04/24/2025
In loving memory
The Rev. Kenneth Hodges has been pastor at Beaufort’s storied Tabernacle Baptist Church for 28 years. He views himself as a steward of the church and its historic heritage.
Tabernacle Baptist, in the heart of the City’s Historic District on Craven Street, was established officially in 1863 as a church for Blacks worshipers, although the building itself dates to 1811. “When all the whites fled Beaufort in 1862, Blacks remained here and worshiped here,” Rev. Hodges said.
In fact, after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, the congregation gathered at the church and wrote a resolution that read: “That we all unite, with our hearts & minds & souls, to give thanks to God for this great thing that He has done for us; that He had put it into his (Mr. Lincoln’s) mind – that we all should come to this very stand, according to the will of God, in freeing all the colored people. We believe that Jesus Christ will now see of the travail of his soul, in what he has done for us.” This resolution is now among the papers of Abraham Lincoln, Rev. Hodges said.
The church is known as the final resting place of Robert Smalls, the man who changed the course of Beaufort’s history and was instrumental in Reconstruction. He is buried in the church’s cemetery along with his two wives who passed away before him.
“The church was the foundation of the Black community,” Rev. Hodges said. “It’s where people come together to worship, to educate their children and to focus on the challenges of each era.” Over the decades – from slavery through Reconstruction through Jim Crow through the civil rights movement to today – the church was home to rallies, lectures, concerts. “It was here that people became knowledgeable about the various issues impacting them,” he noted.
Pastor Hodges grew up “across the river” in Bennett’s Point in Colleton County. He attended Greenpoint Elementary and Walterboro High School. He got his undergraduate degree at Clark Atlanta University and in 1986 a Master’s of Divinity at Morehouse University’s School of Religion. Among his many accomplishments: Serving in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2005 until 2016, representing Beaufort and Colleton counties.
His church today has 400 members, and a rich legacy in the 12 churches that it has spun off. One of the biggest challenges today, he said, is that the church is no longer surrounded by the Black community and Black businesses as it once was. Many of its members have moved further out and it’s important to make sure they still feel connected. “How do you remain relevant when your community doesn’t live right around you,” he wondered.
Above the beautiful church’s sanctuary is the Matthew 11:28 verse: “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Without question, the Tabernacle Baptist Church has been giving rest to the African-American community in Beaufort since its very beginning.
