Washington Street Baptist Church

A well-known Paducah artist, Violet Welty, made the painting above the baptistry. She had waived the charge of the painting in honor of Sara Kelly, who ushered for the church for 45 years.

In total, the church has had 17 pastors since its pre-civil war years. Pastor Raynarldo Henderson, originally from Chicago, Illinois, has been with the church for 31 years, with just eight more to catch the longest running minister—Reverend Dupee. Reverend Dupee had been with the church for 39 years. “We have a pastor that does not mind sitting down and taking the time to talk to all of us. He’s right there for all of us,” shares Jackie Robinson who runs the church’s REACH ministry. “Always a phone call away, door knock away, always concerned. Always.”

“One of our overarching themes is our connection to God and connection to each other,” shares Shonda Burres. “We are a people-oriented and a people-invested church. We are intentional in connecting to God’s people and meeting their needs.” Shonda is an Associate Minister for the church. “Washington Street does it well. I think Washington Street has the largest school supply distribution back to school party every year. Everything is 100% free. It’s a huge partnership with the community.”

Among other ministry programs, Washington Street Baptist Church has been running a warming center for the last two years. They have about 20 people at a time staying in their warming center and they want to expand their reach. The church wants to start a non-profit organization and erect a two-story building in place of the current warming center. Starting a non-profit would allow the church to apply for grants. “It would be an opportunity to not just give a person a week’s stay or a three-month stay, but also something that is going to be lasting for them,” Pastor Henderson shares, “where we can help them get on their feet and help them find jobs and all of the other assistance they need.”

“I want Washington Street Church to be a seven-daysa-week church,” Pastor Henderson says. “We want to be a place where you can go and get something, you can get food, you can get rent assistance. I want people to be on staff to help at all times. We often ask our church, if Washington Street was no longer here would the community know the difference or would they even care.”

Members of the church have so much pride for what their church accomplishes. Many reminisce about the extraordinary talents they have heard in the church’s choir programs. Mary Sledd, who joined the church in 1927 was committed to preserving the history of the church. She passed away in 2005 and left behind written memories of the church that she and past congregants remembered . “I sat spellbound looking at Mrs. B.A. Dawson playing the organ,” she writes. “I sat hypnotized from the first grade at five years of age until now. The same amazement under Mrs. Dawson and the choir of yesteryears have continued through the years until today.”

Washington Street Baptist Church has always existed in some physical form at the same site, but it’s not the physical structure that makes this church special. The church’s long history is no doubt grounded in the loving spirit of individual parishioners who still embody that of those who worshipped in a log cabin more than a century and a half ago.