ABOUT US
In 1905, the first Black congregation of the Methodist Episcopal church in St. Petersburg was founded by the Reverend Pearl A. Daniels along with Gabe McDaniels, Charles McDaniels, Mrs. Lavonia Murphy, and Mrs. Annie Saunders, the McCabe Memorial Methodist Church was organized. Other charter members included Mrs. T.K. Childs, Mrs. Anna Curry, Zinn Harris, Mrs. Janie Jones, and Mrs. Victoria Fields.
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McCabe's first worship service was held at Mt. Olive Primitive Baptist Church, then located on Tenth Street North. Later, the congregation moved to a small frame building on Second Avenue South, presently the east entrance to Tropicana Field. Members of this congregation began making contributions to build a new church. The new building was completed and named for the late Bishop C. C. McCabe, who also dedicated the church for service.
The rapid growth of population in St. Petersburg influenced another change in location. In 1919 under Reverend W. P. Holmes, a new church was built at Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street South. McCabe ministered from this location for fifty years.
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Further development in the city in 1969, made it necessary for McCabe members to seek another location. A site committee was appointed to undertake the task under the guidance of Reverend John H. Adams. The committee selected the present site, then addressed as 2701 28th Street South. The Reverend C. Don Steger was appointed pastor of McCabe during the beginning stages of constructing the new sanctuary. During construction, the congregation worshiped at Child's Park United Methodist Church. In November of 1972, Reverend Steger, Bishop James Henley, District Superintendent Gaylon Howe, and members of McCabe dedicated the new building.
The early morning hours of April 20, 1991, bought disbelief and sorrow to the McCabe Family. A raging fire, ignited by an overnight burglar destroyed the building in its entirety. While rebuilding, the church worshiped at Christ United Methodist Church. On May 31, 1992, Pastor Floyd L. Waters, Bishop H. Hasbrouck Hughes, retiring District Superintendent Eugene Zimmerman, and the McCabe congregation consecrated its rebuilt building. The address was then changed to 2800 26th Avenue South.
The church was blessed with a Pinellas County Head Start Program in 1994. On April 2, 2001, the Head Start Planning Board, in conjunction with city funding, constructed a three-classroom facility on the church site. In the summer of 2012, Pinellas County Head Start Program closed at this site. Under the leadership of Reverend I. James Mitchell, McCabe partnered with United Methodist Cooperative Ministries in opening a five classroom Early Learning Center.
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For over 113 years, McCabe has been committed to families and children, liberation for the oppressed, and making disciples for Jesus Christ.
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OUR VISION
To be the church where all persons are welcomed and encouraged through the Love and Grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to participate in a multi-generational practice of praising and serving God.
OUR MISSION
The mission of McCabe United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
WHO WE ARE
We are the people of the United Methodist Church with Open Hearts, Open Minds, and Open Doors.
Senior Pastor
Reverend Jana Hall-Perkins
Rev. Jana Hall-Perkins was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Kissimmee, Florida. Her parents are from the Caribbean islands of Jamaica and St. Vincent & The Grenadines. She earned her B.S. in Public Relations at the University of Florida. Soon after, she relocated to Nashville, Tennessee where she attended Vanderbilt University. Rev. Jana earned a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt with a concentration in Black Church Studies.
During her time at Vanderbilt Divinity School, Rev. Jana’s passion for social justice and desire to respond faithfully to God’s call to ministry flourished. During this time, Rev Jana worked at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, studying the impact of faith on the life of people with disabilities. Rev. Jana became the first Divinity School student to become a lifelong trainee for the country wide network of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service developed in 1963 by John F. Kennedy.
Rev. Jana moved back to Florida in 2017. She currently serves as the Senior Pastor of McCabe United Methodist Church in Saint Petersburg, Florida. She continues to respond faithfully to God’s call to ministry, preaching and teaching the gospel, and living out the gospel in daily life. Rev. Jana is married to Rev. Lee Hall-Perkins, an ordained Elder in the Church of God in Christ. Together, they are the co-editors of Unashamedly Black, Unapologetically Christian: A Devotional for Black Faith and Life.