Last week, a group led by Rev. William Barber gathered in Wilson to take their first steps on a three-day march to Raleigh. The mobilization event, dubbed This Is Our Selma Love Forward Together, draws attention to “unabridged voting rights; living wages and ending poverty; welcoming immigrants; embracing religious values of mercy, grace, empathy and not religious nationalism; supporting fully funded public education; guaranteeing health care for all; spreading love, not hate; keeping peace, not ICE raids and unchecked militarism; saving our environment instead of turning it over to the polluters; letting the people be in control, not a few millionaires and technocrats; and health care for all.” The marchers set forth from Saint James Christian Church on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in East Wilson.
Per its website, in “1917, Saint James Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ was founded by George and Daniel Dupree (two laymen brothers who lived in the community). The church’s ministry began as a Sunday School. The Church’s name was changed in 1966 to Saint James Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Our anniversary is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in the month of May. Saint James Christian Church has called five Senior Pastors: Rev. George Washington Little (1917-1920); Bishop Wilbert B. Parks (1920-1959); Rev. Amos Artis, Sr. (1959-1976); Rev. Dr. Charles E. Barnes (1979-2020); and Interim Pastor Rev. Mary Ann Glover (2020-2021). On December 1, 2021, the Reverend Dr. Della J. Owens was called to serve as the Senior Pastor.” The church’s history includes this photograph of an early church building.
The Dupree brothers lived in Pitt County, so it was not clear to me which community was indicated here. Researching Saint James’ history is complicated by by what appear to be related churches in neighboring counties that were also called “Saint James” and shared pastors; by the number of unrelated churches in Wilson and neighboring counties called “Saint James”; and by an apparent switch from Free Will Baptist to Church of Christ Disciples of Christ.
The first recorded Wilson County property purchased by the church was a one-acre lot in Saratoga township, adjacent to “Old Speight’s Chapel Church.” Trustees Charles Ruffin Sr., Charles Ruffin Jr., and Howard Barrett handled the transaction for the church, paying $225 on 6 July 1946. Deed Book 325, page 48. It is not clear that a church was built here though, as newspapers references to Saint James place it in Fountain, a few miles into Pitt County. In fact, it appears that Saint James built its first church in Wilson only in the late 1990s, when the present building was constructed. Nonetheless, wherever it met, Saint James was active in Wilson County from at least the 1940s.
History courtesy of stjamesdoc.org.
