St. Louis, Missouri. After the 1917 East St. Louis Race Riots in Illinois, much of East St. Louis’s Black population fled the death and destruction and sought new economic opportunities across the river into St. Louis, Missouri. This birthed a new Methodist congregation under Rev. Martin Luther Jackson at Good Samaritan Methodist Episocopal Church. The goal was peace and shelter in a new urban environment. Despite hardships, the congregation is still alive today. Listen in as Pastor Ivan James and longtime church members discuss the life, times and legacy of Samaritan UMC.

Note: Since the recording of this podcast, Samaritan UMC has merged with Asbury UMC to form New Horizons UMC.

IN THIS EPISODE

00-7:36 History of the Church Beginnings

8:45 Poetry Reading

11:45 The Building on Washington and Memories

14:30 How the Race Riots Led to the New Church and Early History

18:00 A Rich and Deep Local Community

19:50 A Front-End Problem and the Three P’s

23:05 An Example of Faithfulness

27:00 How Segregation Impacted the Local Black Church

27:26 Remembering Church as a Child and Her Family’s Dedication

32:00 We Had Everything We Needed in the Community

33:45 The Children of Good Samaritan

39:00 Changes Come

41:37 Hopes for The Future 

42:45 Living the Gospel and Needed Changes

ABOUT THIS PODCAST

The Faith and Race Podcast is designed to help faithful people host conversations about race, faith and the Church. Every episode has a specific focus to help listeners intentionally think about the intersection of history, institutions, scripture, prayer, race and justice. The audio recordings bring diverse insights and experiences into churches, homes, and hearts across Missouri and beyond.

“The Saints Before Us” is the theme and focus of season three of the Faith and Race Podcast. It draws on both Hebrews 11, and its description of the cloud of witnesses, and Ephesians 4 with its directive to equip saints for the work of ministry. The phrase “saints before us” invites listeners to consider the duality of its meaning: In that, the new season of the podcast focuses on Missouri’s Black United Methodist Churches and highlights both the work of the saints that came before us and offers an invitation to the saints currently before us to carry that legacy.