28 jan 1968 & lincoln temple congregational church

#OTD Sunday 28 January 1968 members of the Lincoln Temple Congregational Church (11th & R Streets, NW) walked up the stairs to their grand church. Many arrived before 9:30am for Sunday School. Others arrived in time for the 11am worship service delivered by the church pastor, Rev. Channing E. Phillips.

In addition to serving its members, Lincoln Temple also opened its doors to organizations in the city who were fighting for peace & justice including the Black United Front (an umbrella group for the black freedom struggle) and the Committee for Returned Volunteers (Peace Corps group). 

Just a few weeks before, on 7 January, the church hosted a Committee for Returned Volunteers meeting. William Sloan Coffin, white Yale University Chaplain, presented on "The Returned Volunteer and Vietnam." He had recently been indicted by the federal government for conspiring to instruct young men to resist the draft.

The building's history dates back 150 years to May 1868 when the American Missionary Association purchased it to start a school. 

Photo source:
Lincoln Temple Congregation Church history  
Lincoln Temple ad, Evening Star 6 January 1968
"Indicted Cleric in DC Tonight," Evening Star 7 January 1968