The Chester City Blog: The Titans of the Pulpit at Calvary Baptist Church

D. Harold A. Carter, Sr., Pastor New Shiloh Baptist Church
Baltimore, MD, brings the sermon at Calvary

Most of us know that Dr. Martin Luther King studied at Chester’s Crozer Theological Seminary. While here, King was mentored by an earlier Crozer graduate and pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. J. Pius Barbour.

In fact, Dr. Barbour, believed to be the third black graduate of Crozer, served as mentor to many of the black seminary students who studied at Crozer and most of them have gone on to become renowned church leaders.

Every few years, there is a reunion of those Crozer alums who studied under Dr. Barbour. This weekend, a banquet was held on Friday featuring refections of Crozer and Dr. Barbour, along with a presentation of the history of African American Presence at Crozer Theological Seminary (1867-1970).

On Saturday, about a half dozen of The Titans of the Pulpit, continued their reunion with more reflections and a stirring sermon by one of their own, Dr. Harold A. Carter.

To be in the presence of The Titans revealed how significant these men were to building and sustaining our strong tradition of black spirituality during the turbulent 40s, 50s and 60s. Some of them were very close to Dr. King as the black alumni from Crozer seems to be a strong fraternity of support, education, and encouragement for each other.

One Titan mentioned that Dr. Barbour would permit them to deliver sermons at Calvary during their student days at the seminary and he would always critique them afterwards on audience participation, content, and delivery.

As I listened to Dr. Carter’s magnificent sermon on Following your Calling, I’m certain Dr. Barbour would have given him an A+ in all three areas.