BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – There was a bona fide traffic jam on Daniel Payne Drive in Birmingham in early September. Hundreds of members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), Ninth Episcopal District were the first souls to cross the threshold of the largest property owned by an African American institution in the state of Alabama.
Guests on hand for the Northwest Alabama Annual Conference, held September 10-13, 2014, filled the Daniel Payne Community Plaza (the former Daniel Payne Middle School) with praise and thanksgiving for the 60,000 sq. ft. building located on 19 acres of land. The property was purchased by the Daniel Payne Foundation of the Ninth Episcopal District in August 2014 as a $2.5 million cash-sale.
The AME Church boasts a 200-year history of self-help and the empowerment of people of African descent by serving the church and the community through a variety of ministries. The Plaza represents a commitment to that mission and the realization of the vision of Bishop James L. Davis, who serves as the Presiding Prelate of the Ninth Episcopal District. The Daniel Payne Community Plaza is named for the sixth Bishop of the AME Church. Daniel Alexander Payne was one of the founders and former presidents of Wilberforce University in Ohio as well.
The Daniel Payne Community Plaza will be home to the headquarters of the Ninth Episcopal District, and become a thriving space catering to the needs of the immediate Birmingham community and the state of Alabama. Conferences, corporate retreats, weddings, banquets, sports tournaments, educational programs, college satellite classes, arts programs, and activities for senior citizens are just some of the ways the Plaza will be used. The possibilities are endless.
“Through God’s provision and favor, we were able to acquire the Daniel Payne Community Plaza for the use of God’s people. It is more than a building, it is a tool for ministry,” says Bishop Davis. “I am thankful to the thousands of members of the AME Church in Alabama and throughout the AME connectional church who gave sacrificially to the vision. The Daniel Payne Community Plaza belongs to them,” Bishop Davis continued.
In 2010, members of the Ninth Episcopal District, along with the Daniel Payne Board of Trustees began raising funds to develop 140 acres of the former Daniel Payne College campus for the purpose of economic growth and development. With enthusiastic support of local church members, pastors, and many additional supporters, the vision of the Daniel Payne College Legacy Village began to take hold and propel the church forward. By 2014, the fundraising plan had raised almost three million dollars toward the $9.6 million goal to begin developing the land.
Then something happened. One day, while visiting the site, Bishop Davis was led to take a short trek just across the street to Daniel Payne Middle School. He noticed that the building was empty. That moment was the genesis of the Daniel Payne Community Plaza.
Now, the Ninth Episcopal District and the Daniel Payne Foundation own the Daniel Payne Community Plaza and the 140 acres of the original land that will be developed still. Such an amount of land ownership by one African American institution or church in the state of Alabama is unprecedented. The historic proportion of the property acquisition and the high level of economic development that is expected to occur positions the AME Church for longevity in Alabama.
Presiding Elder Dwight Dillard serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Daniel Payne Foundation. “The new plaza is a grand and beautiful sight! I am most proud to usher in this new era for our church. We have created something for the next generation. This is holy ground,” offered Elder Dillard, who leads the Birmingham-Florence-Tuscaloosa District of the Northwest Alabama Conference.
For some supporters, the new Daniel Payne Community Plaza offers a way to honor their ancestors and the legacy of the former Daniel Payne College. Mrs. Ernestine Barnes-Ivery, the only Deaconess in the AME Church in Alabama, recalls the past, “I used to play on Daniel Payne’s picnic area as a member of St. Luke AME Church when I was a little girl. Now, to see 60 plus years later that someone is trying to carry on that memory is a good feeling.” Mrs. Barnes-Ivery has donated $6,000 to the fundraising project. “I have given in memory of my parents. I see something tangible. That is a blessing,” adds Mrs. Barnes-Ivery.
Upcoming Events:
November 13, 7 p.m.
Service of Ordination
Seven Bishops of the AME Church will participate.
The Daniel Payne Community Plaza will serve as the site of the historic Service of Ordination for all ministerial candidates in Alabama who will be ordained.
Bishop John Richard Bryant, Senior Bishop of the AME Church and the Presiding Prelate of the Fourth Episcopal District, will be the guest preacher. In total, seven AME Bishops will be on hand for the ordination service, including (in alphabetical order) Bishops Frank Curtis Cummings, Retired Bishop; James L. Davis, Presiding Prelate of the Ninth Episcopal District; Clement W. Fugh, Presiding Prelate of the Fourteenth Episcopal District; Samuel Lawrence Green, Sr., Presiding Prelate of the Twelfth Episcopal District; Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Retired Bishop, and Reginald T. Jackson, Presiding Prelate of the Twentieth Episcopal District and Ecumenical Officer.
Never before have seven bishops come together to participate in one ordination service in the history of AME Church in Alabama.
April 9-11, 2015
Open House and Dedication
The Daniel Payne Community Plaza welcomes guests to tour the new site, learn more about how the Plaza will serve the greater Birmingham community and the state of Alabama, and enjoy fun, food, and fellowship.
For more information about the Daniel Payne Community Plaza, call (205) 326-4499 or visit www.ninthamec.org.
The mission of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is to minister to the spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional, and environmental needs of all people by spreading Christ’s liberating gospel through word and deed. At every level of the Connection and in every local church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church shall engage in carrying out the spirit of the original Free African Society, out of which the AME Church evolved: that is to seek out and save the lost, and serve the needy.
Editor’s Note: Digital images of the signing/purchase of the Daniel Payne Community Plaza are attached, as well as exterior images of the property.
Caption: Bishop James L. Davis, Presiding Prelate of the Ninth Episcopal District, the Board of Directors of the Daniel Payne Foundation, and members of the Ninth Episcopal District at the “signing” to purchase the Daniel Payne Community Plaza, August 12, 2014.
