Some members of St. Paul AME Church oppose a pending sale of the landmark building, completed in 1917.
By JANET ZINK, Times Staff Writer
Published July 22, 2005
DOWNTOWN - It's Sunday morning at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, and several dozen church members are singing and raising their hands toward the sky.
In unison, they make a joyful noise, praying for salvation, forgiveness and the strength to do God's will.
But once they leave the pews, church members are bitterly divided over the possible sale of the 89-year-old church, designated a local historic landmark in 1990.
In March, the Rev. Bryant Fayson signed a contract to sell the church on Sept. 7 for $4.2-million to a corporation registered in New York. Last month, a group called the Concerned Members of St. Paul AME Church Inc. filed an injunction to stop the sale. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 31 in Hillsborough County Circuit Court.
"It has been a source of real concern for a lot of us who have been members of the church for years and years and years," said Doris Campbell, a 30-year member who is leading the group.
Fayson said he had no choice but to sign the sales contract.
"This is a church that has fallen on hard times," said Fayson, who has been the pastor for about two years. "We've done what we can do."
Church membership has dropped in recent years, and the 11th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church based in Jacksonville has been paying the church's $15,000 monthly mortgage since 1999, Fayson said. The district can no longer afford to shoulder the burden for a congregation of less than 100 people, he said.
The suit claims the decision to sell didn't follow procedures outlined by district church doctrine. It also claims the proposed purchase price is lower than the fair market value and was agreed upon in "secretive and invalid" negotiations.
Fayson said he followed church procedures before signing the sales contract. Local church members voted in favor of the sale at a meeting in early March, and the district office later approved it, he said.
"We've done it by procedure," Fayson said. "The church does not belong to the local congregation. It's not theirs or mine to sell."
But some of the people who participated in that vote say they were confused about what they were voting on. They thought they were voting to give Fayson approval to pursue options for saving the church, not selling it, said Peggye Jones, one of about 30 people in the Concerned Members group.
The next thing she knew, Jones said, a sales contract had been signed.
The attorney for the Concerned Members, Barbara Twine-Thomas, said the primary purpose of the suit is to make sure the church's sale is carefully considered.
"The St. Paul AME church symbolically represents a significant asset for the entire community, in our state and our city," Twine-Thomas said.
Church leaders, she said, haven't responded to members' questions and haven't provided an appraisal to show that the sales price is appropriate.
The Concerned Members also worry the new owner will attempt to tear down the church and develop the property.
"Selling the church means that as African-Americans we lose the only historically designated site that we have in the city of Tampa," Campbell said. "It's a magnificent structure. It has a wonderful historic legacy."
Fayson said the buyer, represented by Bernard Woodside, has assured him the church won't be torn down.
But Del Acosta, the city's historic preservation manager, said he received a call several months ago from a representative of the buyer who wanted to know the procedure for demolishing the building. Acosta said he has not received a demolition application.
Tearing the building down, Acosta said, would require approval from the city's Architectural Review Commission because the church is a local landmark. The designation protects it from demolition unless the owner can show the building isn't safe and can't be rehabilitated.
Tampa's AME church was established in 1870 when the Rev. T.W. Long walked from Brooksville to Tampa to establish a mission, according to the local landmark designation report. His first night in Tampa, the Rev. Long began preaching on the corner of Tampa and Harrison streets, attracting his first three members. Construction of the existing building was completed in 1917. During the 1950s and 1960s, the building was used as a meeting place for civil rights activists.
Campbell said she knows the church is facing financial difficulties and hopes "there is enough broadbased community interest in St. Paul AME Church that we could get some help in taking care of our indebtedness."
Bishop McKinley Young, who heads the AME 11th District that owns the building, could not be reached for comment. Neither could Woodside, who signed the contract as the agent for the buyer listed as 165 Doughty Boulevard LLC.
The Concerned Members say they question the legitimacy of the buyer.
"I think we may be dealing with some predators," Campbell said.
According to county records, Woodside lives in Brandon and was arrested in May on grand theft charges after being accused of failing to pay $1,700 for car repairs. He has pleaded not guilty.
State corporate records show he is an officer in Global Harvest Enterprises, a for-profit corporation based in Brandon, and the registered agent for God's Store House Ministry, a nonprofit corporation based in Miami. Records in New York also show that some people have taken him to court for outstanding debts.
Fayson said if the sale goes through, the money will be used to pay off the church's $1-million debt and build a new church at a yet-to-be-determined location.
If it's not sold, he said, the church faces foreclosure, and "we won't have any resources to move anywhere else. We'll be starting a new congregation without anything."
Regardless, the church's work will continue, he said.
"If the sale is supposed to happen it will happen," he said. "If it's not supposed to happen it won't happen. I put it all in the hands of God."
- Times researcher Cathy Wos and staff writer Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler contributed to this report. Janet Zink can be reached at 226-3401 or jzink@sptimes.com
