White, Black and now Hispanic
Church’s pews a reflection of the neighborhood
By Joanne Huist Smith
January 30, 2006
©Dayton Newspapers, Inc., all rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.

Robert E. Jones, pastor of College Hill Community Church (center) and Emerson Morales (bottom right) sing with the choir Sunday. In an effort to reach the Hispanic community, Morales, an intern from Guatemala, interprets, teaches and conducts Bible study in Spanish. (Photo by Chris Stewart, Dayton Daily News. Used by permission.)

DAYTON — Faced with a decision in the early 1970s to relocate or integrate, the white congregation of College Hill Community Church, Presbyterian USA — by four votes — opened its doors to black members.  

 “They decided to become whatever the neighborhood became. That was the genesis that enabled the church to survive,” Pastor Robert E. Jones said. 

By 1975, two pastors officiated at College Hill, one black and one white, a reflection of the faces filling the pews. Today, the congregation is predominately black, but once again the neighborhood is changing. So, too, is the church.  

Members are reaching out to Hispanic neighbors who live near the church at 1547 Philadelphia Drive. Sunday services at 8:30 and 11 a.m. are bilingual, with the exception of the sermon. A Spanish Bible study begins Tuesday at 6 p.m.  

“Martin Luther King used to get upset that the most segregated hour of the week was on Sunday,” Jones said. “I can’t imagine segregation in the Kingdom of Heaven. We’re trying to create Heaven on Earth here.”  

Emerson Morales, 30, is helping. The church invited the man from Guatemala City, who is studying to become a pastor, to intern at College Hill until June. He will be teaching Spanish to anyone who wants to learn (you don’t have to call ahead, just come) on Sundays from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 7 to 8 p.m. 

“In my county (it) is very segregated. I came here and said, ‘Oh, my God, this is beautiful. There are blacks, whites, Asians and Hispanics together,” Morales said. 

“I came here to see different expressions of faith, different cultures. This is a new experience for me.” 

The church has only a handful of Hispanic members, but a nearby business has 180 Spanish-speaking employees and another 20 live in a mobile home community one mile from the church.  

“Eight years ago, we put in a ramp for the handicapped and a person asked why we were putting in a ramp if we didn’t have members who needed it. The response was that maybe there are people who don’t come because they can’t get in,” Jones said. “You have to provide an opportunity for people to worship in their own way.”