By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

A portrait of gospel singer and Methodist minister the Rev. Charles Tindley, painted by Berlin artist Patrick Henry, is now on display at the Berlin Library.

Known as the “Grandfather of Gospel Music,” Tindley was born in Berlin in 1851. According to the Salisbury University site, “Enduring Connections,” a project that explores the Delmarva Peninsula’s Black history, Tindley taught himself to read, pursued additional education, and later became the pastor of thousands of members at what is now known as the Tindley Temple United Methodist Church in Philadelphia.

Tindley wrote many hymns, including “I’ll Overcome Someday,” which inspired the later civil rights anthem, “We Shall Overcome.”

Materials at the Berlin Library on loan from the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum say music played a significant role in Tindley’s sermons.

“Often, he would punctuate a point with a familiar hymn from camp meetings, gospel songs, fests, or prayer sessions,” the article said. “Occasionally, he would sing an unfamiliar tune and explain it as one he had written, and he would repeat these until they were familiar.”

Tindley composed nearly 50 hymns during his lifetime, with his first published works debuting in 1905 in a collection entitled “Soul Echoes, No. 1.”

His second collection, “Soul Echoes, No. 2,” was released in 1909, “New Songs of Paradise” was published in 1916, and “New Songs of Paradise No. 4” in 1923. After Tindley died in 1933 in Philadelphia, his son published his remaining works, “New Songs of Paradise No.5” and “New Songs of Paradise No. 6” in 1934 and 1941, respectively.

A portrait of the minister created in the 1980s by Henry was unveiled at a brief ceremony on Monday, Dec. 16.

Worcester County Library Board of Trustees President Jeff Smith said the portrait’s initial purpose was to be part of an effort to display paintings of historical Black figures at libraries across the state.

But somehow, Smith said, Henry’s portrait of Tindley found its way to the St. Paul Methodist Church instead.

“When I heard this story, I called [Henry], and I said, ‘Is there any way we can get this in the library so that there could be the portrait as it was originally supposed to be hung? And he said ‘yes,’ so here we are today,” Smith said.

Worcester County Library System Director Jennifer Rank said the portrait will be placed on the center’s first floor “so people can really see it.”