Skenes Chapel Holiness Church, located at 350 Martin Luther King Drive, has a special history. According to a News & Record article, from December 2010, "(t)he church was built in 1907 and was one of the first in the nation to have an ordained female pastor, Bishop A. J. Lewis Richmond (established 1913)." According to the article, the church was purchased from the Quakers in 1958. While the building is still structurally sound, the last century has taken its toll on this majestic building.
A poigniant story of Skenes Chapel begins in August, 2010, when Chad McMurray was violently murdered in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Chad was raised in Greensboro and attended Skenes Chapel. He was passionate about helping his church raise the money for a new roof, paint, and other, much needed, repairs. Chad's friends have continued his fundraising effort. Leo Reitzel, owner of Reitzel Custom Builders, has generously agreed to take on the roofing job in memory of Chad, his high school classmate. Bank of America maintains the memorial fund for accepting donations. Chad's mother, June McMurray, plans to establish a chapter of Parents of Murdered Children at Skenes Chapel.
While the church doesn't appear to have a website, you can listen to the choir sing, The Lord is my Light, here, on YouTube.
Looks like quite a solid church building! I wonder what it looks like inside? (hint, hint)
We had one of the first senior female pastors at our urban Lutheran church - amazing to think that that was a big deal back then!
Posted by: leif hagen | Sunday, June 05, 2011 at 08:58 AM