First Missionary Baptist Church in Little Rock has received a $3,500 grant from the Black History Commission to help preserve a 19th-century Bible once used by Martin Luther King Jr.
In its application, congregation members said they planned to use most of the money -- $2,190 -- to repair and restore the leather-bound book.
Another $1,250 would help buy an enclosed case with stand, enabling the Bible to be better protected and displayed.
Congregants also plan to research their Bible's origins. It is believed to have originally been owned by a Union soldier named Cornelius Timber; his name is written on one of the blank pages.
The veteran or his heirs are said to have donated the book to the congregation after the war. Eventually, an exhibit will be created that explains the Bible's historical significance. For now, it rests on a pulpit in the church's foyer -- the same pulpit the Atlanta preacher used nearly six decades ago.
The book is beautiful but brittle, with ornate art and intricate steel engraved illustrations. A clear plexiglass covering provides some protection.
"It's King James. A large Bible; very large," said Paul Williams, chairman of the board of deacons.
One of the oldest Black churches west of the Mississippi River, First Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1845. The current structure, at the corner of Seventh and Gaines streets, was built in 1882. Martin Luther King Jr.'s appearance April 28, 1963, coincided with the church's 118th anniversary and he came at the invitation of Roland Smith, its pastor and a fellow Morehouse College graduate. Smith had been a founding member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; King was the organization's first president.
According to news reports, roughly 600 people packed into the sanctuary on the Sunday King preached. Renee Hubbard was present on that day; she was 12 years old at the time.
"It was electric," she said. "The atmosphere was just unbelievable. There were more folks than the church could really hold. There was all kinds of folks outside."
King's text, that day, was Luke 11:5-8, which describes one friend visiting another at midnight and asking to borrow bread so that he can feed a late-arriving guest.
The friend replies: "Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee."
In his sermon, King said segregation's days were numbered, arguing that enemies of integration were "standing on the beach of history, trying to hold back the tide."
The civil rights leader also criticized those Black churches that "fail to answer the knock at midnight."
Fifty-nine years later, memories of the day remain vivid, Hubbard said.
"It's like I can see him right now, behind that pulpit and using that Bible to take his Scripture for the day," she said.
"He was so dynamic, but yet so personable," she said.
Earlier that year, some of the city's largest hotels had desegregated; King opted to stay at the parsonage instead.
"The membership was very concerned about his safety, naturally," she said.
Men from area churches provided security, she said, and the women made sure he didn't go hungry.
"The Mother's Board provided all the food for him, took care of his laundry while he was here, that kind of thing," Hubbard said.
The Bible King read from hasn't aged well.
"The spine is completely separated from the cover," said Brian Rodgers, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center's historian and liaison. "It needs some considerable conservation work."
Rodgers will be the project's historical consultant, responsible for determining the book's origins and its journey to First Missionary Baptist Church.
Ann Ballard Bryan, president of Bryan & Devan Conservation in Little Rock, said the Bible needs a new spine and the front cover needs to be reattached. The metal hinges have decayed and must be stabilized. Separating pages must be reattached, and torn pages must be mended. The back cover must be secured as well.
It's a project she is enthusiastic about.
"Oh, my goodness, it's a huge piece of history. ... Even going to see it was just a really neat experience," she said.
Given the book's importance and its current state, it must be treated gingerly. "Conservation is kind of a very slow and meticulous job, so nothing goes quickly," Bryan said.
The church hopes to complete the restoration this year. A formal re-dedication of the Bible will be held next year in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of King's sermon.
While the sanctuary looks much the same as it did in 1963, the congregation itself is a lot smaller.
Roughly 30 to 45 people participate in Sunday morning worship these days, in person or via Zoom, Hubbard said.
The balcony is no longer used.
Many of the members are elderly. Those who remain are committed to preserving the church and its history, Hubbard said.
"It's a great congregation, great people, and they just have a love for God," she said.
First Missionary Baptist Church on Gaines Street in Little Rock was built in 1882. Martin Luther King Jr. preached a sermon on a Sunday morning in April 1963. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Frank E. Lockwood)
Brian Rodgers turns the pages of a 19th-century Bible belonging to First Missionary Baptist Church in Little Rock as his son, Christopher Wilson, and Paul Williams, chairman of the church’s board of deacons, looks on. Rodgers will be researching the Bible’s origins and the path that brought it to Arkansas sometime after the Civil War. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Frank E. Lockwood)
When he preached at First Missionary Baptist Church in Little Rock in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. spent the night in the congregation’s parsonage. The white house, which sits a stone’s throw from the sanctuary, is still standing.(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Frank E. Lockwood)