2 days ago
Jamaica to Mattapan: Pastor James's enduring community impact
'What I hope people will take from today is paying it forward and providing a loving gesture to someone else and someone in need,' said
The City of Boston also designated Thursday, the second anniversary of Pastor James' passing, as Pastor Pearline B. James Day
as a tribute to her decades of service to the local community. Together with her husband Evan O. James, she turned their home into a childcare center for 37 years.
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In addition to childcare, Pastor James led a ministry called the couple's ministry in the Full Life Gospel Center. She dedicated her life to church services, and even took in international students from UMass Boston who didn't have a place to stay.
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The event took place around the James's home. The family has lived there for more than 55 years, Clark said. Many people who Pastor James impacted attended the ceremony, including ministry friends, neighbors, and family.
The ceremony included speakers such as Mayor Michelle Wu, City Councilor Enrique Pepén, Conan Harris representing his wife Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, and journalist and author Rev. Liz Walker.
'Block by block in Boston there are incredible people who made us who we are,' Wu said about highlighting Pastor James, the first Jamaican woman to have a street dedicated to her name in Boston.
Pastor James, born in Morant Bay, Jamaica, moved to Boston in 1971. She was a trained hospital dietician before dedicating herself to childcare. At age 60, Pastor James graduated with an associate's degree from Urban College of Boston.
Pastor James served as a minister at Full Life Gospel Center, where she led the couple's ministry. She was a profound source of strength to community members through her service, despite facing personal hardships. On November 13, 1989, Pastor James's son Conrad was shot and killed one block away from the family's home.
Clark continued in her mother's steps. After Pastor James was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, Clark became her caretaker. Clark, who is the CEO of the Boston Arts Academy Foundation, also leads the
'It means so much for her legacy and just who she was as an immigrant to this country,' Clark said.
Pastor James's granddaughter, Cherina D. Wright, who works at Suffolk University as the Assistant Vice President
for Student Affairs reminisced on childhood moments when she would walk up shiny red stairs, now white, to visit her grandmother. She remembers eating ice cream on those steps. Now, Wright said she carries her grandmother's essence everywhere she goes.
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'This was an opportunity to give to a woman that was just humbly in her space, giving to the community and to those that reached out to her and that she protected,' Wright said.
Pastor James's husband, 81-year-old Evan James, smiled as he remembered Pastor James' retreats for the couple's ministry. He described her as a 'workaholic,' who at the same time, 'didn't ask for anything.'
Audrey Beaumont, who was an assistant of the couple's ministry said that Pastor James had a huge presence, wasn't afraid to speak up, and inspired her to pay it forward in church. Beaumont said she holds a voicemail James sent her close to her heart, giving her comfort to this day.
'Hi sister Audrey, I miss you,' the voicemail said. 'I'll see you in a while.'
Pastor James's grandson, Will Clark, who claimed to be her favorite, said that his grandmother always wanted to share what she had with others, including her home.
'She's got the street named after her now, and it feels good, but it feels even better to be here,' Clark said.
Maria Probert can be reached at
