Choir Director Jose Jones invited me to take photos at choir rehearsal at College Hill Community Church – PCUSA (1547 Philadelphia Drive in Dayton’s College Hill neighborhood).
I enjoyed meeting the people of this church which has a rich history of fostering racial unity in our community. During the 1970’s, when the racial mix of this neighborhood was changing, the church decided to have a fully integrated ministry. They had two pastors, one white and one black, to jointly service the congregation. The goal was to welcome everyone and to become a church that was a “Racial Rainbow.”
As red-lining and block-busting became common in the early 1970’s, real estate agents went door-to-door in NW Dayton trying to convince people to sell their homes. In response, members of College Hill Church went door-to-door too…encouraging their neighbors to stay. The church was also influential in achieving peaceful desegregation of the Dayton School System in 1976.
Their worship service is Sundays at 10:30 am and is bi-lingual (Spanish and English).
