Next weekend, the Fayetteville Baptist Church will be celebrating its 175th anniversary by hosting special events throughout the day.Peggy McGrady, a member of the church, has been organizing the event for the past several weeks.
“I just was the one who came up and said, ‘We’re going to be 175 and that’s a lot,’ and that I thought the church should do something about it,” McGrady said.
Worship service will begin at 11 a.m. with former pastor Dr. Lindy Martin bringing the message. Martin was pastor at the church from 1954 until 1956 before resigning to accept a position at Samford University.
McGrady said four former pastors have been invited to the celebration, including Rev. Nelson Bullard, who served as pastor at the church in 1949.
After the morning service, a luncheon will be held, and then the official celebration will be from 1:30 until 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 27.
During the celebration, Dr. Gene Webb, a representative from the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission will present the church with a framed certificate and a roll of microfilm printed with the church history. McGrady said the church will then present the microfilm to Shirley Spears, director of the B.B. Comer Memorial Library, to keep at the library for preservation.
The original church building was erected in 1833. McGrady said the original building was constructed on Averett property. It was named Fort William Baptist Church and had nine charter members.
The church has had two building since the original, including its current location on Overhill Road in Sylacauga. The church has been its current building for 112 years.
The name was changed from Fort William Baptist Church to Fayetteville Baptist Church in 1897, and it now has 20 to 40 regularly-attending members.
McGrady said the church choir will do some “old-time” singing and the Heavy Harmonies, a pantomime group from Riverview Baptist Church in Lincoln, will perform.
“We decided to contact them and see if they could sing for us, and they said they would,” McGrady said. “Just to put a little fun in (the program).”
She said they will be the last performance of the day because it would take the group a while to get to Fayetteville and get ready perform.
William Jones, pastor of the church for 15 years, said that there are people who attend the church who’ve been there a long time and are excited about the upcoming celebration.
“All of us, very much so,” Jones said.
McGrady said she has invited 35 churches “from Sycamore to Talladega who are in the (Baptist) Association” to attend Sunday afternoon celebration.
She said the event is open to all members, past members and friends.
“It would be for anyone who wants to come,” McGrady said. “We wouldn’t turn anyone down.”
For more information about the celebration, contact Peggy McGrady by calling 256-245-6062,
