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Nick Bowman Features Editor | 770-718-3426 | life@gainesvilletimes.com
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gainesvilletimes.com
Sunday, November 4, 2018
‘We do this together’
First Baptist
celebrates
its 180 year
anniversary
BY LAYNE SALIBA
lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com
As the longest-living Bap
tist church in Gainesville,
First Baptist Church on Mar
tin Luther King Jr. Boule
vard has built a rich history.
After celebrating its 180th
anniversary this year, the
church is looking forward to
all the years ahead, learning
from its past to make them
the best yet.
“We’re not here to just
celebrate the moment, but to
celebrate all that has taken
place throughout the history
of our church,” said the Rev.
Isaac Whitehead, who’s in
his 21st year with the church.
“Obviously we’ve had to
overcome some things, go
through some things. And
we’ve had to have some very
committed people, gener
ous people ... and of course,
we all know that God stands
behind it all, but at the same
time, we don’t overlook the
efforts of the people who
have come and gone.”
Lynn Leverette, a mem
ber of the church since 1979,
remembers sitting in the
back pew of First Baptist
listening to Martin Luther
King Sr. preach one Sunday
decades ago.
She was with her mother
as King was preaching one
Sunday years ago. The father
to the civil rights movement
was once a candidate for
pastor at the church and
Leverette was there soaking
in every word he had to say
from the pulpit. The rest of
the church was packed — it
was standing-room only.
“We barely did get in,”
said Leverette, also the cur
rent secretary at the church.
“But it was pretty special.”
That’s the kind of history
the predominantly African-
American church, founded
in 1838, is steeped in — exist
ing and surviving before
slavery was abolished in
1865, making it through the
tornado of 1936, which left
many in Gainesville dead,
injured and homeless. It’s
now thriving on the corner
of Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard and E.E. Butler
Parkway after moving from
the corner of Pine and High
Streets, with a senior pastor
who holds a special relation
ship with his 300-plus mem
ber congregation.
“In the people that are
here now, you’ll see the
same kind of people who
■ Please see CHURCH, 4E
Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Issac Whitehead Jr., senior pastor at First Baptist Church, stands at the pulpit on Wednesday, Oct. 31. First Baptist Church celebrated its 180th anniversary.
First Baptist Church on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard has moved three times in its 180
years in Gainesville. Its current stained glass windows were once plain glass and were left
open during services so parishners could listen from outside the packed church.
‘Obviously we’ve had to overcome some
things, go through some things. And we’ve
had to have some very committed people,
generous people ... and of course, we all
know that God stands behind it all, but at
the same time, we don’t overlook the efforts
of the people who have come and gone.’
Rev. Isaac Whitehead
Top: Robert Flale,
deacon, trustee, and
member at First Baptist
Church stands in the
church on Wednesday,
Oct. 31.
Above: Deborah Mack,
financial secretary,
trustee, and a member
of First Baptist Church
since 1950, sits in a pew
at First Baptist Church.
Left: First Baptist
Church recently
celebrated its 180th
anniversary.
Our diverse interests should make us curious to know one another
April 30,1863 was set aside by
President Abraham Lincoln as a
day of “humiliation, fasting and
prayer.”
I don’t know if Lincoln’s procla
mation made it below the Mason-
Dixon line, but I’m sure there
were folks in the South who were
praying, too.
Sometimes I wonder what God
thinks when opposing sides are
each seeking his blessing on their
efforts.
I have always enjoyed a good,
well-thought debate on issues,
including religion and politics.
In the current climate, I don’t
like talking about either.
On social media, I have friends
on all sides of the political spec-
‘Sometimes I wonder
what God thinks
when opposing sides
are each seeking his
blessing on their
efforts.’
trum. Sometimes, I look at what
they have to say on the same
subject and wince. Often, they
are just repeating something
they heard someone else say. If
you really don’t have an original
thought, maybe you should give
HARRIS BLACKWOOD
hblackwood@gmail.com
some thought before spouting out
someone else’s words.
I’ve been to a few NASCAR
races in my time. One of the
things that I find interesting is
that you can look on a single row
and find a dozen people rooting
for 12 different drivers. There is
a little good-natured ribbing, but
at the end of the race, they walk
out and often exchange congratu
lations as they go.
When I was watching the
recent Georgia-Florida game,
it was interesting to look at the
camera shot behind the goal post.
You can almost draw a line and
find Dog fans on one side and
Gators on the other. But then
you happen to see the one or two
opposing fans stuck in the middle
of the opponent. Most of the time,
there is a playful banter.
In the political arena, it seems
that behaving with a bit of deco
rum has gone out the window. I
don’t know that I’ve ever seen
such a polarized electorate. The
name-calling borders on vicious.
Sometimes, in reading their
musings on social media, I find
ing myself asking, “Did they see
the same train wreck?”
Quite frankly, I like having
friends with different views. I
don’t like it when they start pull
ing out their fangs and claws at
each other. I want this election
to be over. I’m tired of the mean-
spirited attitude on both sides of
the fence.
I’ve been praying about this
election. I’m not praying about
the outcome, I’m praying for
what’s beyond the outcome. We
need to be neighbors again. We
■ Please see HARRIS, 4E
