Evening star., 1926-04-04
CELEBRATION RITES
At SHILOH Church
Services Today Begin Series
in Rebuilt Edifice on
Ninth Street.

Completely restored after the in
cendiary fire which swept the interior
of the structure on July 27 last and
caused $4,000 damage, the Shiloh
Baptist Church, at Ninth and
streets, again welcomed it's congrega-
ton today for reopening exercises
scheduled to begin at o'clock this
morning. In addition to the services
today, which will continue until after
9:30 tonight. the reopening of the
church VIII be celebrated with musi-
cal. literary and religious exercises
continuing for two weeks.
Through the sacrifice and devotion
of the members of the congregation
and the generous aid of other
churches, the rebuilding of the
church. begun October / last. under
the direction of a building committee
headed by the Rev. DR.. j. Milton
Waldron, the pastor, has been carried
10 completion.
Whole Building Renewed.
The rebuilding program included
the replacement of pews, installation
OF a new organ, addition of four new
rooms, erection OF a baptistry, repaint-
ing the entire building, recarpeting
or the front vestibules. stairways,
main auditorium and galleries and in
Stallation Of new electric light fix
lures throughout.
The tWo-Week program of reopen.
ing exercises, in which the pastors Of
number of other local churches,
both colored and white, will take part
and in which the choirs of 16
churches will participate in the musi-
cal program, has been arranged, DR..
Naldrop says, to express the spirit
or Thanksgiving in which the congre.
cation sees the church again re-
stored after the devastating fire of
last July. The fire was started by a
confessed incendiary, who is now
serving sentence in the Federal
penitentiary at Atlanta
Besides DR.. Waldron. the commit.
tee in charge of the repairs to the
| church was composed of Deacons
John S. Branon and J. W. Freeman,
Trustees Samuel w Frost and An
| drew j. Wythers, James A. Payne,
| secretary, and Harry L. Derricotte.
Many to Take Part.
The musical, literary and religious
! exercises beginning tomorrow night
will include special programs ar
| ranged by the deacons, trustees. dea-
conesSes, Sunday school, the Mems
Club, Womens Club, Ladies' Aux
| iliary. the Baptist Ministers Union
Of the District, the Interdenomina-
tional Ministers Alliance of Wash
ington and other church organiza-
tions. There will be two organ re.
citals-one by Prof Roy w. Tibbs
on Friday, April 8. and one by Prof.
William 3. Braxton on Friday, April
16.
Among those who will take part in
the program are the Rev. DrS. w. ;.
Abernethy, Earle Wilfiey, George Q
Bullock, j. l. Loving, d. F. Rivers
c. l.. Russell w. II. Jernagin, w. ID
Jarvis and j. Harvel Randolph. Rep
resentative deacons, deaconesses anc
delegates from trustee boards. stew
ardess boards, mems clubs, women:
clubs. ladies auxiliaries and young
peoples societies from % or more
churches will have special parts OF
the programs, with most of these
organizations attending in q body.
Souvenir Program Printed.
a souvenir program illustrated
with pictures of the church building
its officers and members of the aux
iliaries of the church has been pre-
pared in connection with the reopen
ing exercises. Trustees and member.
of the congregation have decorate,
the church for the exercises with
palms, potted plants and cut flowers
with a special supply of Easter lille
ordered by the flower committee from
Bermuda.
Included among the replenishments
| of the church are a set of HYMN books
| bound in leather and gilt, silver vases
| for flowers, scarfs and mats for the
pulpit and other appointments.
The Shiloh congregation had occu.
| pied the church on the present site
| only little more than year before
| the interior was destroyd by the fire
| last July. The congrega ton, through
| an intensive campaign, had just sue.
| ceeded in raising a large part Of the
| 5000 cost of the property when the
| fire occurred, and thus tho burden of
| repairing the structure has leen espe-
cially heavy.
Congregation Very Old.
The Shiloh congregation is one of
| the oldest in the country. dating back
| to between 1890 and 1900, when the
| church was organized in Fredericks-
| burg, Va, being attended then by
| both white and colored persons. The
| church removed to Washington in
| 1868, and for a year or more held
| services In the home of Deacon Henry
| d. Peyton, in Georgetown. From 1865
| until 1868 the church occupied a
! small frame structure on the north
| side of l. street, between Sixteenth
| and Seventeenth streets. In 1868 the
| church erected a larger frame struc-
| ture on that site, under the leadership
| of Rev William J. Walker. The