Nationally Influential Black Church Gets New Leader

By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware | Word In Black (WIB) – Given its rich history, it’s safe to say that New Psalmist Baptist Church is as much a part of Baltimore as crab cakes, Orioles baseball games and “The Wire.”  Founded in the basement of a house just a few decades after the CIvil War, the church grew from a few dozen souls in the late 1800s to a congregation that at one point reached 7,000 active members. Revs. Martin Luther King and Jesse Jackson have visited; so has Pastor T.D. Jakes, former President Bill Clinton and then-Sen. Barack Obama. It ministers to the poor, the deaf, the homeless and the formerly incarcerated, among others.& & Yet in 125 years of existence, through growth and change, New Psalmist has had just three pastors shepherding its congregation: its founder, Rev. Junius Gray; his successor, Frederick C. Atkins; and its current leader, The Right Rev. Walter Scott Thomas Sr.& Passing the Torch This Saturday, however, the church will receive its fourth leader. After 49 years at the helm, Scott will step down as the church’s pastor to make way for New Psalmist’s next leader: his son,& Dr. Walter Scott Thomas Jr.& “I’m...