BALTIMORE — As a child, Lea Gilmore walked past this church often with her mom, and she wanted to go in it.
“But my mother told me we’re not welcome,” she says. “We’re not welcome there. It’s for whites only.”
That was 50 years ago. Now, Gilmore is the minister for racial justice and multicultural engagement here, charged with helping the congregation get beyond its racist past.
Govans Presbyterian Church is on York Road in north Baltimore. It was founded here, in 1844, on land that was a former plantation. Enslaved people helped build it.
“We are very, very [much] an important part of this community,” she says.
Times change. People change.
In the last 20 years, Govans Presbyterian Church has become a progressive, affirming congregation.
“There’s such an incredible thing that’s happening here,” Gilmore says. “We do have young families. But we also have a lot of older people who have seen the changes in this church but who are also very active in making those changes happen.”
African Americans make up about 15 percent of the members and hold several leadership positions.
“We have those people like me, who are direct ancestors of enslaved Americans, who are an incredible part of this church, an incredible part of how God wanted it, all of us together in unity working for justice,” she says.
Gilmore was hired three years ago to lead the church’s social justice efforts. They’ve held concerts and other activities promoting diversity. They also run a soup kitchen and other outreach programs.
This week marks a milestone for the church. The installation of a commissioned work, “Sanctuary I and II,” by Baltimore artist Ky Vassor. It captures the past and more recent footnotes in the area’s history.
Patreena Parsons chairs the church’s racial justice committee. She says the images depicted in the acrylic murals mean that all are welcome here.
“The squeegee person, there’s a trans person,” Parsons says, looking at the murals as they’re being installed in the pulpit. “There’s a representation of Freddie Gray and other people that have been killed by police violence. I just love the way she’s also incorporated the hands reaching out from the divine.”
The church is holding a public dedication of the artwork on Sunday. Members will celebrate how far they’ve come and reflect on how much more there is to do.
