As part of its yearlong 125th anniversary celebration, Ebenezer Baptist Church held a special riverside ceremony last weekend at Belle Haven Park. The natural setting gave the Sunday morning service a feel of historic authenticity, allowing members of the church to experience a worship service similar to celebrations held by their ancestors.
“Within scripture, rivers have a strong symbolic meaning,” said the Rev. Duane Kay, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. “They are symbols of life, and in the context of African-American history they served as an escape route.”
The idea to bring the worship service out of the church’s building at 909 Queen St. was the brainchild of Louise Cheatham, a deaconess at the church. She said that being so close to the Potomac River was a way to connect with the past and forge into the future.
“Water is the essence of life,” Cheatham said. “Putting the service together was a difficult task because there were a lot of logistics involved. But we knew that if we put God in the forefront, he would guide us. And he did.”
One important part of any religious service is music. Ebenezer could not set up its usual musical entourage that is at the heart of its usual weekly service — an intoxicating blend of drums, keyboards, bass and guitar. Instead, the Minister of Music Keith Exum opted for a much simpler setup.
“We had an old-time service with good, old-fashioned gospel singing,” Exum said. “It was a great experience, especially for many of those in the younger generation who have never experienced a service with just singing.”
Exum chose to start the service with “Shine on Me,” a song his grandmother used to sing to him. As the service progressed, participants sung a host of well-know spirituals including “Wade in the Water,” “Down by the Riverside” and “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.”
“For slaves to gather in worship was an illegal act,” Kay said. “That’s why they went down to the river or out into the woods.”
Kay said that the outdoor service was a refreshing change of pace, one that inspired him to look into the face of elderly church members. There, he saw a stillness and a sense of continuity between the past and the future. He could hear them humming along to the spirituals.
“You could really feel the connection and understand what it was like for our ancestors to worship,” Kay said. “This is something that’s etched in our history.”
FOR EBENEZER Baptist Church, history plays an important role. Ever since its members split from Third Baptist Church in 1881, they have considered themselves a favored people. At first, they met in the Odd Fellows Hall for Sunday school. Then, in 1882, they bought their little corner of the Parker Gray District on Queen Street for $150. The Rev. Fields Cook became pastor and construction began on the building that’s now known as the “little red church,” the congregation’s first sanctuary. When it opened, Ebenezer Baptist Church was officially born — creating a bedrock in the city’s black community that claims some of Alexandria’s most influential residents: Mayor Bill Euille, Judge Nolan Dawkins, Planning Commission member Jesse Jennings and the late community activist Helen Miller, just to name a few.
In its 125 years, the church has had only 10 pastors — with Kay taking the job on Feb. 1, 2004. A native of Fredericksburg, Kay was raised in Spotsylvania with two older sisters. He received a degree in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University and worked on several campaigns, including Douglas Wilder’s 1994 Senate campaign and Mark Warner’s 1996 Senate campaign.
Although he considered a career as a corporate lawyer, Kay felt drawn to the ministry — receiving a master of divinity in 2000 and coming to Ebenezer in 2004. Since becoming pastor at the church, he has overseen the addition of about 200 new members as well as the purchase of two nearby buildings to expand the church’s ministry. Now that the church is in the midst of its yearlong 125th anniversary celebration, he has been overseeing a wide array of events to mark the occasion. He said that last week’s riverside service was such a success that many church members have asked about doing it again.
“Many people have approached me and told me that we should be doing this every year,” Kay said. “It was certainly a beautiful service.”