View other columns by Mark Kennedy
Examine the brickwork in the majestic First Baptist Church on East Eighth Street in Chattanooga and you will see some obvious flaws. Some of the red bricks are chipped, while others are turned sideways.
To the members of the 150-year-old church, these flaws are a constant (and precious) reminder that the original sanctuary was not built by skilled brick masons, but by former slaves and soldiers after the Civil War. The bricks are part of the foundational history of the church, which for the last 150 years has been a cradle for black leadership in Chattanooga.
Only 13 men have served as pastor of the First Baptist Church on East Eighth Street, but the church is most famous for a job applicant who was not hired. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. applied for an open pastoral position at First Baptist in the 1950s, but he was passed over by church leaders, who opted for the late Rev. H.H. Battle instead.
Longtime church members say First Baptist leaders in the 1950s thought King, who was part of the emerging civil rights movement, would be in a better position to continue his work elsewhere, while Battle was more of a congregational shepherd.
The late Battle led the church for 30 years and eventually became a member of the Chattanooga school board. Later, he had his name attached to Battle Academy, a public school on Market Street near the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel property.
Over time, First Baptist has lost membership, from a peak of about 500 members to about 100 today, members say. But church leaders say they are committed to soldiering on and attracting new members to the church, which is near the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
"We know our population is declining. We had five deaths last year," said Janis Kennedy, part of the publicity team for the church's 150th anniversary. "We may be small in numbers, but we are large in service."
The current pastor, the Rev. William Terry Ladd III, says of the church, "I think we are positioned to continue the legacy."
During this 150th anniversary year, the members of First Baptist are sharing their memories.
Trustee Wynona H. McGhee, a retired public school teacher, remembers how the church's steeple bell used to toll each Sunday morning at 10:55.
Kennedy remembers sitting in the pews as a young girl before her feet even touched the floor.
Yvonne Beard, a member of the church's historical committee, cherishes the way light streams through a stained glass widow behind the pulpit at about 11:30 a.m. each Sunday, as if heaven is saying hello.
Ann McGintis, a college administrator who has been leading the anniversary team, remembers the parade of ladies' hats on Sunday mornings. There was a time, members say, when women's hats were so wide that it limited how many people would fit on a pew.
Some members recall birds entering the church through a hole in the roof and flying around the sanctuary, and McGintis remembers teenagers sneaking out of church during prayers to socialize.
This is a season of celebration at the church that will culminate in a special worship service on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 11 a.m.
After more than a century of worship, the walls of First Baptist on East Eighth Street are still strong, and the members are still aglow in the spirit, like sunlight through a stained glass window.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6645. Follow him on Twitter @TFPCOLUMNIST. Subscribe to his Facebook updates at www.facebook.com/mkennedycolumnist.