Who's behind the sign at First Baptist Church?

I saw the question on Twitter, and had to know. Now we all do!

That person is Rev. Jamie Washam, the pastor of First Baptist Church in America. 

Originally from Texas, Jamie and her family moved to Rhode Island five years ago from Milwaukee. She is the 37th settled minister at the First Baptist Church in America and will happily geek out on all things Roger Williams. They love living in Little Rhody.

1. You've called the marquee outside the church the "Wayside Pulpit." How did you come up with that name? 

 The name is not unique to us. It refers to the idea that it is a sermon for passersby. 

2. What's the history of the Wayside Pulpit? 

I checked in with our church historian, J. Stanley Lemons for this one. He recounted the following and sent along photos. "The first signboard of any sort to identify the church was put up by Elisha Abraham Hanley, about 1912. You can see it attached to the tree by the walk in this 1914 photo of Brown's graduation. 

Then, the church sign was moved over toward the corner, as you can see in this 1924 Brown graduation picture. 

That rather simple signboard was then replaced by about 1930 by the one shown in the 1930 picture. 

That was subsequently replaced by.one in the present location. It is shown in this 1947 photo. You will see that the present sign was there by 1947, but it looks as if the opening was smaller than in its now. 

 Dan Ivins (First Baptist's 36th settled minister, 2006-2014) was the one who began putting messages on the signboard. Before that it was the usual title of sermon, time, etc. Ivins wanted to install one of those electronic signboards to make it easier to do, but that was vetoed by the various historic commissions and due to opposition in the church itself." 

3. How does the message relate to the mission of the church? 

 The church stands for soul freedom and religious liberty. The messages aim to enlighten and encourage, to promote joy and to provoke thought and compassion. This is in keeping with the mission of the church. The bad puns are due to the current message maker's corny sense of humor. 

4. Who comes up with the messages? Has it always been the same person? 

The pastor is responsible for the signboard.  Well, we change pastors with time, so this is a perk of the job. 

5. How often do you change the message? 

We aim to change it weekly. Sometimes life intervenes to delay a few days (weather) or world circumstances compel a quicker turnover. 

6. Other than holidays, have you repeated messages? 

 On occasion we repeat messages, but we try to mix it up. 

7. Do you have any personal favorites? 

It would be hard to choose a favorite. We post them on Facebook and Instagram, so some take on lives of their own, having resurgences on the web long after an initial post. One of my favorites is when people are passing by or on the lawn while I am changing the board, and they step into the frame and snap a photo. They become the message. I urge them to remain upright and noble humans going forward, so as to uphold the witness of the church to the community. 

8. Do you take suggestions? 

I always take suggestions, but do not always honor them. Inspiration comes from everywhere... scripture, poetry, a taco stand in Austin, bumper stickers, other signboards... this is a medium that is clearly in the public domain. If I know the original source of a specific citation, I'll reference it, either on the sign itself, space permitting, or in a comment attached to a post. However, that is not always possible. Part of the charm of the medium is its brevity. It is the original tweet. A few years ago, a local poet, Kate Colby approached us with an offer to be an occasional poet-in-residence. She envisioned a kind of Burma-Shave type message that revealed lines of poetry week to week. Her work appears from time to time.

Bonus link to the video "Visitor's Guide to the History & Architecture of The First Baptist Church in America."