Penrose Self Reliant Neighborhood
Neighborhood Churches
St. Peter's A.M.E. Church
4730 Margaretta Avenue, at Shreve
St. Peter's A.M.E. Church, the second oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church west of the Mississippi moved to this location in 1962. The building, dating from 1898, originally housed the Salem Evangelical and Reformed Church, now located in Florissant. This German congregation had worshipped in Penrose since 1886. The St. Peter's congregation was formed in 1847 by a group of north St. Louisans from St. Paul A.M.E. Church. In 1866, they built their first church at the corner of Elliot and Montgomery. The congregation remained at that site, rebuilding three times after storm damage, until the move to Penrose. Today St. Peters A. M. E. serves about 500 members. The churches outreach programs include Faith House, a shelter for babies born with drug addiction; Project Home Again, a housing-search program for families recently out of shelters; and Cooperative Congregational Outreach, a job training and employment-search program.
St. Elizabeth Catholic Church and School
4336 Shreve Avenue at Carter
St. Elizabeth's parish was organized by a small group of area residents in early 1891. Later that year, the first church was dedicated on a six acre site at Shreve and Carter Avenues. The present church, built in 1926, is a Tutor Gothic edifice designed by architect Henry P. Hess. The church's beautiful stained glass choir window was created by St. Louis artist Emil Frei. St. Engelbert's parochial school, for students from kindergarten through eighth grades, opened in 1891, moving to the present building at 4720 Carter Avenue in 1930. Originally a German Church, St. Elizabeth's congregation is now mostly African American, its 900 members coming from Penrose, Normandy, Florissant, and North County. St. Elizabeth is active in community outreach programs through the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Father Tolton Catholic Charities Outreach Center. St. Elizabeth's Church works closely with the Penrose neighborhood organizations on a variety of community-based projects.
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