In Touch With Historic Turner Chapel A.M.E. Church
By Betty Miller Buttram
Contributing Writer, FWIS
There is a gothic architectural building located on the corner of East Jefferson Boulevard and Harmar Street. The building was erected in 1927 by the Calvary United Brethren Church congregation, and in 1963, Turner Chapel A.M.E. Church purchased it. It has occupied that corner since 1965, but the church had its beginnings at a different location.
The land purchased for Turner Chapel A.M.E. Church was in 1869, and the church occupied the southeast corner of Webster and Washington Streets for the next 46 years. During those years, the church grew and found itself needing a new home. In 1915, construction began on the same lot as the first church, took two years for completion, and served as the East Wayne Street Center. In 1963, the church had grown again after another 46 years. The congregation purchased Calvary United Brethren Church on the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Harmar Street. After extensive renovations, the congregation moved in on January 3, 1965.
Turner Chapel A.M.E. Church is the oldest and the first Black church in Fort Wayne and is dedicated to its religious, cultural and educational accomplishments. The documented church history is in public records and also the Richard Allen Cultural Center located within the church. Richard Allen was the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and his Christian leadership lives within the body of the A.M.E. Church. The church is named after the first African American A.M.E. Church Bishop, Henry McNeal Turner.
Turner Church has weathered changes over the years but has survived with perseverance as the congregation held on to its faith, hope and love of their Christian faith and prayed.
Recently, the Fort Wayne City Council and Mayor Tom Henry designated Turner Chapel A.M.E. Church a locally designated historic district and the church changed its name to Historic Turner Chapel A.M.E. Church. With that designation, the church became enthusiastic about its place in the history of the city.
In March of this year, after the restrictions on the COVID Pandemic were lifted, the church opened its doors for in-person service. The Women’s Fellowship Ministry of the church was preparing for a Women’s History Month program on Zoom when the announcement came from Rev. Kenneth C. Christmon that the doors of the church would be open again after two years. The Zoom presentation was abandoned by the Women’s Fellowship Ministry, and the program took on a live performance in the Richard Allen Cultural Center on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at 4 p.m. It was celebration time—historic designation and in-person service.
The program titled “Women of Courage” honored two African American woman ancestors with enactments of their lives along with Spoken Word.
Sarah Mapps Douglass (1806-1882) was born into a prominent family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was an educator and abolitionist who devoted her life to the anti-slavery movement through her work as a writer and an educator. She exposed discriminatory practices among the Quakers, was a founding member of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society and ran a progressive Philadelphia school for 50 years. Her spirit came into the present that Saturday afternoon by the dramatic performance of Anita Dortch, a retired Fort Wayne Public School principal. Dortch gave a spellbinding performance which captured the audiences attention in the telling of Douglass’ life experiences during the times of being Black and a woman.
Rebecca J. Cole (1846-1922) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was a physician, organization founder and social reformer. In 1867 she became the second African American woman to become a doctor in the United States. Tonya Stevenson brought her into Turner Chapel that afternoon with a vibrant performance of her life history and experiences as being a Black female physician during her lifetime.
Jade Henry, an eighth grader, gave the Spoken Word. She not only recited poems, like “I’m Somebody,” and “Harriet Tubman Don’t Take No Stuff,” but also put body language into these words. She also rendered a third poem about Black ancestry. Dortch, recited, “Still I Rise,” by Maya Angelou and asked for participation from the audience at the mention of the words, “and still I rise.” The audience responded enthusiastically to this participation in the program.
Rev. Frederica Lynch Lupkin of Turner Chapel began the program with the Welcome/Prayer and Scripture and requested that the audience end the program with the singing of the Negro National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Karla Doty, another faithful Turner Chapel member, took the lead vocal and the audience sang along.
All of this took place in the Richard Allen Cultural Center where there is a visual history of African American ancestors and the Henry McNeal Turner Library with a wealth of Black history.
Historic Turner Chapel A.M.E. Church is celebrating its designation and the reopening of its doors.
The congregation is working on a campaign to raise financial support to maintain the church building with hope, faith, and love that those donors will come forth with their monetary assistance.