“The electricity was off but the power was still there” was one takeaway from Alexandria Baptist Church’s recent 100th anniversary celebration.
On Aug. 3, the day the Calhoun Baptist Association church celebrated its centennial, the power unexpectedly went out 30 minutes before festivities were to begin and remained out until the message began at 11 a.m. But the temporary power outage didn’t stop the church from celebrating.
The day kicked off with a meet and greet at 10 a.m. for those in attendance. During the service, which began at 10:30 a.m., interim pastor Tommy Reaves extended a welcome and several presentations were made. Lonette Berg, executive director of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission, presented a framed certificate, and a presentation was made by Calhoun Association Director of Missions Sid Nichols. Janet Brittain, who served on the church’s centennial celebration committee, presented the church with a framed certificate sent by the Calhoun County Commission. Certificates of recognition from others also were sent to the church.
Former pastor Michael J. Brooks delivered the day’s message, and former choir director Charles Hess was joined by former organist Juanita Haver and former pianist Pat Irwin to lead the congregation in music. The Harmoneers southern gospel group sang during the service and after lunch.
According to Janice Gunter, who served on the centennial celebration committee with Brittain and Chris Colvin, old photos of the church were displayed and handheld fans were given to participants as a keepsake.
For Gunter, one of the most memorable parts of the anniversary was “getting to see members that have moved away … getting to renew friendships and just feeling blessed that our church has had 100 years of ministry.”
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