As we gathered to worship Sunday morning at Mill Creek Baptist Church, we celebrated 117 years of worship at the little church on the creek. Doug Cory greeted the congregation. Marlene Gray was celebrating a birthday and David and Kitty Collingsworth were celebrating their anniversary. Special prayers were requested for many, including our teachers, students and staff as school begins, and Brother Mark. Jeanette Easter shared praise and thanks. Mill Creek Baptist Church will host "Legacy Five" with a gospel concert in Blankenship Park in Southwest City on Sunday at 6 p.m. The concert is free, but please bring a chair. Everyone is welcome.
Linda Abercrombie shared the devotional, "Together," and read Acts 1:8 and Acts 2:42-46. "Jesus works in community. There is no 'I, my or you.' As followers of Christ, we are all in this together."
Congregational hymns included "Come and Done," led by Karen Gardner with Susan Cory at the piano. We were blessed with special music from Jerry and Linda as they sang an old 1933 Albert E. Brumley hymn, "Jesus Hold My Hand," Karen who sang "Signs of the Times," and Jerry who sang "The Lighthouse." All were in honor and remembrance of our church history and homecoming.
Wayne Holly asked God's blessing upon the offertory and he and Jerry served as ushers. Tommy shared a passage from Romans 8 and we shared stories and memories of past times at Mill Creek Baptist Church.
The history of the church was read and included some of the following:
In the late 1800s, a flood destroyed the original Mill Creek Baptist Church, located across from the Petty Cemetery on the Bill Mitchell farm. Land was donated by the McDonald family where the church sits today and, on Aug. 7, 1904, a new church was organized and a new building erected in 1906, measuring 24x36 feet. Back records showed a church balance with a great sum of 32 cents at one business meeting.
In 1938, during the filming of the Jesse James movie, Mill Creek Baptist Church was chosen for the wedding scene between Tyrone Power, who played Jesse James, and Nancy Kelly, his bride. Prior to the filming, Twentieth Century Studios did extensive remodeling to the church.
The original church building was destroyed by fire on Jan. 16, 2010, at which time, we noticed that the bell in the tower had a date of Oct. 1902 inscribed on it. The bell was incorporated and put back in the bell tower of the new building erected and completed the same year. The church building has survived many large floods on the banks of Mill Creek.
As we closed our service for our 117 years at Mill Creek, we joined in singing "Precious Memories," and Jerry gave the benediction.
We invite you to worship with us Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Sunday school begins at 10 a.m. Mill Creek Baptist Church is located 3 1/2 miles east of Noel, just off Highway 90. Everyone is welcome.
Opinions expressed are those of the author.