A council of recognition was called June 1, 1871. This council consisted of 45 delegates, two members of the American home Mission society, and 43 people from twenty-two of the neighboring Baptist Churches. After an examination of the affairs of the Church, it was unanimously resolved “that this council approves the organization of the First Baptist Church of White Plains, and that we proceed to recognize it as a regular independent Baptist Church in accordance with the usage of our denomination.” In the afternoon of June 1, recognition services were held in the building of the Dutch Reformed Church which then stood on Mamaroneck Avenue near Martine. On this occasion, the sermon was preached from the text Acts 16: 5, by Dr. J.T. Backus; the prayer was given by Reverend Christopher Rhodes; the hand of fellowship was extended to the Church by Reverend J.R. Kendrick; all of New York; and the charge to the Church was made by Dr. William Hague of Orange, New Jersey.
On May 4th, the first addition occurred; Edward H. Loyd uniting on experience. The first baptism occurred on July 30, 1871, when Mrs. George Hopkins was baptized in the Bronx River. Sometime later, Charles E. Fogg and his wife were also baptized in the Bronx River. The ordinance since has been administered in the baptistry.
During the summer of 1871, negotiations were made, which partly through the efforts of the Church and largely through the liberality of Messrs. Trevor and Colgate of Yonkers, resulted in the purchase of the church building by the Mission Society from the Dutch Reformed Church. Commencing August 20th, the Church began to hold their regular meetings in this building. The dedication service was held September 23rd. The Church was admitted to membership in Southern New York Baptist Association about October 1, 1871.
NEW PLANS FOR THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF WHITE PLAINS
On April 16, 1956, the church voted to accept the master plan submitted by the Long Range Planning Committee; a purchaser for the Maple Avenue building was found; and plans were approved for the present church building.
On September 28, 1958, we left the building on Maple Avenue. Since the new church was still under construction, but far from complete, we held services in the Sunnycrest mansion until December 25, 1960, when we moved into the new sanctuary, Christmas day!
The new Sanctuary and Christian Education building were dedicated on March 12, 1961.
Second Church of First Baptist Church of White Plains 1925 - 1958
WOMEN OF THE CHURCH
The women of the church have played a major role in its development over the years.
The Ladies Mite Society, according to early records, was organized at a meeting held at the parsonage on May 17, 1871, and as late as 1886 Pastor Covell reported that this Society was still maintaining a useful existence, though but few meetings had ever been held.
The Ladies Aid Society was also organized in 1871, and in the late eighties this society appears to have passed out of existence.
The Ladies Baptist Social Union was introduced about this time, and subsequently again became known as the Ladies’ Aid Society, and was still an active Society at the church in 1921. From 1871 to 1921 these societies added materially to the financial support of the Church.
During the early twenties it was felt that more emphasis should be given in the Ladies’ Aid to the work in the mission field. Undoubtedly there was pressure from the Northern Baptist convention headquarters and the Women’s City Society, so the name “Ladies’ Aid” was dropped, and the Women’s Society and the Women’s Missionary Society were formed, meeting at different times. About that same time there was a movement to start Sunday School instruction classes for women—one to interest mature women called “Philathea” was started by Mr. Pruden, Mrs. Mosher’s father, who was the teacher for the several years of existence. It was succeeded by the Women’s Bible class, founded by Mrs. Charles Wilson and Mrs. C.O. Wright, which flourished for a number of years, with very able teachers.
In that same early twenties period, a class for younger women was formed and called “Philarega”. Besides the Sunday morning class, it met one evening a month for a program and refreshments. In the late twenties, the Sunday attendance dwindled and it became only an evening society still called “Philarega”.
In 1937 there was a strong feeling by a number of women who were members of all three societies, that they should join and become one society and let personal interest indicate the involvement each should pursue. So the Women’s Guild came into being, meeting for an afternoon meeting once a month, with three afternoon groups and a group of business women or young mothers one evening a month, known as the Evening Group of the Guild.
In 1951 the American Baptist Convention organized the American Baptist Women, which is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year. They set up an organizational format for women’s societies to follow with more meaningful names for the various officers. This format was later revised and in both instances our Guild was completely cooperative and adopted the new set-up and nomenclature.
In 1955, with the arrival of our beloved Elizabeth Davidson, we were introduced to the idea of breaking up into smaller circles to meet in the homes once a month in addition to the general meeting; one circle for young women under thirty-five; the other nine circles to have membership drawn every second year.
Also in 1955 the Dinner Section of the Women’s Guild came into being. It was organized according to suggestions put out by the American Baptist Women and was to provide a Guild experience for business and professional women. One of its goals was to provide for women outside the Baptist membership who enjoyed the fellowship of Christian women as well as for our own members.
CHURCH SCHOOL
One of the earliest actions of the Church was the formation of a Sunday Church School. By the turn of the Century, this had grown to a membership of 137 with no attempt to organize classes.
Today, we have a graded Church School with classes from the Cradle up. Devoted teachers lead our young people into a knowledge of the Bible and the Christian Religion. Among the most conscientious of these is Mrs. Ruth Leopold who has taught for over 42 years in the primary department. Because of the location of our Church and the nature of the businesses of our members, both the Church and Sunday School attendance varies greatly. Our membership is constantly changing as families move to other areas and new ones take their place.
During the years, we have organized a Philarega Class for Young Women, a Men’s Club which was active until the building of the new Church made it impossible to find an open night to meet. The Couples Club operated for many years and by their projects provided the Church with some of the things that could not be included in the Budget.
CHOIR AND ORGAN
For many years our choir was under the direction of Mrs. Elizabeth Cross and was one of the outstanding choirs of the county. In recognition of her long devoted service, on June 3, 1954, a party was given honoring her.
When the new church building was built, consideration was given to moving the organ from the Maple Avenue Church; but it was decided that the organ would not stand the move. Mr. Clinton Tucker, one of the public spirited citizens of White Plains, gave the Church a fine new organ. After the death of Mrs. Cross in December 1962, Mr. William Mount-Burke came as our organist and remained until spring of 1971 when Mr. Elwyn F. Spangler took over the direction of the choir.
Under the direction of these fine organists and choir directors, many fine productions were offered. The presentation of the Messiah every December by Mrs. Cross was a community event. Mr. Mount-Burke; directed and produced many outstanding programs, the most dramatic of which was The Seven Last Words which required the cooperation of the entire church.
OUTREACH
The efforts of the members have not been confined to church activities only. In 1918, Oak Troop 1 of the Girl Scouts was organized at the First Baptist Church and Ruth Miller (Mrs. Wilbert McKinlay) became the first leader. This was a very active troop and won many awards at the Westchester County Scout rallies. Later on, in the 1920’s, Eleanor Hayes organized and maintained a troop at the Jennie Clarkson Home for more than ten years and Vivian Hall (Mrs. Edwin Kirkham) had a troop at the Westchester Branch of the New York Orthopedic Hospital. Elizabeth Mosher ( Mrs. Harry Steck) was active as an assistant and later became a member of the White Plains Girl Scout Council.
For many years the Church broadcast the services on station WFAS, a great blessing for the shut-ins.
We also have a deep interest in the Jennie Clarkson Home in Valhalla. Our church school has classes for the Jennie Girls and when Mrs. Cross was the organist, she trained a fine choir from there. One year the Jennie Choir on the Metropolitan Choir Contest. We had representation on the Board and also the Auxiliary.
In 1970 the Church was honored when Dr. and Mrs. Davidson were chosen by the Foreign Mission Board to go with several others to Africa to visit some of our Mission Stations. When Baptist Headquarters were in New York, we were fortunate to number among our members many who were associated with that group. As a result, during the Pastor’s vacation, we have been privileged to hear many outstanding preachers without going outside the church membership.
As of 1971, over a fifty year span, the following young men have been ordained in our church: Horance Hunt, Charles Andrews, Richard Bergren, John Totten, and James Palm.
Certain of our members are entitled to special mention. In addition to Ruth Leopold, we are indebted to Fran and Ben Murello who came with us from the Maple Avenue Church and who have served faithfully far beyond the normal call of duty. Ben Murello had served as custodian for thirty-two years, and is beloved by all, having become Uncle Ben to several generations of children.
BAPTIST YOUTH FELLOWSHIP
The young people of the Church created a Baptist Youth Fellowship (B.Y.F.) in place of the old Christian Endeavor. Over the years we have had several excellent Directors of Christian education who have directed the Youth work with the aid of very fine lay helpers. In recent years the young people of the Church have earned money to buy a Jeep for a mission in South America. Every year they go on a retreat where they plan their work and discuss their problems. Fin 1967 Mr. Donald Porter, our Director of Christian Education took several of them abroad to the Baptist World Youth Conference in Berne, Switzerland. In 1971 they planned a trip to Haiti on a Youth Mission Observation Tour.
EXPANSION
When the new church was built, provision was made for Church School in the rooms on the first floor. Other rooms in the Wilson House were used and it seemed that we had adequate provisions for classes to last some time. It was then discovered that the building did not meet the requirements of the city for holding classes, and in 1968 another campaign to raise funds to build a social hall and religious education building was started. The corner stone was laid on November 28, 1968, and the building was dedicated in April 1969.
The added facility has made it possible for us to be of additional service to the community, since Schizophrenics Anonymous, the College club, Al Anon and several others hold their meetings there.
As we have shown above, long time membership is uncommon, due to the nature of the work of our parishioners. In recognition of this, on June 9, 1969, a special service was held honoring those who had been members of the church for 40 years or more.
MISIÓN BAUTISTA
We are honored to share our sanctuary with Misión Bautista.
The Westchester Hispanic Baptist Mission Church was started by members of the First Baptist church who had a vision since 1960 to establish a Hispanic group within the American Baptist congregation.
In 1973, the Afif family began visiting our church. Later with the support of Dr. Ralph Elliot and other members a Sunday school class was started in Spanish. The idea was to reach out into the community of White Plains and send invitations to Latino families to join our Spanish study. People began to attend the Bible classes led by Alba Afif, meeting in the Wilson House library.
On March 15, 1981 the church celebrated the first Spanish church service. That same year the Board of Deacons with the support of the Hispanic church called Pastor José Valencia to strengthen and consolidate the work of the church which officially organized on February 19, 1985.
Mision Bautista, as we refer to it today, continues to grow and on a Christmas Sunday over 65 people attended the Worship Service. An English teaching program started with one on one teaching, an approach which allows a more personal relationship to be offered for the worship life of the church. This program was directed by Mrs. Anne Prance. Dr. Leon moved on and a new chapter began under the youthful, enthusiastic leadership of Mr. Jose Matos and later Rev. Franklin Pazos Martinez.
The board encouraged the Hispanic families to become members of the First Baptist Church rather than stay a separate body. The J. Serra family was the first Hispanic family to join and later the Afif’s. The future looks bright and confident for the witness of First Baptist Church and the enlargement of this congregation’s family.
A NEW CHAPTER
Over the years, First Baptist Church of White Plains has been a beacon of faith and community, embracing diversity and inclusivity. In a significant move towards unity, the church board actively encouraged Hispanic families to integrate into the main congregation rather than forming a separate body. This initiative was warmly received, and the J. Serra family became the first Hispanic family to join our church, setting a precedent for others. Following them, Juan and Alba Afif also embraced membership, further enriching our church family with their presence and participation.
Under the dynamic leadership of our current Pastor, the Reverend Frank T. Fraley, First Baptist Church continues to thrive and grow. Pastor Fraley’s vision and dedication have inspired confidence and optimism about the future. His commitment to fostering a welcoming and supportive environment for all members has been instrumental in our ongoing efforts to expand our congregation.
The future indeed looks bright for First Baptist Church as we continue our mission to witness and spread the love of Christ. With a diverse and growing membership, we are poised to make an even greater impact in our community and beyond. The enlargement of our congregation’s family, under Pastor Fraley's leadership, signifies a new chapter of growth, unity, and spiritual enrichment. We look forward to welcoming more families and individuals into our church, where everyone can find a home and a place to grow in their faith.
