St. James Baptist Church

1520 Hoag Street | Toledo, Ohio 43607 | (419) 242-7146

Out Reach Ministries

W.J. Murchison Community Center

Vacation Bible School

Jail Ministry

Nursing Home Ministry

Board of Trustees

Elizabeth Richardson

Ora Mathis

Mary Fountain

Bobbie Richey

Lillian Adams

Deborah Hamilton

Vernice Wortham

Order of Service

Sunday School      10:00 a.m.
Morning Worship Service  11:00 a.m

Praise and Worship
Processional led by the Mass Choir
Responsive Reading led by the Conductor
Selections led by the Mass Choir
Alter Prayer
Sermon
Invitation
Acknowledgement of Guests & Announcements
Tithes and Offerings
Remarks
Benediction
Wednesday: Prayer and Bible Class 7:00 p.m.
Saturday: Youth Ministry 12:00 p.m.

A Statement by the Founder of the W.J. Murchison Community Center

The w.J. Murchison Community Center is an independent 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization working with children and adults in the vicinity of Dorr Street and Lawrence Avenue in Toledo, Ohio since 1994. The community of approximately 5,000 individuals (within census tracts 25 &26) is 97% African American with more than 60% of households headed by a single mother. Close to 40% of the area residents are living below the federal poverty level, with another 37% living at the low to moderate income levels. One quarter of the population is under the age of 13. All these youth are considered "at risk"--at risk of violence, drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy and/or suicide.

Our mission is to educate, counsel, and provide the necessary training to alleviate the problems of unemployment drug/alcohol abuse, peer pressure and violence. We are committed to enhancing the overall social and economic growth of the neighborhood residents in our service area.

We have carried out this mission by means of classes in job training, computer training and arts and crafts. Open tutoring sessions for children and adults serving close to 1,000 people. We first started operations in the basement of St. James Baptist Church, several blocks away from our location next to our new building at 1616 Lawrence Avenue. St. James Baptist Church constructed the new building.

The move to the new larger state of the art building will allow us to offer more services to the community. The building also houses the Grannie Thomas Day Care Center. I thank God for the vision and for those who rallied to support the building of this new community center.

I am also thankful to God for my wife Dorothy, who also helped to make my vision become a reality. She immediately began fund raising projects to support my dream. She began  a brownie (pennies) collection. Born in Toledo, reared in Toledo, educated in Toledo, saved in Toledo, and singing or speaking all of her life asking others to save brownies also. She had a $1,000 rally, fun days and other rallies to support the vision. With her help and spreading her ideas to the church family we have successfully built the Center in the interest of the youth and the neighborhood.

Without God it could have not been done.

Bishop W.J. Murchison