A 145-Year Beacon on Minneapolis's South Side
St. Peter's AME Church stands at 401 East 41st Street in Minneapolis, a quiet corner of the city's South Side that has been home to the congregation for more than 140 years. The building itself is a survivor: the original church at 22nd Street and Washington Avenue South was dedicated in 1888, burned in 1893, and a second structure on 4th Avenue South burned in 1951. The present facility, planned under Rev. Martin Luther Simmons, rose in its place, and by July 1963 the mortgage was paid off under Rev. Lovell Johnson. An education unit was added in the years that followed.
The story of the church, however, begins earlier. In March 1880 a group of "earnest, far-sighted Christian men and women" met to start a new African Methodist Episcopal worship site, the second in the city after St. James AME. They organized a mission called Neal Union Mission, then moved to 110 Washington Avenue, and chartered St. Peter's AME Church with members that included Mary Bolden, Mattie Neal, Katie Smith, Addie Glenn, Priscilla Lewis, Lizzie Carlyle, Minerva E. Barnett, Eliza and Maggie Freeman, Jennie Hilyer, Emzella Mitchell, John Neal, and Hector and Mrs. Hayes. Today the congregation is led by Pastor Rev. Dr. Tracey Gibson, with Rev. Stacey Smith serving as Presiding Senior Elder under The Rt. Rev. Fredrick Alan Wright, Presiding Bishop of the AME Church.
The motto that hangs over the life of the church captures the work plainly: "God our Father, Christ our Redeemer, the Holy Spirit our Comforter, Humankind our Family."
Sunday at St. Peter's: Hybrid Worship at Ten
Worship happens every Sunday at 10:00 AM, in person and online at the same time. Those gathered in the sanctuary and those watching from home participate together through a hybrid format that uses Streamyard, Facebook, and YouTube. The music ministry, drawing on hymns, anthems, spirituals, contemporary gospel, and traditional African-American song, is anchored by an inter-generational choir that rehearses every Tuesday evening at 6:30 PM. Masks in worship are encouraged but left to each person's choice.
Sunday School begins at 9:00 AM and welcomes adults and children for study, training, and service in the church. The Young People's Department, a long-standing AME leadership track for youth, meets every third Sunday at 10:45 AM.
Wednesday in the Word
The church gathers twice on Wednesdays for Bible Study, a one-hour deep dive into Scripture designed for both members and visitors. A noon class meets onsite and on Zoom, and an evening class meets on Zoom at 7:00 PM. The teaching rotation is led by Bro. Valton Henderson, and a library of downloadable lesson plans is available for those who want to follow along at home. Prayer also has a weekly rhythm: every Tuesday morning at 7:00 AM, anyone in the congregation or community can join a prayer call by dialing (434) 300-4188 with access code 185299#.
The Sankofa Village: Looking Back to Move Forward
The Sankofa ministry is the heart of St. Peter's outward-facing work, and it draws its name from the Akan symbol of the Sankofa bird, whose backward-turned head teaches that wisdom from the past must be brought into the present to make progress. The project began as a request from the late Rev. Nazim Fakir and was developed by Greg McMoore and a 2020 leadership team of Gloria Withers, Cynthia Simmons, and McMoore.
The flagship of the ministry is the Sankofa Community Garden, a partnership that broke ground in 2014 with financial support from St. Joan of Arc's community outreach program and the McMoore family. A U.S.D.A. grant in 2015 funded its growth, and the garden now produces organic vegetables used in the broader South Minneapolis food system, including donations to the Sabathani Community Center's food shelf. The garden also trains church and community youth in urban agriculture, healthy eating, and entrepreneurship.
The Sankofa Village wraps three pathways together: the community garden, broader community engagement to mobilize and connect neighbors, and a commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion through story telling and guided conversation circles. A 2016 collaboration with Rebuilding Together Twin Cities, the City of Minneapolis, and the National Football League brought home revitalization work to the Bryant neighborhood. A 2017 Rebuilding Together donation financed renovations to the Great Hall, kitchen, and dining room, which the Sankofa team and church partners use for community meals and gatherings.
Men, Women, and Youth in Ministry
The lay life of the church is organized into a web of ministries that meet on a regular monthly rhythm.
Brotherhood Men's Fellowship gathers every third Saturday at 10:30 AM. The men's ministry, currently chaired by Bro. Jon Anderson, is committed to "bringing men to a higher dimension of spirituality" and hosts a Twin Cities Fellowship Breakfast once a quarter to unite men with God and with one another.
Women's Ministry, facilitated by Rev. LaTonya Fakir, meets every second Monday at 6:00 PM. The group focuses on the spiritual transformation required to address the social, physical, and economic challenges of everyday living and equips women to become disciples who make disciples.
Grant Women's Missionary Society, a church-wide AME organization of women, meets every fourth Saturday at 11:00 AM to support the mission of the church through service, witness, and growth.
Lay Organization, which teaches and trains members for lay ministry and global leadership, meets every fourth Saturday at 10:00 AM, instilling a love for the history, tradition, and principles of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
YPD, the Young People's Department, develops healthy Christian leadership skills in the next generation, meeting every third Sunday at 10:45 AM.
Class Leaders work to create an environment for the spiritual growth and development of members in their care. Worship Arts enhances worship through the art of dance and theater, studying Scripture, learning different disciplines of dance, and choreographing pieces that uplift and encourage people from all walks of life.
Music, Prayer, and Care
The Choir and Music Ministry is the church's longest-running artistic body, an inter-generational ensemble that sings each Sunday and rehearses every Tuesday at 6:30 PM. Their repertoire spans traditional African-American music, contemporary gospel, hymns, anthems, and spirituals, a range that gives the worship service a blended feel rooted in the Black church tradition.
The Prayer Ministry gathers prayer warriors in the sanctuary before worship and other celebrations to ask for God's anointing, presence, and power. Prayer vigils and fasting are folded into the rhythm of the church as the congregation seeks God's fulfillment for the church and God's people.
The Bereavement Ministry assists individuals and families through the transition of losing a loved one, helping them find resources and the spiritual grounding to face a new phase of life. The Kitchen Ministry supports that work by preparing and serving meals for bereaved families and assisting other ministries and organizations with opportunities for fellowship. Ushers serve as the official doorkeepers of the church, greeting and seating worshipers, distributing bulletins and materials, and assisting with the offering.
Health, Wellness, and Mentoring
The Health and Wellness Ministry, led by President LaToya Turk, keeps the congregation attentive to the body as well as the spirit. A mentoring registration form opens the door to one-on-one and group mentoring for young people in the church and community, gathering information about academic goals, hobbies, allergies, medications, and family support so the right mentor can be matched with the right scholar. The registration also asks whether a family would benefit from food distribution, a quiet but telling sign of the church's care for the everyday needs of its neighbors.
The Boards That Hold the Work
The governance of the church is carried by several working boards. The Steward Board supports and assists the pastor in the spiritual growth and development of the membership, accounting for all monies collected, reporting expenditures, seeking relief for the needy, registering baptisms, marriages, and deaths, and providing the implements of Holy Communion. The Stewardess Board assists with baptism and the Lord's Supper, dressing the pulpit and altar rail with suitable white coverings for these rituals in keeping with the liturgical calendar. The Trustee Board manages the temporal concerns of the church, guarding real estate and other property and making improvements when authorized. The Stewardship and Finance Committee promotes Christian stewardship and administers the financial programs of the church. The Development Committee, co-chaired by Bro. Bill Wells and Bro. Willie Dean, identifies and creates non-traditional streams of revenue to underwrite the church's ministries. The Church Marketing and Public Relations Ministry spreads the gospel by highlighting the ministries of St. Peter's throughout the community, and the Media Ministry produces CDs and DVDs of services and special events and maintains the church's online presence.
Beliefs Rooted in the AME Tradition
St. Peter's is grounded in the beliefs of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a Wesleyan body born in 1787 when Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and others established the Free African Society in Philadelphia after being pulled from their knees in prayer at St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1794, Bethel AME was dedicated with Allen as pastor, and over the following century the denomination spread across the United States, into Canada, and across the Atlantic into Liberia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. Today the AME Church has membership in twenty Episcopal Districts in thirty-nine countries on five continents.
The church teaches that the AME is "Methodist in terms of its basic doctrine and order of worship," with its founding rooted not in doctrinal difference but in the racial segregation of the era of slavery. The summary of belief at St. Peter's is its motto, "God our Father, Christ our Redeemer, the Holy Spirit our Comforter, Humankind our Family." The fuller statement of faith rests on the Apostles' Creed and the Twenty-Five Articles of Religion, which set out belief in the Holy Trinity, the divinity and humanity of Christ, the resurrection, the Holy Spirit, the sufficiency of Holy Scripture for salvation, original sin, free will, justification by faith, good works, the two sacraments ordained by Christ (Baptism and the Lord's Supper), the rejection of transubstantiation, the right of ministers to marry, and the liberty of particular churches to ordain rites and ceremonies so that all things may be done to edification. The church also affirms the duty of Christian citizens to obey just laws and uphold the constitution of the nation in which they live.
A Ministry of Justice and Conversation
St. Peter's has long been a public voice in Minneapolis. After the Charleston church shooting in 2015, the congregation gathered for worship and a call for love and forgiveness, an effort covered by the Star Tribune, MPR News, and WCCO. Earlier, in 2014, the church partnered with Twin Cities Daily Planet on a program to help Black churches navigate MNsure, the state's health insurance marketplace, and hosted a celebration of Four Tops founding member Abdul "Duke" Fakir, a local hero, declaring him a Living Legend. In 2015 the church joined other congregations in screening the film Selma and leading a community conversation on race relations and reconciliation.
More recently, St. Peter's hosted a four-part Virtual Town Hall Series titled "Race in Minneapolis," convening civic leaders, including Penny Wheeler, then CEO of Allina Health; David Mortenson, Chair of M.A. Mortenson Inc.; and Tim Welsh, Vice Chair of Business and Consumer Banking for U.S. Bank, for sustained conversation about systemic racism and the work of equity, justice, and corporate responsibility in the Twin Cities.
Giving, Office Hours, and Practical Details
Visitors who want to support the ministry of St. Peter's can give online through Givelify, with apps available for both Android and iOS. For those who prefer to plan a visit, the church building is open to the public during the week. The office is open Monday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Prayer requests can be submitted online, and anyone interested in joining the church, rededicating their life to Christ, or being baptized can fill out a connection card. The phone line is 612-825-9750, and the email is [email protected].
Worship services are livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook. The church sits in the heart of South Minneapolis, a few blocks from the intersection of 41st Street and 4th Avenue, where generations have walked, sung, prayed, and served for 145 years and counting.