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History It
all started with a school teacher, Miss Anna Fite, who along with a
small group from Trinity Baptist Church, saw the need for a Sunday
School for boys and girls living in the west side of Marion to have a
place to learn about Jesus. She and a few others started church in a
four room cottage on Darius Street.
After a very short time, that
house became too small and she took the children to a lot on the corner
of Davids and Darius streets and held Sunday School for them under the
trees. In a very short time, a small wooden church was built and called
the Davids Street Sunday School. This group, on fire for Jesus, kept
growing until an addition was needed to that church and was built on
the north side of the church. It then became the Free Baptist Church.
In 1913, the name was changed to Fite Memorial Baptist Church in honor of Anna Fite.
Things did not always go well financially but the zeal for God's work,
and the love of Jesus prevailed and men and women were sent to college
to pursue Christian education. Some went on to become pastors and
teachers. Attendance was good, Vacation Bible
School often had more than 200 children participating and in 1957 a new
brick educational building was built and dedicated.
Soon the
maintenance and care of the old wooden
church became a concern, and in 1966 a new sanctuary, classrooms,
offices, kitchen and dining area were built to the north of the old
church, and when it was finished, the old church was demolished. It's
always sad to see an old familiar place go down, but the new one was
really appreciated.
Our celebration began in March, 2006 on the 100th day of the year
(actually the 101st day because the 100th day was Saturday). It began
with each person bringing in 100 coins. In April we brought pictures of
past Easters. Ladies with hats and white gloves were quite common. In
April, on a beautiful Sunday morning, we had Sunday School on the lawn
to remember Anna's classes. The praise band played, and we
released balloons with the church's name and address and a request to
the finder, to send us a note telling where and how it was found.
May was commemorated by remembering Sunday school classes of old with
pictures and plaques celebrating the children and teachers of the past
We also remembered our AWANA program participants. June is the
traditional month for weddings, so we displayed pictures of past
weddings and tried to guess who the celebrants were. It was amazing to
see how much people have changed, and their hair-do's and gowns. We
even had a "fake cake" and wedding flowers on display.
July was Vacation Bible Fun picture and sports photos. Pictures and
trophies from our baseball, volleyball and bowling teams, but also the
fun times of just tag football between teens and oldies, and golf
outings - no competition, just fun.
In August, we celebrated past picnics and held our annual hog roast at
Prospect Park with games, and remembrances of past picnics. September
was school days. People brought in their school pictures and mementos
from their school days. We were able to have pictures of all the old
Marion City Schools that are now only history, and also a picture of
the old Chataqua building in Garfield Park where some of us attended
our graduation ceremonies. (My own was held there in 1943).
October and November were linked together with any and all memorabilia
from the old church. Hymn books, pictures, and a section of the stained
glass window from the front of the church were displayed. A record
which the choir made in 1973 was played.
On Nov. 12 we climaxed the year of celebration with a Remembrance
Sunday. One of our former pastors, the Rev. Raymond Gimmi came to
preach, followed by a potluck dinner.
Finally, after dinner and festivities were over, a group traveled to
the Marion Cemetery where we laid a wreath on Anna Fite's grave.
Each Sunday throughout the year we kept the number 100 before the
church either with a fact of something that happened 100 years ago, or
a picture connected with our old church. The year-long celebration,
pictures and activities, were a fun blessing. Friends were remembered
and missed, Anna was praised for her thoughtfulness and generosity to
the children in the west side of Marion, and a commitment was made to
let the light of Jesus' love shine brightly for years to come as we
work together to spread the word that Jesus saves.
Joyce Moore is Fite Memorial Baptist Church's historian, 3 G Sunday
school teacher, recording secretary and a member of Fite Memorial since
April 1952.
Doctrinal Statement, and Ministry Information Coming Soon!!!
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