Seattle church leader L.A.-bound

In his six years in Seattle, the Rev. John Hunter has preached before a congregation of several hundred.

This Sunday, he'll be preaching to thousands.

Hunter, head of First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Seattle, considered the state's oldest African-American church, is leaving for Los Angeles to head one of the nation's most influential black churches.

On Monday, Bishop John Bryant appointed Hunter to head the 18,000-member First AME Church in Los Angeles, making Hunter the head of the West Coast's largest AME church.

"I have great enthusiasm," said Hunter, 47. "I'm going there to build upon the great history of the church."

Hunter will be replaced by the Rev. Carey Anderson, pastor at the 425-member St. Paul AME in Wichita, Kan. Anderson, 45, will deliver his first sermon Sunday to his new Seattle congregation.

Before his Wichita appointment, Anderson served 17 years as pastor at Bethel AME in Nevada, where he started a housing program for poor people. At St. Paul, he said, his congregation started an HIV/AIDS program and worked with local labor unions in promoting workers' rights.

"First AME has historically given a voice to the voiceless and the dispossessed. We hope to continue it, and more importantly, to enhance the voice so it speaks with greater clarity," Anderson said.

Anderson and his wife, Phyllis Gearring-Anderson, have an adult son, two teenage daughters and a granddaughter.

Anderson is "a fine young man, a good administrator, a good preacher," said the Rev. Ellis Casson, retired pastor of Seattle First AME and a presiding elder in the church's Pacific Northwest Conference.

In Seattle, Hunter expanded Seattle First AME's ventures into affordable housing and day care, opening a child-development center.

He has also been an outspoken civil-rights activist, particularly in 2002 when he helped lead a march down Interstate 5 to protest police shootings of black people.

"My theology embraces the liberation of the whole person — the soul, body, mind ... those of us who are advocates for the love of God seek justice and equality in all aspects of our society and protest and demonstrate when appropriate," Hunter said.

Hunter's telephones have been ringing and conversations swirling about him as parishioners and constituents absorb the news of his departure.

"It's hard. My heart is broken in two," said Lynda Jones, 40, a trustee and lifelong member of Seattle First AME. "I realize how much I have grown personally under his leadership. I'm excited for the people in L.A. to get to know and grow under him."

Casson called Hunter's move a big promotion. "It's a major pulpit. It's a big challenge. He's up to the task."

King County Juvenile Court Judge Leroy McCullough, a member of Seattle First AME, said the appointment is an excellent opportunity for Hunter, whom he called a brilliant man and a tremendous supporter of youth.

But Hunter also has detractors, especially stemming from his controversial proposal last year to sell the historic First AME building and move the congregation to South King County, which has seen growth in the number of African Americans. Hunter also contended that First AME was growing too big for its space, having added 600 members in five years.

After vocal opposition from congregants, Hunter decided a better option would be to remain in Seattle while adding a Sunday service at a facility in Kent.

"We took the issue of relocating off the table," he said. "I didn't think it was worth the spiritual rift that was caused."

Bea Farrar, who was on the opposite side of the relocation issue, hopes Hunter's replacement will ease the divisiveness in the congregation. "All I can say is goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. The AME does move its ministers around. ... Now, I hope we can come together as a congregation," she said.

Hunter said yesterday he knew the appointment to Los Angeles was a possibility. But "my prayer was: 'Lord, just allow me to accept your will for my life, regardless of where it takes me.' "

Hunter succeeds the Rev. Cecil "Chip" Murray, who is retiring after 27 years as senior pastor in Los Angeles. Murray had also served at Seattle First AME in the 1970s.

Among other achievements, Murray held the Los Angeles congregation together after the acquittal of four police officers in the 1992 Rodney King beating.

Later, Murray took the Los Angeles congregation from about 250 active members to a church with a $15 million budget, 15 affiliated nonprofits and about 1,000 new members a year through the '90s.

Nancy Bartley: 206-464-8522 or nbartley@seattletimes.com