NEW PASTOR HAS BIG PLANS FOR ST. JOHN AME CHURCH

JACKSON -- Unlike many ambitious young preachers, the Rev. James Winfrey wasn't discouraged when he learned his first full appointment would be to St. John AME Church last October.

The church's 11-member congregation and location two hours away from his home and primary source of income didn't daunt him for one simple reason: Winfrey and his wife, Barbara Winfrey-MaGee, were coming home.

The Winfreys have many ties to Jackson and St. John that date back to the turn of the century.

"My husband's late grandfather, Fred E. Bufford Sr., was born in Jackson in 1903 and left Jackson at age 17," said Barbara Winfrey-MaGee. "After working and raising a family in St. Louis, he returned to Jackson after retirement. He and his family were members of St. John, the very church his grandson now pastors. We know that he would have been proud."

Although not a native of the area, Barbara Winfrey-MaGee spent much of her childhood in Cape Girardeau. Her father, the Rev. John D. MaGee, was assigned to St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau for 12 years and served as pastor of St. John.

"She remembers exactly which pew she sat in as a little girl," said her husband. "She never dreamed she would be back in Jackson, especially as the wife of the pastor."

James Winfrey said his ties to the church made his assignment special. The congregation isn't even big enough for a choir, he said. Members make do by singing traditional hymns, often without musical accompaniment.

He said the church, which was founded in 1866 and rebuilt after a fire in 1931, is structurally sound and beautiful. It is exciting to consider re-introducing it to the community, he said.

"Our goal now is to really build on that history," he said. "We want to bring a renewed spirit to the city of Jackson."

Achieving that goal will mean ridding people of the notion that the church is a black church, Winfrey said. People need to know that although AME stands for African Methodist Episcopal, no one is denied entry because of their race, he said.

"I truly believe there's enough room there, a need in that community to serve everybody," he said. "Let's not just say we're a black church. I think St. John deserves more than that. They're a small-town church with a big-church heart."