Bracy Chapel CME Church
St. Louis MO

“The Church God Blesses to be a Blessing”

 

https://www.thirddistrictcme.org/stlouis  

 

August 1986, at the one hundredth session of the Southeast Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin (SEMO, IL, WI) Annual Conference, Bishop Doty Ivertus Isom commissioned the late Reverend Agnes Wallace to plant a church in the St. Louis District. The church was to be named in the memory of the faithful, loyal and committed servant of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, Brother Jack Bracy. After much prayer and a demographic analogy, it was decided to begin worship in the Southside Senior Center 3017 Park Avenue. The first Bracy Chapel worship experience was held Sunday, July 5, 1987.

Reverend Wallace, a steadfast servant with a love for the Lord, the church and His people, was diligent in service to the church and the community. She moved forward prayerfully in the undertaking always mindful to be conscientious and meticulous in the effort to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the community to which she was called to serve. During her tenure, Reverend Wallace encountered some health concerns and her devoted and supportive husband transitioned from the church militant to the church triumphant. Consequently, Bracy Chapel was dormant for a short period.

March 1992, Presiding Elder David Wilkens, along with Bishop Dotcy I. Isom Jr., requested Reverend Margaret Dangerfield to rekindle and pastor Bracy Chapel. The first worship experience under her leadership took place on April 27, 1992. The Bracy Family worshiped in the Third Episcopal Regional Center, 5925 West Florissant Avenue. The church was incorporated and departments were formed. It was under Reverend Dangerfield’s headship when the church relocated once again. In September 1995, the Bracy Family purchased the present site, 6427 Cates Avenue. After some renovations, the first worship service was held on November 16, 1995, and many ministries and creative forms of out-reach were instituted.

Sunday school, music, praise dance and the men’s ministries were all put in place under her watch. Reverend Dangerfield had a great passion for the hurting and the homeless. She led the way in members of the Bracy congregation, acquiring training in ministering to people of the community who were challenged with life issues. Reverend Dangerfield passionately pastored the Bracy Family for thirteen years. In August 2004 at the 118th Session of the Annual conference, the Lord commissioned Reverend Fannie S. Johnson to serve the Bracy Family as pastor. The charge was rung through the Bishop Paul A. G. Stewart.