Church of the Week: White Rock Baptist Church

The young man opted to attend Union Seminary and traveled to Philadelphia to live with his brother free of cost. A professor advised Shaw to visit White Rock Baptist Church.

“When I came to Philadelphia, I went to meet Dr. Williamson. He did not know me, but he received me. He introduced me to the church, and when I joined, he told them that I would be helping him in the pulpit,” Shaw said.

“When I look at that, I don’t think that was incidental. I don’t think that was accidental. I think that was a divine connection.”

A calamity struck on April 1, 1955, when a fire destroyed the church building. For three years, the congregation wandered, meeting at facilities like the Adelphia Auditorium and sharing Thanksgiving with Monumental Baptist Church. (The two churches alternate Thanksgiving celebrations to this day.)

Shaw preached the first sermon after the fire, beginning a long process of recovery for the homeless congregation. In 1956, he became the standing pastor.

The congregation looked to build a new church, but then in 1958 the structure at 5240 Chestnut St. became available, and it has been the church’s home ever since.

“I want to celebrate all the years that God has connected us together,” Shaw preached in his sermon Sunday. “A reason for celebration is that we are and have been divinely connected.”

The pastor displayed a staff at the altar that was given to him years ago.

“It defines what the character of our relationship is as pastor and people. Not chief officers and other officers but shepherds and people. And that’s a very special character.”

Members of the congregation thanked the pastor for his acts of service and for sharing his wife, Camellia Shaw, with the congregation. They gave the pastor gifts, and the first lady was given a bouquet.

The church’s highlights during Shaw’s leadership include inviting the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to speak in 1962 and later the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

The church has long been a supporter of Black movements, including the Civil Rights Movement, and Shaw called the church an enabler.

“This church has been an enabler for me to full fellowship. We worked in support when Martin was beginning,” Shaw said. “This church has shown itself as a people who have always sought to engage in a vision for the love of God and the people of God all over the world.”

White Rock Baptist Church participated in the Selected Package Program, focusing on buying from people of color. “We didn’t buy products that didn’t hire or promote people of color,” Shaw said.

Over the decades, Shaw said, the members of the church have bonded with him, and he bonded with them.

“We have grown in depth, in ways, in numbers, and always in love,” he said. “The church is a part of my life. I’ve never been outside of the church. For me, the church is what living is all about,” Shaw said.