After 127 years, Shiloh Baptist walks back to where it all started
Members of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church walked from their 7th Street sanctuary to the Benevolent Cemetery to honor their first pastor, Rev. A. A. Ginn, at his recently discovered gravesite. The church celebrates 127 years this Sunday.
By John Summers | WBR Independent | July 22, 2026
PORT ALLEN – On a Saturday morning in July, about 20 members of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church left their sanctuary on 7th Street and walked through Port Allen to a cemetery across town to honor a man most of them had only read about.
Rev. A. A. Ginn was Shiloh's first pastor, elected in 1899 when the church was reorganized under the Fourth District Baptist Association. He led the congregation for more than 30 years before resigning in 1931. His gravesite, along with that of his wife Elise Ginn, was recently discovered in the Benevolent Cemetery at the corner of Louisiana Avenue and Eleanor Street, across from Cohn Elementary School, about a half-mile from the church.
"This is a very significant ceremony to honor the first pastor from 1899," Dr. Raymond E. Allen Sr., Shiloh's current pastor, said at the graveside on July 18.
Dressed in matching red church T-shirts and carrying a banner reading "Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, Est. 1899," the group walked together from the church. A Port Allen Police unit escorted the procession with lights on. Some members carried umbrellas against the morning sun. Inside the sanctuary before the walk, an oval portrait of Rev. Ginn hung on the wall with a small plaque beneath it: "Rev. A.A. Ginn, 1899-1931."
At the cemetery, the congregation gathered around the gravesite, which had been restored with a white concrete slab bordered by white stones. Allen opened with a reading from John 14 before addressing the group. Members placed red rose wreaths at the grave, bowed their heads, and sang together before Allen led a closing prayer.
"All of us stand on somebody's shoulder," Allen said. "We don't take it lightly like we did it on our own volition."
A church older than its own records
Shiloh's written history dates the church's reorganization to 1899, but two cornerstones on the building tell a slightly different story. An older dedication plaque, placed during a 1939 renovation under Rev. T. R. Provost, reads "Organized 1898, Erected 1900." A second stone, set in the brick when the current sanctuary was rebuilt in 1966, also reads "Org. 1898."
Church records suggest the congregation was already gathering at the corner of Eighth Street and Rosedale Road before the reorganization. When the Fourth District Baptist Association formally reorganized the church, Rev. H. Williams, president of the association and pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, oversaw the process. Ginn was elected pastor.
The church's early leadership included Frank Spears as chairman of the Board of Deacons, Laura Walker as chairlady of the Board of Deaconesses, and Hester Joseph as Mother of the Church.
In 1900, the congregation purchased land from the Benevolent Society for a permanent church home and received its official charter. Ginn served until 1931. His wife, Elise Ginn, served as one of the church's early Mothers of the Church.
After Ginn, the church was led by Rev. J. W. Fisher (1931-1934) and Rev. T. R. Provost (1934-1954), who re-chartered the church for 99 years. Rev. Isaiah H. Warner followed and served for 34 years. Under Warner, the congregation built the sanctuary it still uses today, which opened in January 1966. The 1966 cornerstone was laid by the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Louisiana. Warner retired on January 15, 1988.
Rev. Alvin L. Green Sr. became pastor in 1991 and served until his death on October 5, 2000. Allen was elected on July 3, 2001, and has led the church for 25 years.
"We remember the legacy that Reverend Ginn set forth," Allen said Saturday. "We will continue what those former pastors set for us. We will continue that tradition, continue to serve this community and help build God's kingdom."
127th anniversary celebration this Sunday
Shiloh will celebrate its 127th anniversary this Sunday, July 26, at 3 p.m. at the church, 950 7th Street in Port Allen. Dr. Rene F. Brown, pastor of Mt. Zion First Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, will serve as guest speaker. Award-winning artist Arthur Gremillion and the Mt. Zion Choir will perform.
The celebration is open to the public.
