April 2024 marked the 130th Anniversary of the founding of Compton Heights Christian Church. Click here for information on our 130th Celebration on November 17th.
As Compton celebrates 130th years of ministry and looks to our future in ministry, here is some information about our past. An excerpt from CHCC History, a book written by Agnes J Sierat-Taylor in 1994
On April 1, 1894, 162 people signed the charter document and dedicated a small chapel at the Corner of California and St Vincent Avenues near Lafayette Park. They had borrowed $5,500 from a private lender, a widow who belonged to another church, to build a place to conduct a new ministry, the first Disciples of Christ congregation in South St. Louis. In the charter, they created a covenant and “pledge(d) each other to do all in our power to promote peace, unity, and prosperity of the church and to extend the Kingdom of Christ in all of the world.”
In the next two years, the new church grew rapidly. So many were coming that the first pastor, Rev. J. L. Parsons, wrote in 1896 about plans to put up a tabernacle on the property that could hold 1,000 people. But tragedy struck the young congregation on May 27 of that year, when it was barely over 2 years old. A tornado devastated a large swath of South St. Louis. The little chapel sustained damage to roof, walls and floors; about 30 families lost their homes and moved out of the area. Rev. Parsons wrote: “In the judgment of many, it is not worth repairing; our congregation is poor, and many of them have left.” And they still had that $5,500 debt that they were struggling to pay the interest on every 6 months.
Nevertheless, local people donated some funds, and churches outside of the city answered an appeal to donate more, and they raised $1,100 to rebuild the chapel, larger than before. In 1900, Compton Heights consolidated its remaining debt and got its first loan from the Board of Church Extension, for $3,500. In 1902, after a merger with Fifth Christian Church, the congregation began construction on a new, larger building which was dedicated in 1903 on the original site at St. Vincent Avenue and California Avenue. Compton Heights was only 9 years old, and they would meet and serve in that place for almost 30 more years.
For more than a decade, CHCC struggled to pay off the debt from this third building and succeeded in 1919, about the same time it celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Despite financial burdens, the congregation flourished, adding new members, reaching over 500 people through Sunday School. There was an active Christian Endeavor for young people, and both foreign missions and new local congregations were supported. One of them, Clifton Heights Mission, eventually became Watson Terrace Christian Church. Another congregation assisted was Overland Christian Church. An active Christian Women’s Board of Missions offered education and outreach, and CHCC was an early supporter of Open Membership. Women were first invited to serve on the church Board in 1919.
By the early 1920s, members began to feel a need to build a new and larger church at another, more central, location. A committee of charter members was commissioned and searched for a suitable location. In December of 1924, an option was taken on property at the corner of Grand Boulevard and Flora Place, where a 20-room mansion was located. In March 1925 the Commission on City Missions and Church Extension of the Metropolitan Church federation of St. Louis approved the relocation of Compton Heights CC. The property on St. Vincent and California was sold to the Lafayette Park Church of the Nazarene for $12,000. Proceeds from the sale and contributions by members, plus a mortgage, enabled CHCC to buy the property on Grand and Flora for $40,000. But there was one little problem.
In 1927, residents on Flora Place filed suit to prevent the church from razing the mansion to build a church, because that violated covenants restricting the property to residential homes that dated to 1897. It ended up in the courts which eventually decided that the Church could occupy the mansion, or build a church, but not on the lot closest to Flora Place. (That original lot is our Peace Garden today.) In 1929, while still in litigation, CHCC rented the formerJewish Synagogue at Flad and Spring streets. This temporary solution lasted for 13 years. By 1939, a study committee reported that the church seemed to have lost some of its vision and “aggressive spirit,” and CHCC joined a national program to revitalize church membership. In 1943 CHCC was asked to buy the synagogue, or vacate it within a year. The church was not in a position to buy. The question of what to do with the property on Grand and Flora became urgent. Should they ask renters of the mansion to leave? Or sell the property and look for a new location? After study, the Board recommended that since the property was free and clear (the mortgage had been burned in November 1943) that the congregation remodel the mansion and occupy it. The congregation moved in on February 28, 1944, and Compton Heights celebrated its 50th Anniversary on April 2.
Space in the mansion was limited. The first floor had a small sanctuary with an organ in a bay window. During worship, people sat in adjacent rooms and on the steps. Classrooms were on the second floor, and youth groups used the basement. An Eden student was contracted to work for youth. Sunday school flourished. A new organ was dedicated. In 1948 two women began a nursery at the church that preceded Helping Hand Day Care Center. Children from the School for the Blind were included in Sunday School. And the Board moved forward with plans to build a sanctuary.
In 1939, W.P. Shelton, a charter member, had said to the Board, “Speaking for myself, I have never entirely lost hope that a splendid church would sometime arise and Grand and Flora. Probably I shall not see it, but the younger congregation may.” In 1949, a plan was approved to finance a new church building to be located on the south side of the mansion. A $45,000 mortgage was secured and loans borrowed from the Board of Church Extension.
The Rev Tom Underwood wrote in March, 1950: “Every now and then we wonder about the future of our church, but we have all the odds in our favor. We have wonderful people. We have an outstanding history. We have a beautiful location that is in a solid neighborhood, and within easy reach of every corner of he city We have, I believe, one of the brightest futures of any church in our city. But, it’s going to require some real sacrificial work on our part for the next several years. Right now we are faced with the problem of a new building. We need several thousand dollars before we can begin. We have faith that the money will come in. A beautiful building will mean much to our church.”
On Sunday, April 30, 1950, ground was broken for the new building. The new sanctuary was dedicated on July 1, 1951. The total cost had been $100,000. Some wondered about the size of that 10-year mortgage, but it was paid off in half of that time. In 1958, a building fund was started to raise money for a Christian Education Building and a Chapel. In 1960 Architect Kenneth Wischmeyer, who designed the sanctuary, was contracted to design the educational building. In 1962 the mansion was vacated and razed. The new education building was dedicated on June 2, 1963.
Over the years, Compton Heights CC has been known for its generosity and community service. Some members went into the mission field, and two young men dedicated their lives to Christian ministry.
In 1954, CHCC sent a financial gift to Maplewood Christian Church, whose building had been destroyed by fire. There were multiple celebrations when mortgages on the buildings or loans were paid off, often ahead of time. Students from Eden Seminary were employed as religious education directors or youth directors and eventually as pastoral interns.
In 1970, four churches including CHCC formed a covenant that established the non-profit agency known today as Isaiah 58 Ministries. The church sponsored a Teen Town for youth living in the area. A Day Care Center, Helping Hands, was started by a group of churches in 1969, and originally located at CHCC. It eventually became Cornerstone Center for Early Childhood Learning, located at 39th and Russell in the Shaw neighborhood. Compton sponsored a Boy Scout troop, and hosted other neighborhood groups.
However, times and demographics were changing. Church attendance that averaged 200 in the 1970s had diminished to about 50 by the 1990s as the influence of churches declined. People moved from the city to the suburbs, and local housing began to decay. Demographics showed more diversity in race, customs and ethnic origin. In the midst of it all, Compton made a conscious decision to remain in the city.
The Rev. Hugh Wilson in 1961 observed that although the membership was no longer confined to the neighborhood, but spread over the entire Metropolitan area, this challenge was also an opportunity. “Here is a place where people from suburbs and apartments, from all social and economic levels, from all age groups come together. We can be a living demonstration that Christian love can bind people of different backgrounds and interests together.” Noting the mobility of the city’s population, he added, “The people we win and develop may not serve long here, but if they serve elsewhere, we have done our task well.”
On April 15, 2001, Compton Heights Christian Church became one of the first congregations in the Mid-America region to declare itself Open and Affirming to the LGBTQ community. During the next two decades members would go on mission trips to India, and serve as a safe church during Black Lives Matter protests. Two accessibility projects were completed. COVID saw the congregation continuing to worship remotely on zoom and find ways to support Isaiah 58, which stayed open throughout the epidemic.
As we celebrate 130 years of service in 2024, we are continuing to “tell the story” of God’s unconditional love for all people and all of Creation. Meanwhile, congregational conversations are ongoing for how we continue CHCC’s 130-year ministry in the city.
Compton Heights Christian Church 