New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church

The solid limestone edifice of St. Mel's was once a thriving Irish Catholic parish. It was purchased in 1993 by the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, a growing congregation with a long history in the area. Very aware of the building's past, they have carefully updated the sanctuary while maintaining much of the intricate plaster and painted decoration. The Archdiocese of Chicago removed the large stained-glass rose windows, creating an opportunity for the new church to put a stamp on the building. The north window is called the Rose Window. It was constructed to honor the Great Migration of African Americans seeking a better life in northern states. The window was installed in 1999. In 2000, the east Maafa Window was installed. Maafa is Swahili for “the great struggle.” It commemorates the horrors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The west window is called the Sankofa Peace Window. Sankofa refers to the principle of gleaning wisdom offered from the past to forge a better future. The window memorializes the lives of young people gone too soon. It depicts the four African American girls killed in the church bombing in Alabama in 1963. It also shows several young people who lost their lives to violence in Chicago: Derrion Albert, Laquan McDonald, Hadiya Pendleton, Blair Holt, and Demetrius Griffin.