Generations of worship
Baptisms, confirmations, marriages, funerals, music, prayer, and Communion hold personal history within the larger parish story.
A living legacy in Greensboro
More than a history.
A story still unfolding.
From a mission imagined in 1906 to worship, civic witness, and community care today.
The founding story
A mission takes root.
In 1906, the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina determined that a mission was needed for Black Episcopalians in Greensboro. William Thomas Wallace Sr., educated at Saint Augustine College, gathered approximately twelve communicants in his home around a vision for a mission growing through ministry, discipleship, fellowship, and evangelism.
In 1909, Archdeacon Clarence Delaney sent authorization to begin the mission. Joseph McDonald, a lay reader from Saint Augustine College, delivered the letter and helped conduct worship. Nine congregants attended the first service in June 1909 in the chapel of the Agricultural and Technical College for the Colored Race, now North Carolina A&T State University.
Services later moved to the Masonic Lodge on South Davie Street. As attendance grew, the congregation purchased land at Market and North Dudley Streets and converted an existing one-room structure into a chapel.
Verified milestones
1909
Faith carried forward.
This timeline is grounded in Redeemer’s published official history. Oral histories and archival research can add depth without replacing the record.
- 1906
A mission is needed
The Diocese identifies the need for a mission serving Black Episcopalians in Greensboro.
- June 1909
First worship at A&T
Nine congregants worship in the campus chapel after the mission is authorized.
- 1927
Room to grow
The early church is dismantled and rebuilt for a growing congregation.
- 1956
A new building unit
The first unit of a new complex, designed by parishioner William Streat, opens for worship.
- 1960s–70s
Civil Rights witness
Redeemer serves as a meeting place for Civil Rights organizers during desegregation.
- 1969
Sanctuary consecrated
The completed sanctuary is consecrated and the rectory blessed.
- 1979
Full parish status
Redeemer receives full parish status at the 163rd Diocesan Convention.
- 2026
Civil Rights Preservation Project
Redeemer is included in Greensboro's African American Civil Rights preservation work, with National Register nomination preparation underway.
- Today
The story continues
Worship, formation, fellowship, preservation, and care carry the legacy forward.
Civil Rights and community witness
Sacred space in public life.
Redeemer’s official history records the parish as a meeting place for Civil Rights organizers during Greensboro’s desegregation era. It also describes decades of citywide Ash Wednesday worship celebrating Redeemer’s participation in that movement.
This history should be expanded through church records, oral histories, and carefully sourced civic archives. Any claim about landmark or National Register status remains Needs church confirmation.
Civil Rights preservation
Preserving Redeemer's Civil Rights Legacy
In 2026, the City of Greensboro continued its work to preserve and highlight African American Civil Rights history through a grant-funded preservation initiative supported by the National Park Service's Historic Preservation Fund. As part of that effort, Episcopal Church of the Redeemer was identified as one of the historically significant sites being prepared for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.
Redeemer also served as the host site for a community meeting on the project, welcoming residents, city and county staff, and preservation leaders into its fellowship hall to discuss the documentation of places and stories connected to Greensboro's Civil Rights Movement.
This moment affirms what generations of Redeemer members have already known: the church is not only a place of worship, but a witness - a sacred home tied to Greensboro's struggle, memory, and ongoing work for justice.
Architecture and sacred space
A building shaped for worship and belonging.
The 1956 building unit and 1969 sanctuary belong to the congregation’s story of growth, stewardship, and welcome.
Preservation
Document architecture, materials, renovation needs, and any formal preservation status only after expert and church review.
Living archive
Photographs, documents, names, and memories can help future generations understand the life held here.
Help hold the memory
Your story belongs in the archive.
Share a memory, identify someone in a photograph, offer an approximate date, or tell us what Redeemer has meant to your family and Greensboro.
Share a memorySupport the next chapter
Preserve sacred space.
The restoration campaign connects history with accessibility, hospitality, worship, and future ministry.
Explore the campaignPrimary source: Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, “Our History.”
People who carried the mission
Leadership, service,
and first milestones.
Redeemer's growth was sustained by clergy and laypeople whose worship, teaching, music, stewardship, and family life formed the congregation.
Early parish leadership
The Reverend James Satterwhite served as the first vicar. Edwin Fisher led the Sunday School; Marie Byers was the first organist; S. A. Sebastian served as chorister; and Margaret Wallace was the first Episcopal parochial school teacher.
Sacramental beginnings
Bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire conducted the mission's first confirmation. Emma Friday Wallace was among those confirmed, and Olive Lucille Wallace was the first baby baptized there.
The Greene years
Jordan J. Greene led the mission from 1928 to 1952, first as a deacon and, after his 1930 ordination, as a priest. The congregation grew, renovated again, and organized a building campaign.
A new sacred home
After the earlier church was condemned in 1954, the Reverend J. Howard Thompson secured a $12,500 National Church grant. A new unit designed by parishioner William Streat opened for worship on November 4, 1956.
The Morales era
The Reverend Carlton Owen Morales became vicar in 1966. The completed sanctuary and rectory were blessed in 1969, the Leary Room was dedicated in 1970, and Redeemer achieved parish status in 1979.
Ministry into a new century
From 1980 through 1999, Redeemer renewed its facilities, organized the Servant Center, installed new pews, and became debt-free. Later leaders included interim rector Clifford Coles, the Reverend Wheigar J. Bright, and the Reverend Dr. Alicia Alexis.