He
left before the people had a chance to say goodbye. Members at the congregation,
where he served as pastor since 1992, are still crying after the decision was
made to reassign him to a historic church in San Francisco. His departure was swift.
Sort
of like a thief in the night.
Reverend
Philip R. Cousin, Jr. ended his tenure as pastor of St. Joseph AME Church last
week. He immediately took the reign at
Bethel AME Church, San Francisco’s oldest black church, founded in 1852. His departure from Durham ends a long season
of faithful service to the church and broader community.
Some
will remember Cousin as the son a great bishop.
His father once served as the pastor of the same church. Many remembered Phil Jr. before he grew up to
become a minister. He was a child of the
church he served. His faith was nurtured
within a community raised under the powerful teachings of his father.
“They
say a prophet is no honor in his own home,” Cousin says. “I’ve been able to
receive honor in my own home. I received
honor as pastor in the church I grew up, and I was able to lead in the city
where I grew up.”
Cousin
was educated in the Durham Public School System before attending the University
of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. From
there, Cousin attended divinity school at Duke – back to Durham. It always felt like Durham was the place he
belonged.
“I
will continue to keep my house here,” Cousin says. “I’m going, but I’m not leaving.”
Cousin
wasn’t able to say goodbye to the members at St. Joseph AME before he
left. The church celebrated their annual
pastor appreciation before heading to the conference on his first Sunday in San
Francisco. Pastors in the AME tradition
never get a chance to say goodbye. While
they celebrated their pastor back in Durham, he was saying hello to his new
congregation.
Maybe
it helps that Cousin plans to return someday.
“70
is looking more attractive,” Cousin said when asked when he would retire. “My wife says I may make it to 75.”
Cousin
said he felt like a visitor after preaching his first sermon at Bethel AME. Time will change all of that. It always does. He preached from II Kings 4 about leaving one
place to develop new relationships.
Cousin
says San Francisco is Durham on a larger scale.
The area surrounding the church has transformed from a community once
populated by mostly blacks to a blend of blacks, Hispanics, Asians and
Russians.
“For
the church to survive it must look like the community where it lives,” Cousin
says.
Cousin
has watched Durham grow and change. He served as a member of the Board of
Education and as a member of the Board of County Commissioners. His departure leaves vacant his position as
chairman of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People. Cousin says the DCABP will be left in good
hands.
“The
real work of the DCABP is with the subcommittees,” Cousin says. “If the general
body will not get in the way and bind down and micromanage the subcommittees,
the change will be fine.”
“Durham
is the best place to live in the entire world,” Cousin says. “I’ve watched it grow with the DPAC coming in
and the emergence of the Hayti Center.
Durham will continue to grow.”
Phil
Cousin, Jr. came to St. Joseph AME as the son of a man who would become a
bishop. He learned to serve without the
support of the family that helped him grow up. Along the way, he ran and won
seats on both the Board of Education and Board of County Commissioners.
“The
people at St. Joseph allowed me to lead.
The people of Durham allowed me to lead in public office,” Cousin
says. Both are gifts he cherishes. “I thank everyone for allowing me to lead.”
Cousin
wasn’t allowed to say goodbye. He never
has. Bethel AME is the seventh church he
has been called to lead. He has never
said goodbye. It seems different this
time.
It’s
not goodbye. It’s more like we will see you later. Durham is home. It always will be.
Cousin
has a house in Durham to prove his love for the place that will always be home
sweet home.
We’ll
see you later Rev.
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