A Church Older Than Its Denomination
Phillips Christian Methodist Episcopal Church sits on Winchester Road in northwest Huntsville, Alabama, in a building the congregation moved into in 1973 after generations of worship in other places. Organized in 1865, around the close of the Civil War, the church is five years older than the Christian Methodist Episcopal denomination itself, which was formed in Jackson, Tennessee in 1870 by 41 former slave members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Phillips was assigned to the first Annual Conference of the new denomination and remains the second oldest African American congregation in Huntsville.
The early years were marked by a long series of moves. Worship services were held in homes, lodge halls, and the Fred Davis School, all in "the Grove," an African American community located in the area where the church still stands. The congregation later met in a converted broom factory on West Clinton Street before purchasing Rison Chapel, an edifice on Church Street, in 1908 for $1,200. That frame building burned in 1916, and Pastor A. D. Avery, also an instructor of brick masonry at Alabama A. & M. College, and his students built a new edifice with financial help from Bishop Charles Henry Phillips. In 1922 the building was named in his honor. The mortgage on the present Davis Circle site was burned on Palm Sunday, 1994.
The CME Tradition
The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is a branch of Wesleyan Methodism founded by John Wesley in England in 1744 and established in America as the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1784. The denomination holds that Jesus Christ is the Incarnate Son of God whose life, teachings, sacrificial death, and resurrection reconciled humankind to God, and that the Holy Spirit is God's continuing presence in the world. The Bible is received as the inspired Word of God containing all things necessary for human salvation. The denomination reports approximately 850,000 communicant members in the continental United States, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, organized into eleven Episcopal Districts, nine in the United States and two on the African continent.
Phillips belongs to the Fifth Episcopal District, North Central Alabama Region, currently presided over by Bishop Clarence Kelby Heath as Presiding Prelate, with Rev. Janice Lewis serving as Presiding Elder. Phillips has produced leaders who served across the denomination: the Reverend Charles Lee Russell, pastor from 1913 to 1914, was elected the 21st Bishop of the CME Church in 1938. The Reverend Robert O. Langford launched his ministry at Phillips, served as the denomination's first General Secretary of Evangelism from 1922 until 1930, and planted Langford CME Church in North Carolina in 1912 and Brown Temple CME Church in Asheville in 1924. The Reverend Lawrence L. Reddick III, son of former Phillips pastor L. L. Reddick Jr., served as editor of The Christian Index, the denomination's official publication, for sixteen years before being elected the 51st Bishop in 1998 and rising to Senior Bishop. Mary Lula Shepherd, a Phillips member, was a charter member of the Connectional Women's Missionary Society organized in 1918.
Sunday Worship and Sunday School
Sunday mornings at Phillips follow a steady pattern. Sunday School begins at 9:00 a.m., and the worship service begins at 10:30 a.m. The schedule holds for fifth Sundays as well, with the same 9:00 a.m. Sunday School and 10:30 a.m. worship hour. The service is also livestreamed on YouTube, so members who are traveling, in the hospital, or at home can join remotely.
Visitors are warmly welcomed. The church is located at 2185 Winchester Road NW, with a mailing address of PO Box 3917, Huntsville, AL 35810. Telephone inquiries are taken at 256-534-2007, and the email address is phillipscmechurch@gmail.com. College students looking for a ride to church can use the Transportation link on the church's site to arrange a pickup with the Church Van Ministry.
Wednesday Bible Study on Zoom
Midweek teaching continues at noon on Wednesdays through Zoom. The Bible Study is open to anyone who can join online, and the Zoom link is shared through the church's regular channels. Members and friends who travel or work unusual hours use the noontime slot to stay connected with the teaching of the church during the week.
Pastor Rev. Dr. Gregory Scott
The church is pastored by Rev. Dr. Gregory Scott, who was assigned to Phillips by Bishop Teresa E. Jefferson-Snorton in July 2018. Pastor Scott was born in Phenix City, Alabama, to Elizabeth Scott Walker, and raised by his grandparents, Rev. and Mrs. J. L. Scott, a fifty-five-year pastor in the CME Church. He grew up in Auburn and Crawford, Alabama, graduated from Smith Station High School in 1981, served eleven years of active duty in the Air Force as an aircraft mechanic, and then spent seventeen years at Uniroyal-Goodrich as an industrial mechanic. He is married to Angela Scott, and through a blended family they have six children and eleven grandchildren.
Pastor Scott earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Athens State University in 2013 and a Master of Divinity, Magna Cum Laude, from Phillips School of Theology at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta in 2016, where he was inducted into Theta Phi, the international honor society for theological students. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry at Candler School of Theology at Emory, focusing on church leadership and community witness. He was baptized at St. Luke CME Church in Auburn, began preaching in October 2001 at Mt. Zion CME Church in Smith Station, was ordained a Deacon in 2002, an Elder in 2005, and admitted into Full Connection in 2007. Before Phillips he served Oak Grove CME Church in Athens, Jackson Chapel CME Church in Courtland, and Phillips Temple CME Church in Phenix City.
Music, Choirs, and the Power Praise Dancers
Music carries a central place in worship at Phillips. The Music Ministries include the Chancel Choir, Christian Voices of Faith, the Male Chorus, the Mass Choir, and the Children, Youth and Young Adult Choir (CYYAC). The Power Praise Dancers minister in movement during services and special occasions, lending another expression to the congregation's worship. Together the choirs and dancers support the singing, gospel feel, and traditional Methodist structure that shape the Sunday worship hour.
Children, Youth, and Young Adults
The church has long invested in its young people. The Children's Church Ministry serves children during worship, while the Christian Youth Fellowship gathers middle and high schoolers for Christian education, fellowship, and service. The Young Adult Ministry reaches those in the college and early-career years. A children's, youth, and young adult choir, CYYAC, brings younger voices into the music program. A College Students link connects students needing a ride to church with the Transportation Ministry.
Women Made Whole, Men in Ministry, Young at Heart
Phillips supports a rich network of adult fellowships. The Women Made Whole Ministry addresses the spiritual and practical needs of women in the congregation and the wider community. The Ministry to Men mobilizes the men of the church for discipleship and service. The Missionary Society connects Phillips to the CME Connectional Women's Missionary Society. The Young at Heart (YAH) Ministry serves the seniors of the church with fellowship, outings, and pastoral care. Together with the Lay Council, Steward Board, Stewardess Boards, Trustee Board, and the Senior and Junior Ushers, these groups make the Sunday service and the week run smoothly.
Phillips Brotherhood Community Outreach
For nearly two decades, the Phillips Brotherhood Community Outreach (PBCO) has ministered to at-risk boys in the Huntsville community. The PBCO collaborates with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, CASA, and Blossomwood School, and one highlight each year is an enrichment trip for the boys to nearby cities. The program grew out of a long Phillips tradition of community education that included Vacation Bible Schools, summer enrichment programs, a kindergarten organized by Mrs. Elizabeth Reddick in the early 1950s, a day care center operated in the 1970s, and a model after-school tutorial and mentoring program organized by the church during the late 1980s and 1990s. That earlier tutorial program was funded through dinner theaters and banquets featuring nationally known speakers, with additional support from United Way and the State of Alabama.
The Food Pantry and First Stop
The Food Pantry Ministry helps address food insecurity in the surrounding neighborhoods, and members and auxiliaries partner with First Stop by providing sleeping mats, snack packs, and hygiene bags for people experiencing homelessness. Outreach has been a strong and consistent focus of the church across generations; the church fed homeless people and met other needs for years before these formal ministries were established, and the Church served as a voting site for the Councill Court community until that community was dislocated.
The Phillips Community Enrichment Center
The Phillips Community Enrichment Center (PCEC) is the church's hub for many of these ministries and community activities. The PCEC houses the Phillips Brotherhood Community Outreach, the Women Made Whole Ministry, the Young at Heart Ministry, and the Youth Mentoring program, and it is where many of the church's gatherings, classes, and outreach efforts are organized. People interested in learning more about any of these ministries can call the church office or reach out by email for details and hours.
Giving and Staying Connected
Donations to Phillips are accepted from members and from anyone who wishes to contribute. Giving is available online through PayPal and through the church's giving link, and gifts can also be mailed to Phillips CME Church, PO Box 3917, Huntsville, AL 35810. Worship services are livestreamed on YouTube, a calendar lists upcoming activities, and a photos page captures moments from recent events. The address for in-person visits is 2185 Winchester Road NW, Huntsville, AL 35810.