Willie L. Merrick, Pastor
Pastor
The Flipper Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church
A Brief History
God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, Holy Spirit Our Comforter, Humankind Our Family.
Church Motto
During the late 1920’s, a group of children often played in the unpaved streets of their community on Sunday mornings. This did not go unnoticed by the Reverend Elijah Hill who thought to himself, “They ought to be in Sunday school”.
On September 1, 1927 the Reverend Elijah Hill and his wife Alberta Hill, called the neighborhood children out of the streets and organized a Sunday school in their home.
By April of 1928, land and a building were acquired. This led to a church dedication service which was attended by Bishop Joseph S. Flipper, the Presiding Prelate of the Sixth Episcopal District, after whom the church would be named.
It was a commitment to the cause of Christ that translated into the Reverend Elijah Hill and his wife Mrs. Alberta Hill starting the community’s first Sunday school which is now known as the Flipper Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
On Friday, September 13, 2013, at the 148th Session of the Florida Annual Conference, Bishop Adam Jefferson Richardson Jr., the Presiding Prelate of the Eleventh Episcopal District, assigned the Reverend Willie L. Merrick as Pastor of the Flipper Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church.