All Souls Presbyterian Church — Richmond, Virginia
In 1952 the Presbytery of East Hanover (now Presbytery of the James) and Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, approached a nascent African-American congregation about a joint witness. From that, All Souls Presbyterian Church was born — the first integrated congregation in the capital of the confederacy. Over the decades, All Souls has borne a vibrant witness to the reconciliation that we know in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:14), including founding the city’s first integrated Boy Scout troop and first integrated vacation Bible school.
Today, the church building houses three ministries that continue to serve the local (and gentrifying) community: Northside Cares, which offers free breakfast twice a month to all; Into the Neighborhood, which ministers to homeless women and offers life-skills and job training to people re-entering society from incarceration; and Joe’s Bike Shop, which trains local youth to repair bikes, and also how to build them.
– Brint Pratt Keyes, pastor
