“Innovations of religious leaders” sounds like a good title for the story of Zion Progress Missionary Baptist Church. This Detroit church has an interesting past.
The building itself is a footnote in Detroit’s rich architectural history. It may be the only church designed by Albert Kahn. He was Detroit’s most accomplished and famous architect. Kahn collaborated with Alexander Trowbridge and George Nettleton. They were working in the offices of George Mason and Zacharias Rice.
The Nettleton Kahn and Trowbridge firm designed this church for a Presbyterian congregation. It is an attractive but rather modest brick church. It is quite small compared to the huge Catholic churches nearby. Limestone trim complements the brick work. The tall bell tower with its crenelated roof line is impressive. This may be the only Nettleton Kahn and Trowbridge design left intact in Detroit.
The firm ended in 1897. Trowbridge left to become dean of architecture at Cornell University. Kahn and Nettleton worked together until 1900. That was when Nettleton died. Kahn designed many residences factories libraries schools synagogues a lighthouse and a flag pole. However he did not design many other churches.
The first Presbyterian congregation in Detroit was organized in 1825. They were the third Protestant denomination in the city. Land for the church was purchased shortly before construction.
By 1925 plans were underway to erect the Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church. That congregation purchased the Bethany Memorial Church in 1925. Later in the 1920s the Presbyterians rented this church to the First Church of the Brethren of Detroit. That congregation purchased the church in 1939. In 1952 they moved away. They sold the church to Holy Romanian Orthodox Church. Then in 1977 it was sold to the current congregation Zion Progress Baptist Church.
Zion Progress received considerable press attention in the fall of 2013. Bishop Allyson D. Nelson Abrams had served as pastor for five years. She was the first woman to hold that appointment. She announced that she had married Diana Williams in Iowa. Some members of the Zion Progress congregation were not pleased. Bishop Abrams resigned her appointment. She also left her leadership position with the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity.
Sometimes we overlook religious leaders’ innovations. George Augustus Stallings had disagreements with the Roman Catholic diocese. In 1989 Father Stallings established an Afro-centric Catholic church. It was named Imani Temple. Ms. Diana Williams holds the title of Bishop Emeritus in the Imani Temple church.
The Zion Progress Missionary Baptist Church building stands as a testament to Detroit’s architectural and religious evolution. It has housed different congregations. It has witnessed societal shifts. It continues to serve its community.