CONGREGATION + COMMUNITY NEWS
PEOPLES PRESS
Joyfully Defiant for the Sake of a Just World
a congregation of the United Church of Christ, the Alliance of Baptists & the American Baptist Churches
You may have noticed a few changes!
We are thrilled to begin the transition to our new name. This first edition of Peoples Press is one of those steps, replacing Woodside World. It may be a bit ad hoc for a few weeks or so. But, do watch for the latest news and perspectives from Peoples Church of Flint!
—Patti Pagels
In the 1960s, First Baptist Church (c 1853) began doing business as Woodside Church, a reflection of the times, its mission and sensibilities, and its new location on East Court Street—next to several acres of woods.
In 2014, Woodside called Pastor Deb Conrad and began a years-long process of redefining its mission, clarifying its community presence, and coming to terms with the changing realities of both Woodside and of Flint. In 2018, Woodside left East Court Street and, after a hiatus in Central Park, landed in Carriage Town just 2 blocks from where it
first built in 1872.
The move away from the woods was a metaphor of sorts for its move away from the bucolic, pastoral “suburban” life. With its new mission tagline, “Joyfully Defiant for the Sake of a Just World,” the congregation leadership began another conversation about whether a new name might better suit this congregation as it emerged prepared for ministry in the 21st century.
The Statement of Faith, the newly drawn Garland
Declaration, and the new location all seemed to point to a congregation committed to the well-being of people—not simply individual people who crossed its path (although there is that), but a world of people drowning in the
excesses of capitalism and dying from lack of the things that hold life together. The congregation, following the lead of Jesus, of Isaiah, of scripture, had put the Common Good at the center of its life.
“Peoples” has a long history of indicating a care for the oppressed and downtrodden ones. Examples came to mind: The Peoples Law Office in Chicago that defended the Black Panthers; Peoples Grocery in Memphis, where Ida B Wells witnessed racist hatred and began her journalistic crusade against lynching; Peoples Clinic in Austin, where so many sought free health care in an unaffordable economy; The Peoples Water Board in Detroit, which has been fighting for years for safe and accessible water, protecting people from the ravages of corporate indifference.
So this new name, Peoples Church of Flint, then, is first a reflection of a long history of this congregation caring for people, standing for justice, working for well-being; and second a restatement of our commitment to what is right—the vision of God of a world that works for all.
