Morning Chapel Missionary Baptist Church 148th Anniversary

CAM00239The congregation of Morning Chapel Missionary Baptist Church at 204 Fuller Street in Sulphur Springs is joyfully planning the church’ 148th Anniversary and Homecoming weekend, set for Saturday August 20 and Sunday August 21, 2016. All members, families and friends are invited to the annual Homecoming Picnic on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. The men of the church will prepare the meats for the meal, and the volunteer “culinary crew” will prepare side dishes and desserts. Anyone who wishes may also bring a covered dish or items for the meal. On Sunday, there will be two church services with music. The 10am service will have speaker Dr. F.L. Combs, a descendant of Morning Chapel church pioneers. For the 3pm service, the speaker will be former pastor D.L. Weekly. The public is urged to attend.

Deacon Wilbert Roland remembers when he joined the church 70 years ago, when he was a 13-year-old youth. His 9 brothers and 4 sisters were all raised in the Morning Chapel Church. He was baptized in a pond which was located near what is now the Senior’s Center, close to the corner of Oak Avenue and MLK Jr. Drive. This pond, located near two small mom-and-pop grocery stores, and the nearby Waits pool were often used for baptisms in the early days. Likewise, Mr. Roland and his wife raised their children within the Morning Chapel family, and some of the men of his family serve as trustees today.

Trustee Lewis Hawkins was also raised attending Morning Chapel while growing up in Sulphur Springs. Though he admits that adult life took him away for a while, he returned to his church-going roots and today, he receives blessings and satisfaction from serving various needs of his church family. He recalls when a fire claimed the original church building many years ago. The entire community and people from around the world drew together, pooled their resources, and rebuilt the church. Persons from as far away as Africa to neighboring citizens and business people offered money, services and labor for the shared undertaking.

Morning Chapel is a missionary church, sponsoring several congregations in the nation of Mozambique. For the past 19 years, Reverend H.B. Nash Sr. has been pastor of Morning Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, a church with a heart for youth and for families.

 

Author: Enola Gay

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