1500 6th Ave N.
Birmingham, AL 35203

stpaulbham.org

How to visit: Interior currently closed due structural upgrades for the foundation and roof. Tours will resume most likely in January 2023.

Founded in 1869, St. Paul was the first congregation in the city of Birmingham (white or black). 

St. Paul played a significant role in the movement for the non-violent social change for blacks in Alabama. Rebirth of NAACP in Birmingham came out of this church with the work of Dr. Charles McPherson in the 1930s and 1940s. 

In 1956, leaders met at the church to discuss the campaign to integrate buses. Later, the church hosted training sessions on nonviolent civil disobedience in advance of the 1963 marches and on Palm Sunday 1963, the church hosted the mass rally and march to City Hall. 

In the 1960s St. Paul continued to play a significant role in the movement. The church’s pastor in 1963 was the Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery, was one of the co-founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference along with Dr. King. 

From early days of freedom from slavery through the current days, St. Paul Methodist has remained an active congregation of worship, spiritual nurture and community engagement.