A gathering nearly three times the size of Rosedale Baptist Church’s normal worship attendance took place in October to celebrate the 100 years of ministry of the Tuscaloosa Baptist Association church.
The celebration began with a reception Oct. 11, then the Oct. 12 worship service and covered-dish lunch.
Pastor Bobby Holladay said about 350 people attended the Sunday service. Generally, the church’s average worship attendance is 125, he noted.
Church member Linda Pate said, “We had a wonderful celebration. The weather was great and the food was abundant. … A lot of older people came back from several states and they are people that we love.”
A century ago, the church got its start by meeting with a Methodist congregation in the office of a local hosiery mill, according to Betty Rogers, church clerk, organist and church member since 1952.
Members of both congregations served equally. But each group longed to have its own separate place of worship, she said.
The Methodist congregation purchased a small frame building and became Southside Methodist Church.
A local realtor, Frederick W. Monnish, donated land to the Baptist group, under the condition that nothing other than a church would be built on the property. And so Rosedale was organized Oct. 20, 1908, with 30 charter members.
In 1910, the church was admitted to Tuscaloosa Association.
The October anniversary celebration this year also marked 39 years of worship in its current building.
Rosedale also is known for its giving, Holladay noted.
Recently, Tuscaloosa Association recognized the church for being the “top per capita giving church” in the association.
And the 2007 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering — about $8,500 — was a record for the church, he said. “They gave sacrificially."
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