Mary G. Evans

Mary G. Evans
Evans in a publication, 1916.
Born (1891-01-13)January 13, 1891
Washington, D. C., U.S.
Died April 12, 1966(1966-04-12) (aged 75)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Education Wendell Phillips High School
D.D. Wilberforce University
Occupation Minister
Years active 1905–1975
Known for Minister of Chicago's Cosmopolitan Community Church.

Mary G. Evans (January 13, 1891 – April 12, 1966) was an American Christian minister. Evans is most known for serving as the pastor of Chicago's Cosmopolitan Community Church for thirty four years, from 1932 until her death in 1966. Evans was the first woman to receive a Doctor of Divinity degree from Wilberforce University.[1]

Early life and education

Evans was born in Washington, D. C. Orphaned at an early age, she was raised by an aunt and uncle and educated in Chicago at Wendell Phillips High School. At age 14, Evans was licensed to preach in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. After high school, She attended Wilberforce University in Ohio as a young woman. In 1913, Evans traveled the world, visiting Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, and attending the World's Seventh Sunday School Convention as a delegate.[2] Evans pursued further studies in psychology and sociology at Columbia University, the University of Chicago, and Baylor University.[3] She was the first black student to serve as National Student Secretary for the Young Women's Christian Association.[4]

Career

Evans served two churches in Indianapolis, Indiana,[5] before becoming pastor of the interdenominational Cosmopolitan Community Church in Chicago in 1932. When she arrived at Cosmopolitan, the church was heavily in debt. Under her stewardship, the church paid its debts, refurbished its building, and in 1948 built a community center called Faith House which offered a health clinic, a gymnasium, food bank, and child care. The church later built a home for older women, opened in 1963, and Evans lived there in her last years.[4][6] A colleague, the Rev. Clarence H. Hobbs, commented at her death, "She's the greatest administrator any church has ever had. I don't think any minister, any place, could have done better than Mary Evans."[3] Evans was a strong supporter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and led successful membership drives at Cosmopolitan. She was especially moved by their anti-lynching campaign, explaining to her congregation that "If three Negroes can be lynched in one week in Mississippi, we Negroes should on our knees join the one organization that is fighting lynching."[7] She served on the executive committee of the organization's Chicago branch and was a life member from 1955.[7][8][9]

Personal life and death

Evans never married or had children. To some people, Evans was considered "mannish" in her appearance; but she was also referred to as a "motherly presence" at Cosmopolitan Church.[7] Evans lived with teacher Harriet Kelley in Indianapolis, Indiana and with Edna Cook during her early years in Chicago.[6] Evans died in 1966, aged 75 years.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Fortress Introduction to Black Church History - Anne H. Pinn, Anthony B. Pinn
  2. ↑ John Russell Hawkins, Centennial Encyclopedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Volume 1 (AME Church 1916): 88-89.
  3. 1 2 >"Chicago's Rev. Mary Evans Dies; Had Great Impact on City" Jet Magazine (April 28, 1966): 24-25.
  4. 1 2 3 "Mary Evans Dies at 75" Chicago Tribune (April 13, 1966): 6.
  5. ↑ "Rev. Dr. Mary G. Evans is Conducting Unusual Revival at St. Mark's", New York Age (July 31, 1926): 2. via Newspapers.com
  6. 1 2 Wallace Best, "'The Spirit of the Holy Ghost is a Male Spirit': African American Preaching Women and the Paradoxes of Gender" in R. Marie Griffith and Barbara Dianne Savage, eds., Women and Religion in the African Diaspora: Knowledge, Power, and Performance (JHU Press 2006): 114-119. ISBN 9780801883705
  7. 1 2 3 Wallace Best, Passionately Human, No Less Divine: Religion and Culture in Black Chicago (Princeton University Press 2013): 157-158, 167-168. ISBN 9781400849345
  8. ↑ "Life Members" The Crisis (April 1955): 235.
  9. ↑ "Joins NAACP Life Members" New York Age (November 6, 1954): 22. via Newspapers.com

See also

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