Stone of Help: Ebenezer: The First Fifty Years (1911 - 1961)

In naming their church after the biblical monument “Ebenezer,” which in Hebrew means “stone of help,” the leaders of Harlem’s Ebenezer Gospel Tabernacle were teaching their congregation the value of remembering from where they had come. Today, 100 years later, this stone memorial continues to remind these ordinary people that God has played an extraordinary role in building their faith community. Dr. Marilyn Maye has written a compilation of history and edited a collection of memoirs for the spiritual offspring of Ebenezer’s earliest members. However, readers from similar faith communities may be surprised by how much history the Ebenezer family shares with them. The triumphs and pitfalls of early immigrant pioneers of color to New York City, living and worshipping alongside pioneers of the Black migrations from the southern states, are highlighted in Stone of Help, a book that can be instructive to people who’ve recently migrated to the U.S., as well as to people born here. Set in early to mid–20th century Harlem, Stone of Help chronicles Ebenezer’s humble beginnings in both spiritual and sociological contexts. Maye shows how, in the midst of two world wars, a horrific flu pandemic, racial discrimination, and hostile workplace conditions, these pioneers nevertheless survived and even flourished. Some of the memoirs may disturb you; others may make you laugh out loud. Hopefully, all of them will inspire you. In time, Ebenezer’s members spread across the city, the nation, and the globe, carrying their unique heritage into leadership positions in a variety of religious and secular institutions. Today, Ebenezer’s legacy is etched in stone and also in the lives of people who have been transformed by faith in Christ as taught and modeled at the church. As Ebenezer and other such churches continue the journey into their second century, Maye points to the challenges of being in neighborhoods with changing demographics and in communities that place a lesser value on religious thought and practice. However, she also points to the benefits that come from recalling the triumphs that the early pioneers experienced—with God’s help. Proceeds from the sale of this book go towards sustaining this Harlem landmark, as the congregation enters its second century.

Marilyn C. Maye, Ed.D., Editor A native of Harlem, a lifelong educator and church lay leader, Marilyn C. Maye is an advocate for young people of the African Diaspora. Her first book, co-written with her husband, Warren L. Maye, is Orita: Rites of passage for youth of African descent in America. She has been a university professor in New York and New Jersey, a public school district administrator, and co-founder of a charter school in Bronx, New York. A specialist in mathematics education and educational leadership, she designs and provides professional development programs for universities and school districts.