Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church has stood at 1161 East 105th Street in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood since 1947, when its members marched from the Phyllis Wheatley Association on Cedar Avenue to a former Jewish synagogue that the young congregation had purchased outright. Eighty years on, the church still calls that corner home, surrounded by parking lots the congregation acquired one city block at a time and topped by a sign that announces it as "Everybody's Church, Presenting Everybody's Christ." The building, the choirs, the missions circles, and a half-million-dollar endowment are the visible fruits of a congregation that has measured its life by faith and by footwork.
From a March on Cedar Avenue to a Cornerstone on 105th
The story begins on December 16, 1945, when 250 people left Triedstone Baptist Church and walked to the Phyllis Wheatley Association to found Greater Abyssinia. Ten nights later, the new body extended a call to Dr. John Rollin Plummer, whose motto, "No Victory Without Labor," has shaped the congregation ever since. Under his leadership, members raised $47,000 in the first year. On April 30, 1946, they bought the synagogue at 1161 East 105th, and on November 9, 1947, they marched to it.
Dr. Plummer's pastorate ended in a fatal automobile accident on October 22, 1951. His wife, Thelma Plummer, held the church steady during the interim. In November 1952, the Reverend Henry J. Payden of Toledo accepted the call; under him, a $14,000 mortgage was liquidated, a seven-room house was added, the lower auditorium was remodeled as J. R. Plummer Memorial Hall, and five storefronts were acquired. His tenure ended in March 1961.
On July 11, 1961, the church issued its call to the Reverend Emmitt Theophilus Caviness, then pastor of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in East St. Louis, Illinois. Within twenty months, Rev. Caviness had wiped out $63,844.99 in mortgages and cleared another $5,000 in unpaid bills. What followed was a building campaign that has not really stopped: air-conditioning, a Grand Piano, an Alan Organ, a parsonage on Chestnut Hills Drive, paved parking for one hundred cars, and, in 1995, the repaving of the lot on East 105th. In 1979, the church voted unanimously to elevate Rev. Theophilus James Caviness, the pastor's son, to the role of distinguished Co-Pastor.
The Building at 1161 East 105th
The original sanctuary has been joined by a major educational and administrative addition. On January 22, 1989, the church dedicated Phase II of its building program, which contains the E. T. and James Pitts Caviness Hall, the Kisner Chapel, a Preparation-for-Worship Room where choirs, ushers, and deacons gather before services, and a spacious lobby that opens onto the main sanctuary through a walk-up and drive-through ramp sheltered by an overhead canopy. Rest rooms on the first and second floors include special accommodations for the disabled and handicapped. A planning room, an office suite, and a modern kitchen stocked with more than $30,000 of equipment complete the addition, which was built for nearly one million dollars and paid for as members went.
The building tells the congregation's story in smaller ways too. The "Tree of Life," displayed in the lobby, lists the names of members, organizations, and friends whose giving above and beyond tithes and offerings funded the addition; the names are inscribed on pews, stained glass windows, choir chairs, doors, and the wayside pulpit. Near the ramp, the "Fountain of Life," completed in 1990, sits at the center of a garden of prayer, ringed by a brick wall on which men of the church have immortalized their names. A wayside pulpit at the front of the church displays the name of the church, the pastor, the co-pastor, and the order of service.
In 1984, the church received a grant of nearly three million dollars to build the seventy-unit Greater Abyssinia - Caviness Tower, a senior citizens' housing complex at East 105th and Superior Avenue, co-sponsored by the Black Economic Union and managed by Hallmark Management. The tower remains a companion ministry to the church itself, with church family and community members living side by side.
Sunday Mornings and Wednesday Nights
Sunday School opens the day at 9:00 a.m., followed by the worship service at 11:00 a.m. Members gather in person and on YouTube, where the livestream carries the service to those at home or in the hospital. On Wednesdays, Bible Study meets at 6:00 p.m. and the Prayer Meeting follows at 7:00 p.m. Both Wednesday gatherings are open by conference call for those who cannot come in person. Worship is rooted in the African American Baptist gospel tradition: scripture, prayer, sermon, and the full-throated sound of six choirs taking turns in the loft.
The Senior Pastor, Rev. Dr. E. Theophilus Caviness, has presided over the church since 1961. Co-Pastor Rev. Theophilus J. Caviness, Sr., often called the "Minister of Music," stands beside him and sings each Sunday. Associate Ministers include Rev. Rhonda Lawrence, Rev. Ruby D. Holland, and Rev. Hubert Littleton. Rev. Holland, who in 2023 became one of the first women admitted to the Baptist Ministers Conference of Cleveland and Vicinity and the first woman ever to bring a message to that body, also leads Quiet Strength Ministry Outreach, a nonprofit she founded during the pandemic to serve the elderly and the wider community.
Six Choirs in the Loft
The Music Ministry is one of the most visible parts of Greater Abyssinia's identity. The Sanctuary Choir, organized more than fifty years ago by Mrs. James Pitts Caviness, the late First Lady and a classically trained contralto, leads worship on the first and second Sundays of each month and gives an anniversary concert each year. Under the direction of Professor Tremell Yarbrough, the choir continues its founder's aim of presenting "sacred music" in touch with African American heritage, blending anthems, spirituals, and hymns.
The Evangelistic Choir, now directed by Christian Tyson, traces its roots to twenty young people who asked the newly arrived Rev. Caviness in 1963 whether they could start a choir. They debuted on the third Sunday of March that year. As they grew older, the group renamed itself the Evangelistic Choir and took its music into nursing homes, hospitals, children's homes, and correctional facilities across Cleveland and beyond. Seven ministers have come out of the choir's ranks.
The Gospel Choir, directed by Tremell Yarbrough, the Anointed Youth Choir under Jordan Prewitt, the Youth and Angels Choir under Lesterine Robinson, and the Male Chorus, founded by the late Professor Pemberton Steele and now directed by Mark Thompson, round out the rotation. Together they fill the sanctuary with the sound that has defined the church for generations.
Dancing, Stepping, and Stepping Out
The Praise in Motion Liturgical Dance Ministry organizes the church's movement ministries. Praise Dancers, coordinated by Eula Felton and Chan'lle Johnson, lead worship with dance. The Caviness Steppers for Christ, led by Deacon Jacques O. Smith, Sr., bring a stepping tradition into the sanctuary, while the Praise Warriors, under Elnora Davis and Jeneatha Wilson, extend the dance ministry to another generation. Together, they turn the loft and the floor into a single offering.
The Word-in-Motion Youth Ministry
The Youth Department and Word-in-Motion Youth Ministry, directed by Deacon Aaron D. Edith, serve young people ages five through twenty, with older members welcome to participate. The ministry gathers in the Multi-Purpose Room on the first and fourth Sundays at 10:30 a.m. On the first Sunday, the young people share Holy Communion before splitting into groups for a lesson and one-on-one conversations. On the fourth Sunday, they repeat the pattern without communion. The goal, in the ministry's own words, is to teach young people "how to use what they are taught about the Bible on Sunday and apply it to their lives throughout the week," to build confidence in Christ, and to show them there is a Heavenly Father who always has their back. An annual Black History Program is a highlight of the year.
The Sunday School Department, under General Superintendent Deaconess Claudia Marie Ivy-Jackson, anchors Bible teaching for every age. The Music Ministry's two youth choirs, the Youth and Angels Choir and the Anointed Youth Choir, give younger singers a place in the rotation that defines the church's worship.
Deacons, Deaconesses, and the Department of Missions
The Deacon and Deaconess Boards keep the spiritual life of the church in motion. Deacon Ronald E. Kisner chairs the Deacon Board, with Deacon Gregory Bohanon, Sr. and Deacon Jimmie L. Wilson serving as co-chairmen; Deaconess Mary H. Davis leads the Deaconess Board. The boards support worship, assist at the altar, and shepherd the congregation through baptisms, communion, weddings, and funerals.
The Department of Missions, under Deaconess Patricia G. Patterson, organizes the women's fellowship into seven mission circles - Abigail, Deborah, Lydia, Martha, Naomi, Nannie Helen Burroughs, and Queen Esther - and the Hattie Jackson Guild Girls, a group for younger women coordinated by JoAnn Moore. Each circle gathers for Bible study, fellowship, and service, sustaining the missionary work that has been part of the church since its earliest years.
The Usher Ministry, led in three units under presidents Jacqueline Wright, Adella Perkins, and the young people's boards led by Azad Robinson and Asim Robinson, greets worshipers each week. The Progressive League, organized in 1953 with seven members and now led by Clarice Williams, meets on the second Sunday of each month in the Multi-Purpose Room to support the church financially and to plan trips and fellowship activities.
Life Applications and Christian Education
The Life Applications Christian Education Ministry gathers members in small-group study, treating the curriculum like a book club to develop Christian character and draw closer to God. Its mission, drawn from 2 Timothy 2:15, is to give Christians "knowledge, perspective, conviction, skills and character" and to equip them for the work of the Great Commission.
Alongside it, the Media Ministry under Deacon London Carter, Deacon Theophilus J. Caviness, Jr., Deaconess Barbara Parnell, and Matthew Parnell handles the technology that brings the church's services online, from livestream to recorded audio. The church maintains a podcast of music, prayers, and sermons, and offers an app with daily scripture, event notifications, and giving.
The Social Development Committee
Organized in 1967 at the initiative of Pastor Caviness, the Social Development Committee keeps the church and its neighbors informed about issues in education, employment, health, and welfare that affect Cleveland's citizenry. Over the years, the committee has run college-bound workshops, NAACP membership drives, Urban League drives, a 1978 political forum featuring Arnold Pinkney and others, and an Awaken Fact Forum whose panelists included speakers from the Cleveland Board of Education. In 1986, the committee joined the Juvenile Offender Intervention Network. In 1987, it presented a forum on the new tax laws, and in 1988, an AIDS forum. Thanksgiving baskets for needy families and special luncheons for senior citizens have been a regular part of its work. The committee has long supported voter registration in Cuyahoga County.
The church runs a Food Bank and, in keeping with its long partnership with the wider Black community, has given thousands of dollars over the years to Selma University in Alabama to support Black higher education.
Every Member a Steward
Greater Abyssinia has long taken stewardship seriously. In one of the most dramatic gestures in its history, Rev. Caviness established a half-million-dollar gift creating the Greater Abyssinia Endowment Fund in the name of "Rev. E. T. and James Pitts Caviness," and he has since added another $300,000 to the fund, with an additional $50,000 in the year 2000. The endowment was designed to keep the church solvent and to cover emergencies above and beyond the annual budget. The Cleveland Foundation holds an additional $125,000 deposited by the church in 2000.
Members and friends support the work by texting GABC GIVE to 77977, giving online through PushPay, mailing gifts to P.O. Box 608094, Cleveland, OH 44108-3567, or contributing in person. The church's motto, drawn from Ephesians 5 and recited at the close of its history, is its quiet summary of purpose: that Christ might "present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."
Planning a Visit
Worshipers drive in from across Greater Cleveland to the church at 1161 East 105th Street. Parking is available in the lots the church has acquired and paved over decades on East 105th and on Tacoma Avenue. The front of the church is ramped for wheelchair access, with special accommodations on both floors of the Phase II building. Children are welcomed as part of the congregation; Sunday School begins at 9:00 a.m. for those who arrive early. Worship dress at Greater Abyssinia ranges from Sunday suits and dresses to choir robes, and the sanctuary fills quickly on the first and second Sundays when the Sanctuary Choir leads. Visitors who cannot attend in person can join the service on YouTube, listen to the conference call on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. and Wednesdays at 6:00 and 7:00 p.m., or subscribe to the church's podcast and app. The congregation's enduring slogan, "Everybody's Church, Presenting Everybody's Christ," still stands over the front glass doors.