Groton ― Worshipers stood in the wooden pews at St. John’s Christian Church on a September evening, singing, clapping, dancing, playing tambourines and waving pom poms to Gospel songs, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” and “You are Good.”

They had much to celebrate as they gathered in the bright glow of chandeliers under the sloped ceiling of the Shennecossett Road church sanctuary: Their thankfulness to God and for one another having grown the church, from its first service in the founding family’s New London home 40 years ago to a strong presence in the community with about 100 members.

The Rev. Joseph L. Coleman, pastor of St. John’s Christian Church, had set out in the early 1980s to start a church by holding services out of his house on State Pier Road in New London.

His oldest daughter, Nicole Thornton, then a teenager, was so excited about her father having his own church that she got all her friends together from the neighborhood to form a choir.

The church then moved to the former YWCA on Thames Street in the City of Groton, and then the former Knights of Columbus building.

That space, now the church’s fellowship hall, seemed like a cathedral to them at the time, said First Lady Ollita Coleman, the wife of pastor Coleman and a deaconess in the church.

“We were so thankful to have a building of our own to go to,” she said.

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Called to Groton

Coleman, now 81, who is from New London, said he had been associate minister at Walls Clarke Temple A.M.E. Zion Church in New London for nine years, when he received an assignment from the bishop of the A.M.E. Zion Church to start the first official, fully established Black church in Groton.

“We were called to this area,” said Coleman, who later made the church non-denominational.

The church’s founding was not without its struggles, but God and people, who were there along the way, helped, the Colemans said.

The history included a court battle involving the city and the church over a cease-and-desist order, but since then the city and the church have had a very good relationship, Joseph Coleman said.

In the 2000s, the city allowed the church to hold services at the Municipal Building when the church was expanding its building, a project that was supposed to take several months but turned into three years, after it was discovered that a new foundation was needed.

Leaders of Pentecostal Rescue Mission in New London, Groton Bible Chapel, and Shiloh New London Church, where St. John’s celebrated its first anniversary, served as mentors. When St. John’s Christian Church was renting space at the Y, Pentacostal Rescue Mission opened up its doors so St. John’s could hold evening services at its church building.

“We’ve been blessed, so we have to bless other people,” said Ollita Coleman.

When starting the church, the Colemans, longtime residents of New London, were working and raising two teenage daughters, Nicole and Carla. Ollita Coleman worked as assistant manager of operator services at Southern New England Telephone Company, and Joseph Coleman both worked and ministered for 17 years until he retired from Pfizer.

At the Sept. 20 service to celebrate the people who supported the church over its 40 years, the Rev. Coleman milled about the church’s sanctuary, cheerfully greeting people from the church’s past and present. Ollita Coleman smiled, as she spoke with attendees.

In remarks sprinkled with humor and warmth, Ollita Coleman thanked everyone who helped.

“I look back over our lives in the past 40 years, God has been so good,” Ollita Coleman, who was the mistress of ceremonies at the service, said to the roomful of people. “God has given us friendships, and we’re part of a family. There’s a new generation that’s coming in. They’re coming in. We paid our dues. I really believe it. I mean 40 years ago, the pastor was 41. I was 39.”

Thornton, the Colemans’ oldest daughter, sang “Stand” at a lectern, draped with a purple cloth, on the stage where flowers were arranged and a banner on the wall said “St. John’s Christian Church 1983-2023” and commemorated “our faithful journey” under “Elder Joseph L. Coleman - Founder.“

Joseph Coleman shared the story of how the city allowed the church to be at the city’s Municipal Building during the church’s construction. People chuckled when he remembered the estimated stay of, ‘Oh, about a couple of months,’ turned into three years.

At the anniversary celebration, representatives of Pentecostal Rescue Mission Church, Shiloh New London Church, and Groton Bible Chapel, and City Mayor Keith Hedrick and City Police Chief David Burton received plaques, and the Colemans hugged them.

“God has blessed St. John’s,” said Shiloh New London Bishop Benjamin K. Watts, who remembered the obstacles that stood in the way. He cited Psalm 129 and said to remember that the house has been built by the Lord, with the Colemans as leaders and people helping. He said the Colemans have led with their blood, sweat, and tears.

Community outreach

In the 1980s, St. John’s Christian Church bought a van to pick up people for church and to evangelize on the streets of New London. Coleman’s sister, deaconess Jackie Cluff, opened up her home to some people who had no place to go, and they lived with her until they got back on their feet, Coleman said.

He said the church continues its street ministry to help people, from paying for their stay at rehabilitation centers to giving them money to buy a meal.

“We try to show them the love of Christ in every way we can by showing them that there are some people that love you regardless of what you have done, how far you’ve fallen,” he said. “Let us help you pick you up.”

Today, the church helps give away backpacks, coat and prom dresses, offers Sunday School, choir rehearsal, and prayers, among other ministries and services, and holds an annual daddy-daughter dance at Ocean Beach Park. A reverend visits people in the convalescent home, and the church has a ministry of kindness that pays people’s rent or buys food, or whatever else they need to help them get back on their feet. The church also is restarting its prison ministry, and sends aid to places, such as to Hawaii after the recent wildfires.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the church cooked meals and passed them out to people driving through the parking lot.

The church holds an annual Martin Luther King Jr. service.

New London NAACP President Jean Jordan said St. John’s, which is located next to Branford Manor Apartments, is active in their community and with residents of the neighborhood near Branford Manor. In 2019, the New London NAACP honored Coleman with a lifetime achievement award.

“We consider their church as our home when we’re in Groton,” Jordan said.

Coleman, who also is the chaplain of the City of Groton Police Department, said the police department has grown more diverse in his 23 years as chaplain. He said he has a voice in speaking about the importance of hiring more people of color and has “made an impact in changing the dynamics of the police department because the people have to see somebody that looks like them.”

Hedrick, the city’s mayor, said he deeply values his relationship with Coleman, who has provided him with counseling on many community issues, and St. John’s provides space for the United Way’s food drives.

“I have never heard him say no when I asked for his help,” Hedrick said. “He’s always been there, and for that I am grateful.”

Elder Charmaine Johnson of St. John’s Christian Church, Coleman’s sister, said that it is a blessing that “God made us a rainbow church,” with people of all different colors.

Gary Campbell, senior pastor at Groton Bible Chapel, said he remembers while growing up, St. John’s Christian Church and Groton Bible Chapel held combined baptism services, and he thought “this is a picture of heaven.”

Campbell said that as a high-school student, he helped run a Sunday School program for Groton Bible Chapel at Branford Manor. He remembers when he asked the Rev. Coleman if he could use the church’s space when it was raining, Coleman enthusiastically answered in his characteristic booming voice: “Absolutely.”

After the death of George Floyd in 2020, Campbell said he reached out to Coleman to listen and ask how he could support him, and invited Coleman to a meeting with Groton Bible Chapel’s elders. Shortly thereafter, Campbell and Coleman began meeting regularly with a small group of pastors in the area.

A safety net

Jessica Nevith, 39, a member of the church, said the church is a “support and safety net for people to fall on.” She came to the church after a turbulent period in her life about 10 years ago.

Nevith, who does administrative work and writing for the church, said she doesn’t have an education, but the church helped her understand that she can succeed.

“You just need to believe in God, and everything will come together,” she said. “This is truly a support system here that they have built within these 40 years. I cannot say that I have seen a foundation in a church stronger than this one.”

Campbell added that the Colemans have been mother and father figures for the generation behind them and now are grandparent figures. He said whenever he runs into Joseph and Ollita Coleman in the community, he’s instantly embraced. Campbell said it’s just how they treat people.

“It sounds cliché, but they just love people,” Campbell said. “There’s not a pretense. I mean it’s just pure.”

Deaconess Beryl Rattley said on any given Sunday, at least four generations of families will be present at St. John’s.

The church has a steady membership of about 100 people, but Elder Lee Nevith, Jessica Nevith’s father-in-law, said that if all the people who came through the church’s doors over the decades were counted, St. John’s probably would be a “mega church.”

Coleman said when he looks back on the 40 years, he believes in his heart that the church made a positive impact on the community, including New London, Groton, Stonington and Norwich, and on people’s lives.

“There's been a lot of people that stayed for a season,” he said. “They’re gone, and that’s what they were supposed to do, and while they were here, we ministered to them, helped them anyway that we can, and it has made, I believe, a great impact on this community here.”

k.drelich@theday.com