HISTORY OF THE MONROE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST

The "Old" Maypole Avenue Church of Christ is the mother church among blacks in the City of Chicago. It was started in the early 1920's by one J. T. Daniels, of Nashville, Tennessee. Brother and Sister Daniels came to Chicago in an effort to better their econimical status. HE started a business selling coal and ice. It was during this time the late evangelist Levi Kennedy worked for Brother Daniels in the business.

The "Old" Maypole Avenue Church had its lowly beginning in the home of Brother and Sister Daniels, located at 1903 West Maypole..on the Westside of Chicago. The congregration moved from the Daniels' home to a funeral parlor located on Lake Street. The members later purchased an old two unit apartment building located at 2538 West Maypole Avenue, thus deriving the name: The Maypole Avenue Church of Christ. This was a frame building with living quarters upstairs. The first floor was converted for the purpose of worship. The late evangelist Levi Kennedy preached his frist sermon at the Maypole Avenue Church in 1926. Later a group of members from the Maypole congregation moved to the south side of the city to begin another congregation. Brother Levi Kennedy became their ministrer. This group became the Michigan Avenue Church of Christ, which is now the Sheldon Heights Church of Christ.

I (Robert M. Woods), became the minister of this church in 1952. I followed the later brother Jesse Pace, (Brother-In-Law of Brother Levi Kennedy). In 1957, we purchased the property located at 1228 North Claremont Avenue on the near north side of the city. There we where known as the Claremont Avenue Church of Christ. In 1965, we moved to our present location, at 3300 West Monroe Street and became identified as: The Monroe Street Church of Christ. We suffered a devasting fire August 26, 1988. Thirteen months later, the building was compeletely restored. Our buildeing has been acclaimed as a neighborhood landmark for the preservation and maintenance of Chicago's historic religious properties, by the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois.

My ministerial background dates back to the era of the Nashville Christian Institute from which I graduated in 1949. I travelled as a boy preacher with the late great Marshall Keeble. Many congregations were established during that time. This is a birdseye view of our history to show the progress of the Church of Christ among black people in particular in Chicago for the past 75 years at the time of this writing, dated by my hand, May 10, 1995.....Robert M. Woods