11th Street Baptist Church

This article is about the former White-majority church near Behren's Park. Another 11th Street Baptist Church, founded in 1900, had a Black-majority congregation and became the present New Pilgrim Baptist Church.

11th Street Baptist Church was a Baptist church located at the corner of 8th Court South ("Wheeless Street") and 11th Street South ("Bellevue Street") near Behren's Park in the present Glen Iris neighborhood.

On July 1, 1934 Reverend Hugh Wallace was called to lead the church. In 1935 he asked the congregation to formally adopt the "Articles of Faith" and "Church Covenant", with the extra step of refusing to recognize as members any individuals who did not sign. The issue split the church, with a group of 200 members voting to reorganize the church to terminate Wallace and apply for an injunction against his plan to sell church property. Wallace led another group of members in plans to initiate a new church. The dispute was spirited, with Wallace swearing out warrants for "disturbing public worship" in misdemeanor court. Among those charged was police inspector E. A. Lyons, a member of the church.

Pastors

• M. M. Wood
• Hugh Wallace, 1934

References

• "Sign up or quit, churchmen say" (September 5, 1935) The Birmingham Post - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
• "Pastor ousted as 'filibuster' at church ends" (October 7, 1935) The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections

External links

• Undated photograph of 11th Street Baptist Church at Samford University Library Digital Collections