This week’s spotlight is on the Reverend Bernard M. Brown of the Saint Peter’s AME Church in Walterboro. Reverend Brown is a Charleston native and has ministered in the AME Church for 23 years. Brown is married, He and his wife Cora have four children and four grandchildren. Brown says, “I’m so proud of my four children, because I have a double master’s degrees and three of the four have already have a master’s degree. My son, who is the youngest, is due to graduate with his bachelor in this coming May. So, I’m so glad. I assume I’ve been a good influence on them. So, I’m very proud of them. I’m a retired law enforcement officer with the City of Charleston, 25 years ago, I started working under Chief Reuben Greenberg in 1989 right after Hurricane Hugo. I worked with him until the day the Chief Greenberg retired. He was a great man and great leader. While I was serving as a law enforcement officer, the Lord called me into the ministry. So, at some point, I was doing both at the same time until I retired. The church here in Walterboro, Saint Peter’s are great people and we have done so much time in those two years that I’ve been there, such as we’ve done some work on our steeple, repairing it. This is the fourth church that I’ve pastored over the 23 years I’ve been in the ministry. I assume that I was sent here for whatever reason, inspired by God, and since I’ve been here, certainly have met some great people, and we’ve started our ministry.
Someone told me the other day, just driving by that church, it looks like a postcard. We’ve done a whole lot, you know, far as repairing the steeple with paint, the entire exterior of the church and our life center we have on the property and we did the roofing. We’ve also done ministries with in the church. Our whole goal is to be community oriented, and that’s what we have done since I’ve been here. We have participated in all the parades here where I’ll be physically with the church. We purchased a church van so we can be visible with the name on it. We as a church body, we try to communicate in community. We have members that participate in the Colleton County alternative school here on a monthly basis. We have another group that goes to Estill at the federal prison to be visible there. We just try to be a community, oriented church.
That’s why we are excited to be a part of the Colleton County economy, Historical Society and event like the Hanging of the Greens and the Tour of Homes.
Rev. Brown came to St Peter’s two years ago, He explains, “I was assigned by a bishop to Saint Peter’s. This is the fourth church that I’ve pastored over the 23 years I’ve been in the ministry. I assume that I was sent here for whatever reason, inspired by God, and since I’ve been here, certainly have met some great people, and we’ve started our ministry here. The church has been here for 157 years, we were the first black or African American church established in Colleton County, and that’s why we have that historical marker. In 1952 the church burned down, and they rebuild it on the same lot.” The church built their life center in 2005.
The church was in the movie “Radio”. Members of the church had the opportunity to be involved in the movie. Another chapter in the history of the church. The church has added technology to the services but has done an outstanding job of maintain the historical look of the church inside and out.
They try to open their doors as much as possible to the community. Sunday mornings, from 9am until 10am, they have Sunday School and at 10am every Sunday they begin their worship service that runs running from 10am to 11:30am. Occasionally the church offers other functions, such as a seasonal tea that they invite folks from the community to participate. Wednesday nights the church has a Bible study that’s virtual.
Rev. Brown adds, “We have right around 90 members. During COVID, we lost a lot of members due to COVID. We are an older congregation, but we still have some young people visible as well. Every church is struggling now with young people. What I’ve done is every third Sunday of the month, I will come down from the pulpit and do a children’s ceremony, bring all the children up to the front and get one on one with them, spend some time with them, and it’s really been a great success since I’ve been here.”
We asked Brown what likes to do in his spare time, he said, “I try to spend a lot time with my family doing things together. Next month, we are going on a family that’s why I get my relief, trying to do other things with my family.
Brown gives this advice to the youth of Colleton County, “I tell them, try to stay focused. Don’t allow negative influences to take you away from your goal. Most young people have goals and whenever you see something that your spirit is telling you that’s not right. That’s the time to move away from it. You always have time to make adjustment in life and start all over. I would let them that it is important to be connected to a church to have some kind of spiritual leader, someone you can call on, even in the midnight hour, some positive influence. Most of the African American children came up in the church and at some point, they strayed away, but I believe that it’s still instilled within them at some point and so they can find their way back to where they started. So, my word to them is this slow down. Think about where you came from, and where you are right now, and if you feel a need to make adjustment, make that adjustment. I’m just tell them to continue to place God first in their life.”
