2026 SESSION
ENROLLED
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 199
Commending Pilgrim Baptist Church.
Agreed to by the Senate, March 10, 2026
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 12, 2026
WHEREAS, in 2025, Pilgrim Baptist Church celebrated its 125th anniversary of service as a beacon of hope, strength, and spiritual growth in the Richmond community; and
WHEREAS, Pilgrim Baptist Church traces its roots to 1900, when the Reverend William Thomas organized a congregation in a small chapel in Miller's Field, around what is now the 1600 block of Chamberlayne Avenue; and
WHEREAS, after the church disbanded a few years later, two members of the community, Christina Kemp and her daughter, Carrie Satterwhite, saw the need to continue providing religious education to local children and formed a Sunday school in their home; and
WHEREAS, Pilgrim Baptist Church began to reorganize as early as 1909 with the Reverend James H. Williams as its pastor, but it was not until 1917 that the church purchased a building located on what is now Bowling Green Road and united a group of the original congregants from the Miller's Field church with Christina Kemp and Carrie Satterwhite's group; and
WHEREAS, over the next few years, Pilgrim Baptist Church continued to grow in faith and number, with its membership reaching 200 individuals; and