St. Paul Douglass Pastor Harry Davis grew up in the Douglass community and is committed to its residents. “Somebody has to give them a helping hand. Nothing can change until those of us who claim to be saved go back and do something,” he said.

‘St. Paul seeks to decrease infant death’

St. Paul Douglass Missionary Baptist Church, 1543 Brookins St., and Pastor Harry Davis are leading an effort to decrease infant mortality in the African-American community.

According to statistics, an infant dies every other day in Shelby County and the highest infant mortality rate in the state is in their zip code, 38108.

“The number one ministry we do is the March of Dimes outreach called “Community Voices,” said Larry Crutchfield.  “We recruit churches and organizations to be a part of the program.”

A church security team member and a U.S. Marine Corps retiree, Crutchfield also serves as a St. Paul Community Voice recruiter.  “We have compassion… and we want to be a force in preventing babies from dying before they are 1 year of age,” said Crutchfield, 53.  “We want to be part of making this a better and safer community.”

Pastor Davis and teacher Leandra Davis inspect her new house on Oriole. As chairman of the Douglass-Bungalow-Crump Community Development Corporation, Rev. Davis oversees affordable housing in Douglass. (Photos by Florence M. Howard)

Rev. Davis, a member of the March of Dimes (MOD) Advisory Board, and the church’s pastor for 17 years, leads St. Paul’s. A 1972 graduate of Douglass High School, Davis is a lifelong member of St. Paul, the oldest church in the Douglass community.

Davis, who worked 24 years at the old Defense Depot, was called to preach on March 9, 1982. The first person he spoke to about it was his pastor and predecessor Rev. J.E. Ferguson, who served St. Paul for 60 years.  He said Ferguson told him that he had been waiting for him to come to that realization. A masters and doctoral graduate of Jacksonville Theological Seminary, Davis was appointed assistant pastor in 1987. 

“Growing up in Douglass, I walked the streets in Douglass.  Douglass is my heart,” said Davis, one of five children born to the late Tommy Davis Sr. and his wife Ella.

Like his uncle, the late New Chicago neighborhood “mayor” Matthew Davis, Rev. Davis is prone to quote the hymn, “If I Can Help Somebody.”

“This is home,” said Davis. “In life, everybody needs to know, they are somebody. Even though they have fallen, they can get back up. Somebody has to give them a helping hand. Nothing can change until those of us who claim to be saved go back and do something.”

‘Center of Life’

With a vision of what was needed, Davis sought a million dollar loan to finance the 16,000 sq. ft. Johne Early Family Life Center that sits behind the church at 1542 Pope St.  Completed in 2003, the life center houses a gym, computer lab and various offices and is the center for community outreach. 

At last year’s Pink Sunday observance, everyone was asked to wear pink attire and breast cancer survivors were recognized with corsages and certificates of appreciation. Pictured: (l-r) Rita Williams, Cozell Marshall, Rev. Harry Davis and Sarah Jones.

A down-to-earth, respectful and savvy leader, Davis is leading his small congregation of 250 to do big things and gives them the credit. St. Paul offers a mentoring program for boys, a Boy Scouts troupe, student piano lessons with recitals in June and December, an annual back-to-school party that gave away school supplies on Aug. 27, tutoring, and college scholarships. 

Members Charles Williams, Vincent Bell and Kevin Hinton coordinate the Sigma Beta Club mentoring program for boys.  The scholarship program, begun in 1992, gets funded by the Hayes & Nickleberry Golf Classic held in May at T.O. Fuller State Park.

Davis said Odessa Dickens Hayes, an avid golfer who died in 2002 at age 81, started the golf classic about 16 years ago with Dalton Nickleberry and help from Lt. Richard Granderson of the Memphis Police Department.

“I’m playing golf today because of her,” he said.

Life Center director Rita Williams has taught church aerobics classes twice a week for 11 years.  Men and boys basketball, a form of mentoring, is offered on Tuesdays. 

St. Paul is part of Methodist Healthcare’s Memphis Healthy Churches, putting on health fairs and coordinating health programs with organizations such as the American Heart Association and Diabetes Association. The church also has a food bank, the only one in the Hollywood, Douglass, Hyde Park area. Thanks largely to Williams, St. Paul has won a half-dozen MHC awards. 

‘Low-hanging fruit’

In Shelby County, an African-American infant is three times as likely as a white infant to die during the first year.  St. Paul Douglass operates as a recruiter under a state grant and wants to recruit 25 churches and 10 community groups, providing as up to 200 MOD-trained lay health advisors to take the infant care safety message out into the community.

At St. Paul, Pink Sunday in September kicks off the October observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The occasion includes a special prayer and the release of 100 pink balloons. (Courtesy photos of St. Paul Douglass Missionary Baptist Church)

“We’re sanctioned to go out and get the low-hanging fruit, churches,” said Davis’ wife, Beverly Davis, St. Paul’s outreach coordinator in charge of keeping records.

And while the funding “only lasts for a season,” she said St. Paul will continue its infant mortality work after the grant ends. Over the past 18 months, St. Paul has signed eight to 10 churches that became part of their Community Evangelistic Outreach.

“We have to get into our own neighborhoods to reach out to our own people to give them a message that has been proven to work,” said Beverly Davis.