“I came to St. Paul at the age of nine-years-old when I moved to Madison with my mother, father and sister, over 60 years ago,” said Toni Collins. “We joined the church then. I was in the organization called YPDs. Rev. Smalls’ wife was the leader of YPD. She took us up to a camp in Michigan. We went to the camp with other young people. We had organizations at our church that I enjoyed being with the other young people. One organization that I really loved at my church was when I was 19-years-old. I was a debutante. We had a big pageant in Chicago. It was held at a large church in Chicago. At that pageant was when I decided that I wanted to dedicate my life to the Lord.”

Collins has outlasted a handful of pastors and has worshiped in there church buildings: one on E. Dayton Street, one on E. Mifflin Street and the current church on Diamond Drive. And in all of these years, Collins’ life revolved around the church.

“I would be in the church seven-days-per-week,” Collins said. “I was there whenever I could. I was in choir. I cleaned the church. I did everything. I did bulletins.”

Keretha Cash became a members of St. Paul’s in 1969 when her father transferred to Truax Field. Cash said that her father found the church and then the rest of the family followed.

“Growing up, I was part of the YPD and the church school,” Cash recalled. “The AME church has so many different avenues for people to grow spiritually and then go out into the community. Our church school has always been well-thought of here in the community. We had people who would come here for the church school for their children. Like Sister Toni said, we have gone to camp for different events, whether it is Women in Leadership, Women missionaries. Our Bible Bowl, we have won trophies several years in a row. St. Paul’s has always had a lot of good things going on.”

Cash’s family lived in Sun Prairie, which had a smaller Black population than Madison had. It could be very isolating.

“I was one of two African American girls at the high school,” Cash said. “When I came to St. Paul, I saw people who looked like me. This is where I learned about Black history, my culture, because that was not taught in Sun Prairie and many of the schools at that time unless you had a Black teacher. My mother was an educator. I remember her coming up to the school and she would bring peanuts or would bake sweet potato pies during Black History Month to share our culture with the students there in my and my brother’s classes. Here I saw people like myself, so I didn’t feel so alienated or alone.”

While Madison prides itself as a progressive community and historically would tout itself as a city welcoming to everyone, the reality was there was a lot of racism and hostility embedded in Madison. It was the low number of Blacks that kept the deep-seated problems invisible.

Myzell Alexander moved to Madison in 1961 after he graduated from high school in Arkansas. His grandparents lived in Madison, worked at Oscar Mayer and attended St. Paul’s. Alexander followed suit and did pick up employment at the post office. St. Paul’s was an island of support surrounded by a sea of hostility.

“Madison was so segregated at that time,” Alexander recalled. “You enjoyed being here among your own culture. Where I worked, I was often the only Black in that area. You come to feel odd. When I came to church, I felt that I was with my true family, my own people. It was only Brother Wallace and myself at the post office at the time. We were the only two. There were things that went on there, it was discrimination. There was name calling. You would go into the restroom and you would see different language like ‘Coon been in here.’ “[N-word] been in here.’ You dealt with all of that. And I thought I was leaving that stuff behind when I left Arkansas and came here. But when I came here, it was just as bad. They would laugh in your face and stab you in the back. I’ve been through all of that situation. But my church kept me going.”

And so it isn’t surprising that Alexander’s life revolved around St. Paul’s as well.

“I’ve been at St. Paul ever since 1961,” Alexander said. “Rev. Vann was the pastor at that time, I believe. There have been several pastors. I can’t name them all. I was under Rev. Armstrong’s father for a while. It’s ironic. I never dreamed that he would be my pastor when I saw him at that time. I think about that a lot. I never dreamed that I was under Pastor Armstrong and now I am under his son. I’ve been a steward under Pastor George Thomas and I’ve been a steward ever since then. I’m still a steward under Pastor Armstrong. I’m also a part of the trustees. I help with the upkeep of the church, which I love doing. I sing in the choir. I also do missionary work. I’m also involved in the lay organization. I used to go to all the meetings. All of my children were brought up in St. Paul’s. Now they are all gone. It has always been a joy to be at St. Paul’s.”

As Alexander noted, this is the second time around for Rev. Gregory Armstrong, the pastor of St. Paul’s. He came of age in the church when his father was pastor.

“I’ve been coming to St. Paul since 1973 when my father was assigned here,” Armstrong said. “He was the pastor for St. Paul for 11 years until 1984. I was a junior in high school when we came. I ended up being a part of the Sunday School and other activities of the church. When I went off to college in 1974, I didn’t attend church that often or come to Madison. I was at Marquette University and spent my years there. Afterwards, I would come intermittently back to the church. One of my co-workers asked me, ‘You’re pastoring the church that you went to Sunday School in?’ It’s been a joy.”

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