01.29.2004
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After 158 years as a fixture at the intersection of Pine Avenue and Jefferson Street, Albany’s First Baptist Church congregation settled on Lee County for its new home.
The congregation voted by a 3-1 margin Wednesday night to purchase 20 acres of land approximately 1,000 yards off U.S. Highway 82 on Oakland Plantation. The church will pay $12,500 per acre.The 255-84 vote came after the church’s relocation committee endorsed the proposed purchase. The congregation had previously voted to move from the downtown building, which has served as the church’s house of worship since 1918.
The majority of the congregation now lives either in northwest Albany or Lee County, which contributed to the decision to leave downtown Albany. “Where are the people who go to this church and where are the people that would go to this church?” the Rev. James Ramsey, church pastor, said during a Jan. 22 interview. Ramsey declined to talk about the possible move before the Wednesday vote, calling the decision a “family matter.”
Don Barfield, head of the relocation committee, said a new site would help the church in its future endeavors.“The more people we interviewed in the church family, the more they echoed that relocation would be the best option to meet…what they wanted,” he said. No decision has been made about the future of the current church building once the new structure is complete. “Its not necessarily the end for the current church…That decision hasn’t been made,” Barfield said. “It’s entirely possible this may be the downtown chapter of First Baptist.”
Comments from members of the congregation who both supported and opposed the measure made it evident the decision came with mixed emotions. “It passed. We’ve studied it, talked about it and prayed about it,” said one member of the congregation, who declined to give his name, as he was leaving after the vote was taken. “You need 300 comments, not one.”
An elderly member of the congregation, who opposed the move and also requested anonymity, said that he wouldn’t leave “until they close the doors.” “I don’t blame them. They’ll leave here someday,” he said. “But this is the most beautiful place on earth.”
Barfield said very serious consideration was given to the “emotional ties” many members of the congregation hold for the current location.“There’s so much rich, rich family history involved in that building,” he said. “People don’t like to make changes like this lightly.”
A fund raising campaign for the new building is under way, but it likely will be more than a year before any activity is seen at the Lee County site.
First Baptist Church of Albany Timeline:
1839: The church is organized, holding its first services at the southeast corner of Broad and Jefferson Streets.
Feb. 11, 1846: A new church, at the intersection of Pine and Jefferson Streets, is opened.
1911: Work is started on the current building. It is completed seven years later.
1995: The 2010 team begins consulting about how to meet the church’s objectives 15 years into the future. After originally supporting staying downtown, input from members of the congregation and outside consultants sways the relocation committee to support moving.
2003: The church is offered 20 acres of land in Lee County’s Oakland Plantation at a cost of $12,500 per acre. It is one of several proposed moving sites. The congregation votes to approve relocation.
Jan. 28, 2004: The congregation approves the Oakland Plantation site by a 255-84 vote.
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