Minister celebrates life, serving God

In 1955, her church refused to ordain her. But this minister has kept going to 102.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Rev. Elizabeth Powell, pastor of World Fellowship Interdenominational Church, preaches every Sunday, holds Bible study, attends weekly help organization meetings and regularly tends to the needs of countless others.
The schedule would be trying for most people, but after nearly 50 years as a minister and 102 years of life, the Rev. Mrs. Powell is still going strong.
Family and friends will help her celebrate her birthday at a gathering at 6 p.m. Friday at the church. The celebration is open to the public and will include local officials and women who were inspired by her.
Happy to talk
Mrs. Powell is usually happy to invite those with less years under their belts to have a seat and learn how the world has changed throughout the course of her life. Her longevity gives her the ability reflect on her early days in Buena Vista, Ga., life on a Southern farm and decades of changing race relations, but it is the memories of her service to God and others that will bring a smile.
She came to the Youngstown area in 1925 to be closer to one of her 11 siblings. She moved to Myrtle Avenue and joined Third Baptist Church the first Sunday she was in town.
By all accounts, Mrs. Powell became an integral part of the church by working with the Sunday school and other programs. She also worked in missions and with the less fortunate, and by the 1930s decided it was time to move a step forward in her missionary work.
She started the South Side Prayer Band in the mid 1930s. The women in the "band" walked and rode the bus to countless homes to cook, clean or drop off groceries.
The band
Mrs. Powell said public assistance offered the less fortunate $1 per week in those times, and a small bag of groceries if you did not own a rug. It was believed, she said, that anyone who could afford a rug could afford food.
The prayer band also raised money for those in need of financial assistance.
Remaining members of the band still meet in Mrs. Powell's South Side home.
The stories of Mrs. Powell's giving nature seem almost endless. Her daughter, Helen Summers, recalls times when her mother made special shopping trips to clothe neighborhood children or would scrape together enough money to pay a neighbor's gas bill before it was shut off.
By the 1950s, Powell decided to become more deeply involved in the ministry. She was on her way to becoming a Baptist minister, but said the decision was not hers.
"I didn't decide. I was just working in the church doing everything but preaching. I was there all the time," she said. "When you are working for the Lord and he tells you what to do, everyone else better leave you alone."
Became a minister
She became a licensed minister in 1955, but was not ordained in her home church. She said it was unpopular for a woman to be a minister at that time and the men in charge at her home church refused to go against that belief.
She was ordained the first female Baptist minister here in 1956 by the Rev. Lonnie Simon at Elizabeth Baptist Church. For ordaining her, the Rev. Mr. Simon was removed from an office he held with a Baptist association, Mrs. Powell said.
Opposition to her being a minister was so strong that the lights were once turned out before she could take the pulpit and preach at a local church, she recalled. She didn't preach that day, but did not get discouraged.
Founded church
She founded the World Fellowship Interdenominational Church in 1962, where she remains pastor to this day.
Her dedication to serving others had not been forgotten. Donations to help with the church and ministry poured in from people who, as one woman said, just remembered how good Mrs. Powell was to her mother.
Mrs. Powell's honors include Woman of the Year, Clergy Woman of the Year and the Sojourner Truth Award. She has served on the Youngstown Human Relations Council and worked diligently for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
jgoodwin@vindy.com