Maya McFadden Photos
Elijah Davis Jr.: "I'd like to thank God, because He made it all possible."
The legacy and face of Pitts Chapel Unified Free Will Church’s retired leader Elijah Davis Jr. will now remain in the church even on days when his physical presence is absent.
The church held a celebration during its Sunday service to unveil a portrait of retired head Pastor Davis, honoring his and First Lady Esther Davis’ 35 years of leadership.
Davis preached for the last time as head pastor at Pitts Chapel last September. His farewell sermon followed a celebration of his “victorious” legacy with the renaming of a city street corner after him. (Read more about that here.)
Elijah and Esther Davis.
Newly installed Head Pastor Darrell L. McClam preached the Sunday sermon to a room full of 20 members. He called on parishioners to be grateful, “victorious,” and triumphant much like the Davises.
“Bishop, you are a victorious man. And Mother, you are a victorious woman. Because the Lord has shined on y’all,” McClam said. “Hundreds of years after we’re all gone, your name will still be alive.”
Bishop Davis said he finds comfort in his retirement knowing he found a new “strong leader” for the church.
“Thirty five years in the same place is hard to step down. I still find myself wanting to handle the problems of the church,” he said.
Lady Davis described the past four months of retirement as “happy” and “free.”
McClam, who has been head pastor since September 2021, said the Davises’ legacy “gives me something to strive for.”
He will be working to “finish out the dreams” of Davis by increasing church membership, having a bigger community presence, and expanding the church facility in the future.
As Pastor McClam took the microphone for a rhythmic sermon, Bishop Davis and Lady Davis stood to their feet and joined the congregation in shouts of “Amen” and hands raised to the ceiling in praise.
“Those times you preached, those times Mother when y’all came to church when y’all did not feel like coming, God is going to repay y’all for your work in the kingdom,” McClam said.
A gold plaque hung just below the portrait, reading: “General Bishop Elijah Davis Jr.; Longest Term Pastor; He Served Faithfully With Distinction for 35 Years; Aug. 1, 1986 — Aug. 31, 2021.”
“When he took things over, we were going through turmoil,” said Deacon Joe Davis, brother of the former pastor. “But he got the ship back on course. We were prosperous under his leadership.”
At one point the church had 500 members under Davis’s leadership.
“When people were always running away, he was always running to,” Joe said of his brother.
Darlene Braddy-Huskey, Patricia Gilliam, and Jean Carr.
Church members Mothers Patricia Gilliam, Jean Carr, and Darlene Braddy-Huskey helped organize a retirement banquet for the Davises last year that brought together 152 people, including other members and Bishop Davis’ family from North Carolina.
They also helped to collect signatures for the renaming of the church’s corner at Brewster Street and Shelton Avenue.
Carr and Gilliam said they look forward to the new young leadership of McClam.
Watch the full service and unveiling below.