Rev. L. M. Anderson – 1st
Baptist Church of St. Augustine
WPA Negro Studies
Project Florida Contemporary Culture Lifestyle Martin Richardson Field Worker
May 14, 1936 John A Simms Editor
The unusual sight of
a church whose walls are filled with oil paintings done in spare time by its
own pastor is to be found in the First Baptist Church on Francis, corner of
Dumas Street, in St. Augustine.
The minister of the
church, Rev L. M. Anderson, has done amateur painting as a hobby for several
years. Some time ago, however, he felt the need of a large-scale map to
illustrate the text of many of his sermons, and after about a year of work, he
completed a detailed map of the Holy land, with the travels of the Israelites
clearly traced thereon.
At the beginning of
1936, Rev Anderson decided to paint a life-sized picture of an angel writing
the record of the members of the church for the year; within a few hours an
excellent crayon-on paper drawing filled about one-third of the wall space
behind his pulpit.
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