Siloam Presbyterian Church has stood on Jefferson Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant since 1944, when the congregation purchased the former Central Presbyterian Church building to follow the African American families moving east and south across the neighborhood. The church's story goes back much further, to 1849, when the Reverend James A. Gloucester, a former slave and the son of the founder of the First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, organized a religious society into what became Siloam Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn. From those first years, the congregation has been shaped by resistance, education, and the conviction that the church is called to feed and shelter the people around it.
The Underground Railroad and a Long Fight for Schools
In the years before and after the Civil War, the church's meeting place on Prince Street served as a station on the Underground Railroad. Escaped slaves were given food, clothing, and refuge, and an offering of about twenty-five dollars was collected for John Brown as he passed through Brooklyn on his way to Harpers Ferry. In the late nineteenth century, the church's Literary Union, which met at Siloam even though its ranks extended well beyond the congregation, campaigned against segregation in Brooklyn's public schools, pressed for qualified Black teachers to be hired, and built public support for the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. In the late 1960s, Siloam under the Reverend Dr. Milton A. Galamison took a national role in the fight for school integration in New York City.
Eleven Pastors Across 175 Years
Eleven pastors have served Siloam since 1849. Gloucester was followed by Amos N. Freeman, who hosted John Brown; by C. H. Thompson; by W. H. Dickerson; by W. R. Lawton; by William Alexander; by J. E. Harper; by George Shippen Stark, who led the move to 260 Jefferson Avenue in 1944 and served for twenty-eight years; by Milton A. Galamison, who served for forty years and was a pioneer in religious television; by Sylvester L. Shannon, who brought intergenerational worship and a children's moment called Our Time with The Children into Sunday services; and by Darryll Young, who launched the Your Body Is a Temple health ministry in 2007 and the free Meet Your Neighbors community breakfast. The current pastor, the Reverend Eric A. Thomas, Ph.D., who has served since 2017, is the first pastor ordained at Siloam and the first openly same-gender loving pastor in the church's long history. He earned the Ph.D. in Bible and Culture from Drew University, the Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center, and teaches at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church. He also serves in leadership with the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Synod of the Northeast, and the Presbytery of New York City.
Sunday Worship at Eleven
Worship takes place on Sundays at 11:00 AM (Eastern Time) at 260 Jefferson Avenue. Siloam is a member congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and the Confession of Belhar shapes the church's understanding of its calling. The Confession of Belhar puts it this way: We believe that the church is called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, that the church is called blessed because it is a peacemaker, that the church is witness both by word and by deed to the new heaven and the new earth in which righteousness dwells. Services include the intergenerational moment Pastor Shannon introduced and gather children as well as adults. The church also gathers in distinctive ways through the year: a Good Friday service of the Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross, preached by all-women preachers with jazz interludes; a Jazz and Social Justice service held in partnership with Bedford Central Presbyterian Church, Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, and First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn; a Martin Luther King Sunday observance with the Psi Lambda Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated; and a World AIDS Day commemoration with Gay Men of African Descent and the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries. Worship is available online as well.
The Food Pantry on Wednesdays
The food pantry at Siloam began in the early 1960s as the Deacon Board Food Pantry. Since the early 1990s it has been supported by the New York City Food Bank and the United Way. Today the pantry is open on Wednesdays from 9:30 AM to noon, and guests are asked to bring a valid ID and proof of address. The pantry welcomes everyone from Bedford-Stuyvesant and beyond, providing what the church describes as priceless nutrition for the neighborhood.
Your Body Is a Temple: A Health Ministry
Siloam's Your Body Is a Temple health ministry, founded in 2007 and named for 1 Corinthians 6:19, runs health fairs, workshops, prayer services, and free screenings for HIV, hepatitis C, blood pressure, and blood glucose. The ministry has long received support from the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS as part of the New York City Council faith-based HIV/AIDS initiative, and since 2017 has partnered with the New York City Department of Health's faith-based initiative on blood pressure screenings, mental health first aid training, and healthier eating at church events. A prayer wall in the sanctuary holds the names of loved ones in need of prayer for the month's designated illness. Free HIV testing is offered on the fourth Saturday of each month from 10:00 AM to noon, paired with the Meet Your Neighbors community breakfast.
The Dorcas Ministry and the Homeless
Named for the disciple in Acts who was always doing good and helping the poor, the Dorcas Ministry is led by Abera Amsterdam and Christina Amsterdam. Its mission is to provide people with emergency assistance for their essential human needs, and the ministry has distributed warm meals and HIV information at sites around Brooklyn, including the Atlantic Armory.
A Building Shared with the Neighborhood
Under Pastor Thomas, the church's parish house has become a hub for community partners. Park Slope United, a Brooklyn youth soccer club that began in 2012 with seven kindergarten-aged children and grew to eight hundred families, operates its PSU Clubhouse out of Siloam and offers soccer classes and teams for children from age two to thirteen, a toddler play space, adult pick-up soccer, fitness boot camps, and yoga. Bed-Stuy Kids, a group family daycare with an early childhood program, also shares the parish house. Other partnerships under Pastor Thomas's leadership include the Brooklyn chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, Covenant House, Black Women's Blueprint, and the Kingston Family Center. The Siloam Community Development Corporation of Bed-Stuy, founded under Pastor Thomas, extends the congregation's work by developing programs that empower youth, young adults, and seniors and by addressing the social, cultural, educational, and housing needs of the surrounding neighborhood.
Getting to 260 Jefferson Avenue
The church sits at 260 Jefferson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11216, a short walk from the A and C trains at Nostrand Avenue and from the B26 bus at Halsey Street and Nostrand Avenue. The phone is 718-789-7050 and the email is siloampresbk@gmail.com. Donations and contributions can be made through Zelle at Siloampresbk@gmail.com, PayPal at paypal.me/siloampresbk, Cash App at $Siloampresbk, Givelify under Siloam Presbyterian Church, or by check made out to Siloam Presbyterian Church and mailed to 260 Jefferson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11216.