Renovation-Old Rock Baptist Church
Donation protected
Old Rock Baptist Church is where I grew up. My family still attends for Easter and Christmas and other special occassions. The church has a very special place in my heart and to my family. My Granny brought her children and her children brought their children and their children brought theirs and so on. My aunt and my dad still attend regularly. My dad is a deacon at the church and my aunt is the church secretary. The church has a very small enrollment of 13 attendees. The church is in need of renovations and several repairs. Your help is much needed in making these updates possible.
The money raised from this campaign will remove the old flooring, ceilling, walls, update pews and front door. They want to install cement foundations, new walls, new ceilings and joists. Also needed is to reconstruct old windows and add new lighting. They would also like to install a Baptismal.
The church will need to raise $20,000 for the above renovations.
A little history about the Church - Old Rock Baptist Church - Organized as Medina Baptist Church in April 1857 at Mann's Crossing, near Macdona. Until 1866, when members built an arbor here near Old Somerset, the services were held in homes or in a schoolhouse. Site for meetinghouse and cemetery (2.5 acres here) was bought for ten dollars in 1867 by committeemen F. M. Avent, Elisha A. Briggs, and W. D. Johnson on behalf of Medina Church. This committee also drew the plans; Briggs, a settler from Massachusetts and a stonemason, did much of the construction. Worship began here in 1869 as soon as house had roof and walls--although door and window spaces were empty and there was no floor except bare ground. In those early days, four ordained ministers took turns as unpaid pastors. Avent was clerk and sexton. Medina Church membership was racially integrated. Some of the Negro members lie buried in honored graves in the cemetery. In 1892 Medina Church relocated at Bexar. Cemetery maintenance was continued here; "Old Rock" was used at times for funerals or worship. In 1921, after local petroleum discoveries, Grayburg Oil Company and some of its employees helped renovate the meetinghouse. Congregation renamed itself for the Old Rock Church and regular worship has continued here ever since. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971
Please visit the website (updating should be available on 9/18/2015) at www.oldrockbaptistchurch.org and/or www.oldrockbaptistchurch.com to get more information and the history.
Organizer
Annie Hudspeth
Organizer
Somerset, TX
