The Ladies Auxiliary to the Trustee Board’s Annual Pink Tea

Let’s go back in history a bit in the Black Church in America. Back in the day. Especially in the South. Before women preachers in the pulpit. Before women were appointed to the Trustee Board. Remember back when there was the Ladies Auxiliary to the Trustee Board?

Well, if you lived on Halls Hill in the 1950’s and 60’s the Ladies Auxiliary at Mount Salvation Baptist Church was that organization. And you may not have remembered the group, but you never forgot their annual fundraiser, The Pink Tea!

Every year in the spring in the Langston Elementary School Multipurpose Room, the ladies of the Mount Salvation Baptist Church Ladies Auxiliary to the Trustee Board would show off and show out! They beautifully decorated the room, and presented tables full of delectable finger foods and appetizers to enjoy. The auxiliary members formed teams or groups to plan their menus and work to make their table the best of the event.

I absolutely LOVED the Pink tea. I looked forward to the event every year. My mom, Idabel Jones teamed with her two best friends, Patience Spriggs and Rosa Hyson (known as our Aunts Pat and RoRo) to make their best recipes every year. Rev. James Browne, was like an unofficial judge, and all the kids would see what he had on his plate because all the ladies wanted him to taste their food. At least that’s the way I remember it.

It wasn’t just a “church event.” It was a neighborhood event. It didn’t matter what church you attended, or if you even went to church. Folks attended and supported because that’s was the way of our community.

As I described in the book,

“The churches on Halls Hill thrived in the 1960s. Mount Salvation was under the longtime pastoral leadership of Rev. Richardson, and the sanctuary was packed every Sunday. New ideas and events to raise money and keep the church flourishing were implemented by men, women, and the youth leadership. One of the women’s events was an annual pink tea. Groups of women would partner and develop a “table menu,” with each woman cooking a “tea-worthy” delicacy for the afternoon. It was held in the multi- purpose room of Langston. My mom was involved, along with all the other women of the church. The room was decorated beauti- fully, with multiple shades of pink with cream or white. Guests used cocktail plates to taste the flavors offered on each table.

Although there wasn’t an official winner determined, the women who prepared the best-tasting dishes were easy to spot, as their food was on everyone’s plates!”

My Halls Hill Family: More Than a Neighborhood

I don’t think I ever missed a year at the Pink Tea when we were church members there. Those events are wonderful memories from my Halls Hill childhood.

Do you have memories of the Mount Salvation Baptist Church Ladies Auxiliary to the Trustee Board’s Annual Pink Tea?