Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Yesterday, approximately 50 people celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Presbyterian church building.
The special ceremonies for the day were divided into three services, the morning worship which started at 10:30 a.m., the rededication of the church cornerstone at 11:30 a.m. and a luncheon at noon.
The guest for the services was laypastor Travis Young, the worship leader was Lee Pryor, the organist was Susy Winters, greeters were Wif Harris and Bill Hoover, ushers were Hoover and George Settle and coordinator of ministries was Kim Witkovsky.
To celebrate 50 years of service, the rededication ceremony of the Birmingham Presbyterian Church building cornerstone followed the worship service.
In front of the church building, members and visitors watched as church member Lee Pryor unveiled the contents of what was inside the cornerstone.
The cornerstone was prepared by the founding members of the church in 1953 after the previous church building was tragically destroyed by fire on December 11, 1952.
Inside of the cornerstone was found an array of historical artifacts from the church, including a Bible, a complete list of signatures of the church members of 1953, three pictures of the church that burned down, a door knob from the old church that was scorched by the fire, nails from the old church, church bulletins and programs from special celebrations, a copy of the May 21, 1935 Daily Herald and a June 6, 1953 Daily News, among other items.
Descendants of the founding families of the church building that attended the opening of the cornerstone services included the Harris, Hoover, Keith, Parks and Pryor families.
Members of the church also added items to the cornerstone and expect to have it placed back in front of the church sometime next week.
The items that were added include a 2003 church newsletter, a 2003 church bulletin and a guest book from the 50th anniversary celebration, among other items.
The rededication ceremony of the cornerstone was followed by a luncheon in the church basement. During this time, the items of the cornerstone were on display.
Also a video of the construction of the church was viewed by those in attendance. The luncheon was a time for members and visitors of the church to look back at the history of the church as well as to prepare for future celebrations.

By Rick