Cleveland native the Rev. Dr. Perry Rice, associate minister of plans and programs of First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Cookeville, will be the guest speaker with music provided by The Men of Praise.
Tickets for the banquet may be purchased for $35 each.
Green’s Chapel, currently under the pastoral leadership of Rev. Dr. Harry M. Johnson, was established in 1885. This was a little more than 20 years from slavery, a time when black churches gained their independence during and after the Civil War.
During the years following emancipation, blacks had experienced a growing restlessness with sitting in newly constructed balconies and rear pews of white churches.
In May, 1874, the black Cumberland Presbyterians were able to pull away and convene their own General Assembly in Nashville.
Soon after, a group of dedicated Charleston citizens realized the need for a church for black Americans of the Cumberland Presbyterian faith.
These pioneers organized the Colored Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Charleston in 1885. The church was located in the Charleston Cemetery.
It was the first church building to be owned by blacks in Charleston, as other blacks worshipped in school buildings.
In 1924, the church, later renamed to Green’s Chapel Colored Cumberland Presbyterian Church, moved to its present location on the corner of Wool and Church Streets.
The church’s name evolved from Colored Cumberland Presbyterian Church to Second Cumberland Presbyterian Church and then later to Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America.
Johnson became pastor in December 2000. Under his leadership, the church has experienced significant growth.
