Greater New Shiloh has been the church home of Rosie Brown since the 1980s when she was invited by her relatives who were already attending church there. “I was baptized at GNS,” said Brown who has lived in walking distance from the church for the past 2-3 years. “I love attending GNS and I love the people who attend there.” Mary Elizabeth Mitchell Harris has been a member of Greater New Shiloh all her life. She remembers being baptized around the age of 12 by Rev. G. T. Thomas. Harris grew up on Fizer near Getwell. Her father, former GNS Deacon Joseph Mitchell Sr. and another man hauled the lumber used to construct the old church to its current location using a horse and wagon. “My father drew a picture of what the church looked like before it was rebuilt in 1921-1922” said Harris. “I know they brought the lumber up and they had to make a church out of it. I remember it being small, it wasn’t a big church and they had a heater in there.” gospel chorus at GNS. She recited the Accompanied by her niece, her sister daughter Mona Brooks Jones, the two gone by. “I’ve been at GNS all my life,” said GNS. My mother was the oldest the church was moved. My members. My grandmother was on the Mitchell was a deacon. You had no Harris was a member of the Gospel Chorus and the Golden Girls singing group that consisted several of the older ladies from the story of her family and GNS. Melissa Mitchell Brooks Brown’s shared their memories from days Brown. “All of the children belonged to daughter. She was born in 1921 when grandparents were active church motherboard and my granddad, Pa choice, you went to church. We all went to church. ” “I remember one time I asked to go to the movies because the little girls my age were going to the movies,” said Harris. “Momma said, ’Young lady, if you don’t go to church, you aren’t going nowhere!” Other than adding a new wing, a few other things have changed over the years at GNS. “I get tickled now because they have Thanksgiving and Christmas services at 10 o’clock,” said Jones. “When we were growing up it was always at 6 am. You didn’t look at your toys or nothing else because you had to get ready to go to church and we walked.” According to Jones, it wasn’t a long walk. The family, at that time, lived near the intersection of Park Avenue and Laurel Street. “We had to walk up Park and make that left on Maywood,” said Jones. “Rain, snow, sleet, or shine,” added Harris “and most of the time, it was snow!” Jones added, “It would be dark, sometimes pitch black dark, but the beautiful snow brightened things up so you could see the way to the church! Alberta Echols has been a member of GNS for the past 40+ years. She remembers church leaders Pastor Joe ‘Gospel Joe’ Williams (1960-1996), Pastor Rev. Arthur Snow (1996-2007), Rev. Dr. Fred C. Lofton (2007-2017), and the current Shepherd, Pastor Franklin Collins. “I live just a couple of streets down from the church now,” said Echols who served in the gospel chorus and choir and has resided in the Orange Mound community for about the same length of time she’s been a faithful member of GNS. “We had a club called the Rose of Sharon which was a food ministry of sorts where I worked in the kitchen under Bro. Willie James McNeil. I made breakfast foods like Jack Mackerel and homemade biscuits. He was such a beautiful person who contributed so much to the church.” 29
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