This Far by Faith 45TH STREET & SHERIFF ROAD NE
The First Baptist Church of Deanwood is but one of Deanwood’s many houses of worship. All testify to the central role religion plays in the life of this community. First Baptist emerged from humble beginnings. In January 1901 a small group of believers gathered at blacksmith Jesse Bumbry’s home, 4410 Sheriff Road, to organize the Deanwood Mission, a Sun- day school. Within a year the congregation grew so large that its members formed the First Baptist Church of Deanwood. They erected a building at 1044 Whittingham Place (now 45th Street) in 1908. Then, under the leadership of Reverend George W. Brent, they broke ground for a second building, Brent Memorial Chapel, in 1929. Over the following nine years, members relied on the labor of their own hands to erect the chapel and financed the entire project without borrowing a penny. A third building, now the main sanctuary, was constructed in 1961. As a center of religious worship and fellowship, First Baptist, like other neighborhood churches in the era of segregation, regularly hosted concerts, field days, and sporting events. The church’s bus trips to Carr’s and Sparrows beaches in Maryland were especially popular. Deanwood’s array of historic churches includes Antioch Baptist, Beulah Baptist, Church of the Incarnation, Contee AME Zion, Mount Olive Bap- tist, Randall Memorial United Methodist, Sargent Memorial Presbyterian, Tabernacle Baptist, and Zion Baptist. New Bible Baptist Church, to your left at the end of 45th Street, incorporates a house that once belonged to the Sheriff-Dean family.
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