REISTERSTOWN, Md. — Halfway down Bond Avenue in Reisterstown you'll find St. Luke's United Methodist Church.
It's in the middle of a neighborhood. From the outside it looks like a typical church with a cemetery and an adjacent fellowship hall, but once inside you'll learn it's far from ordinary.
"This is the original prayer rail, so this goes back to 1880," said Ken Camper. "Where we are is the original. It was an A-frame church, so it was a very simple structure."
The church was built 172 years ago by slaves, and all these years later, it's still up and running with an active congregation.
Camper is the church historian.
"I think that the church has lasted all these years in a community that began with people who were enslaved who had a vision that they wanted to have their own church," Camper said. "They wanted to be able to worship in peace and that to me is enduring."
Sharon McKoy was raised in this church, her family descendants of slaves worshiping here from the very beginning.
Her grandmother Annie Dett lived to be 100 and had plenty of stories to share.
"She just told us as a little girl that's where she went to school. She attended the one room school that's what they called it," McKoy said.
The colored schoolhouse was built in 1867 and sat right behind the church.
Dozens of kids were educated here, kids like Jacob Lee who grew up to become a land developer in Reisterstown. He created a scholarship for kids in the church community.
"The church is there to help others and to help people that are in need."
The schoolhouse fell in disrepair and was demolished in 1997.
The fellowship hall was nearly torn down too, but the church's rich history saved it. Among the historical landmarks is the grave of decorated Buffalo Solider and church member, Augustus Walley.
Historians learned between the cemetery, the hall and the schoolhouse, the church was eligible for a post emancipation settlement.
The state of Maryland stepped in with grant money to help them repair the aging fellowship hall.
"The church will be around when all else fails," said Rev. Emmanuel Johnson.
A man of the word, but new to the history of St. Luke's took over the pulpit two years ago.
Rev. Johnson would bridge the gap and lead the church in a new era of challenges, ministering during a pandemic.
"Having service, it was totally different, but again you learn to adapt. You can't stop God's program he's a vehicle. He's allowed us to use Zoom, Facebook, Twitter. The show goes on," he said.
"We're looking at history by looking at the floors. The floors are original to the church."
"You look around. You see the stained glass, the pews the walls, the history is still here."
And it's a proud rich history that will hopefully continue to be shared for decades and passed on to future generations.
