In Cambridge's Central Square area, St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church is known for a ministry built around “Growing through Knowing.” Rooted in 1870, the congregation has paired AME teaching and worship with ministries for children, young adults, musicians, and neighbors in Cambridge and surrounding communities, including the Elnora Yard Food Pantry.
A Ministry Committed to Growing Through Knowing
St. Paul's individual mission is “A Ministry Committed to Growing through Knowing.” The AME mission is ministry to the social, spiritual, and physical development of all people. The vision joins the call to seek out and save the lost with service to the needy and participation in church training. The purposes are to make God's biblical principles available, spread Christ's liberating gospel through word and deed, and provide continuing programs that enhance the social development of all people.
Training is part of that vision. The objectives call for Christian discipleship and leadership, current teaching methods and materials, knowledge of AME history and significance, biblical principles, and social development applied to daily life. The church's wider ministry roster places education, African cultural activity, music, fellowship, food assistance, counseling, and prison ministry alongside worship and teaching.
Richard Allen's Legacy at Bishop Richard Allen Drive
The connection to Richard Allen is both historical and geographic. Allen, born a slave in Philadelphia in 1760, converted to Methodism, earned his freedom, and used his savings to establish Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in a former blacksmith shop in 1794. In 1816, representatives from five Black Methodist congregations organized under the AME name and elected Allen its first bishop. His emphasis on education, self-reliance, aid to people in need, and opposition to slavery shaped the denomination St. Paul joined in 1873. Locally, Bishop Richard Allen Drive carries that legacy into the present.
From Bro. Buckner's Living Room to Central Square
St. Paul is the oldest black church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its story begins in 1870, when a small group of committed Christians met in the living room of Bro. Buckner seeking a place to worship. The group affiliated with the AME Church in 1873, and a rapidly growing congregation soon purchased land at Hastings and Portland Streets for a larger house of worship. Rev. Dallas Turner filled the pulpit temporarily. Henry Buckner, for whom the church's school was later named in 1974, became its second pastor. The early roster included nine stewards, seven trustees, nine stewardesses, an organist, and a Sunday School superintendent. In 1877, the congregation organized its first missionary society, the Margaret Hazel Missionary Society, named for a devoted worker.
By the era of World War I, growth had outpaced the original building. In the early 1920s, under Rev. C. B. Lawyer, the old property was sold and the congregation purchased Wood Memorial Church, its present home. Parishioners made the move on foot from Portland and Hastings Streets. In 1974, Austin Street was renamed Bishop Richard Allen Drive in honor of the AME founder. Over more than a century, St. Paul has had more than fifty pastors, including two who became bishops, John R. Bryant and Rembert E. Stokes.
One long pastorate shaped the facilities now serving the church. Rev. Dr. LeRoy Attles served for 32 years. A nearby former bowling alley was acquired in 1988 and converted into the Christian Life Center. Its auditorium was renovated in 1998 and named the LeRoy Attles Sr. Auditorium. A 1999 renovation renewed the sanctuary, social hall, and kitchen, the same year membership grew beyond 1,500 congregants.
Later pastors continued to expand the work. Rev. Marcellus A. Norris, who arrived in 2009, strengthened the Young Adult Network, Liturgical Arts, and Married Couples ministries. His tenure brought a 25-passenger minibus, a four-bedroom parsonage, an upgraded computer laboratory, and stronger financial systems. Rev. Melvin E. Wilson, who joined in 2012, set the course for “A Ministry Committed to Growing through Knowing.” He introduced morning and evening prayer lines, an online Bible study, Sunday Church School, and online streaming of morning worship.
Sunday Worship and the Weekly Teaching Rhythm
On Sundays, Adult Church School begins at 9:00 a.m., followed by Morning Worship at 10:00 a.m. Adult Church School pauses during July and August. Worship is held at 37 Bishop Richard Allen Drive and can also be joined through Zoom. Wednesday Bible Study is held at 6:30 p.m. and pauses during July and August.
The Saturday schedule broadens the opportunities for study and fellowship. Youth Church School meets at 10:00 a.m. on the first three Saturdays and pauses during July and August. Read Through the Bible meets at 9:00 a.m. on the fourth Saturday and pauses during August. Girls' Brigade meets at 11:30 a.m. on the first and third Saturdays, also pausing during July and August. A weekday telephone prayer line includes a 6:00 a.m. session.
Finding the Church in Central Square
The sanctuary stands at the intersection of Bishop Richard Allen Drive and Columbia Street. The Christian Life Center is about one block away at 85 Bishop Richard Allen Drive, toward Prospect Street and just past Norfolk Street. It is within walking distance of Central Square T-Station. From Harvard Square, the route follows Massachusetts Avenue to Central Square, turns onto Essex Street, and then onto Bishop Richard Allen Drive, with the church one block beyond the Christian Life Center. Local parking is available. Additional directions are included in the church's location information.
The church office at 37 Bishop Richard Allen Drive is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Christian Life Center office at 85 Bishop Richard Allen Drive is open Monday through Friday during the same hours.
Music, Liturgical Arts and Creative Expression
Music has a visible place in St. Paul's life. Within the AME tradition to which St. Paul belongs, hymn singing is prominent in worship, and services are loud and spirited, with spirituals, spontaneous prayer and shouting. The congregation supports seven named choirs: Angels Without Wings, Chancel Choir, Inspirational Choir, Men's Chorus, New Temple Singers, Voices of Women Victorious, and the Young Adult Network Choir. These groups include separate young adult, men's and women's ensembles within the church's musical life.
Liturgical Arts reaches beyond singing. Its ministries include Adult Drama, Adult Praise and Worship Dance, Children of Light Dance, Divine Dance, Inspirational Teen Drama, Visual Arts, Grace Dance Ministry, Men's Liturgical Dance, and Women's Liturgical Dance. Communication ministries include audio and video, local broadcasts and visual arts. The past worship videos preserve the church's music and preaching for online viewing.
Beyond the scheduled classes and Bible reading, St. Paul names evangelism, prayer, education, an African Cultural Society and a Computer Assistance Lab. Membership Class, the Lay Organization and fellowships for married couples, men, women and young adults form another part of church life. Counseling, One Step Beyond, Safe Haven, Staying Connected, and service roles for ushers, greeters and junior, young adult and senior ushers extend that network of member participation.
Missionary and fellowship circles include the Margaret Hazel Missionary Society, Artisha Jordan Circle, Christal Layne Circle, Dorcas Sisters, Henrietta Attles Circle, Rosa Parks Circle, and the Young People and Children's Division. Prayer, evangelism, African cultural activity, marriage, men's and women's fellowship, youth participation and missionary service all have named places in the life of the congregation.
Fresh Food and Social Action
The Elnora Yard Food Pantry provides food for families and individuals in need in Cambridge and surrounding cities, with an emphasis on fresh, healthy food. The pantry distributes twice each week: Wednesdays from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. and Thursdays from noon to 2:00 p.m. It is located in the Christian Life Center at 85 Bishop Richard Allen Drive. Eligibility requires proof of residence, proof of household and an intake registration form that is renewed annually.
A volunteer team carries out the pantry's work, and Frances Lewis serves as director. Food distribution is one expression of the church's wider social action work, which also includes Prison Ministry and Counseling. Giving to the church and its pantry is available through online giving.
The Christian Life Center
The Christian Life Center gives St. Paul's ministry a setting for gatherings of many sizes. The LeRoy Attles Sr. Auditorium seats up to 200 and accommodates weddings, banquets, anniversary parties, conferences, business meetings, fundraisers and concerts. The complex also has a conference room for up to 10, equipped with a conference phone, monitor, whiteboard and Wi-Fi. Classrooms seat up to 49 and suit workshops, group work and events such as baby showers.
A commercial kitchen includes a walk-in refrigerator and freezer, stove, oven, convection ovens and dishwasher. The chapel provides a smaller setting for weddings and renewal of vows, surrounded by stained glass, woodwork and a chandelier. The center is about a block from the church and close to Central Square T-Station, making the two Cambridge addresses distinct but connected parts of the same ministry.
Leadership with a Communications Background
St. Paul's leadership includes Rt. Rev. Samuel Lawrence Green Sr. as presiding prelate, Rev. Jocelyn K. Hart-Lovelace as presiding elder, and Rev. Dr. Ellis I. Washington as senior pastor and teacher. Frances Lewis directs the Elnora Yard Food Pantry.
Washington's background combines ministry, radio and communication. He is noted as “The Voice” and “The Communicator,” and worked as a gospel radio announcer and host in Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia. His parish assignments included New Hope AME in Senoia, Mount Zion AME in College Park, St. Luke AME in Cartersville, St. John AME in Columbus and St. Matthew AME in Philadelphia, followed by Grant AME Church in Boston. At St. Matthew, membership increased and ministries were added; at Grant, his emphasis was teaching and spiritual and numerical growth.
Washington earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Columbus State University, a Master of Divinity from Turner Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center, and a Doctor of Ministry from Payne Theological Seminary. His communication experience and community engagement accompany a pastoral record centered on teaching, church growth and service beyond the congregation.
St. Paul's history stretches from Bro. Buckner's living room to a sanctuary on Bishop Richard Allen Drive, while the Christian Life Center adds space for education, worship, food assistance and larger gatherings. The church's own phrase remains its clearest expression of identity: “A Ministry Committed to Growing through Knowing.”