Churches – Page 2 – Jacksonville Blogger

Christmas Trees- Day 1

Christmas has been a tradition at First Baptist Church Jacksonville for many years. The First Baptist Church of Jacksonville began in 1838, with a handful of people, both Black and White, seeking to serve God. From 1838 until the 1861-Civil War, the church developed and grew having several locations over the years in which to worship. During Civil War times and the Indian Seminole war there were months on end that the church was not even functioning in a group setting so it is unknown if the church decorated their facility in any way. We now have some understanding of this type of situation having gone through the Pandemic beginning in 2020 and not meeting for months and months. Though the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic from March 8 and into the 2021 Christmas season, the First Baptist Church did not meet in person. There were some decorations however because a lot was done online and the podium area was prepared for online worship. Decorations were limited by those who went to the church to perform online services. We are still seeking information and history on the traditions of the Baptist Church in Jacksonville. We hope to have more information over time.

FBC- 2022

From the 1960’s until the present it seems the church had a Christmas Tree in the building at some location. Over the years, the dining hall has definitely been a place of great decoration, color and beauty. For years and years Sunday School classes would have their Christmas parties at the church in one of the divided areas and there would be great fanfare and decoration. Throughout the building for years, beautiful Nativity scenes and the like would be in departments throughout the church. Classrooms were decorated by the members of each class and there was no end to the beautiful and creativity of people who loved the Lord.

Season upon season the church facility was decorated by Virginia Ennis, a faithful member and owner of Gladwell’s Florist. Wreaths, streaming greenery, Christmas trees, ornaments, Nativity scenes depicting the Christ-Child and lighting were seen throughout. For many years this was the way First Baptist decorated the church.

There have been many seasonal traditions through the years including the decoration and lighting of the tree, giving to missions in a wooden manger and the “Chest of Joash”, the traditional pledge card/giving day.

Decorating the church has been important concerning seasonal celebrations at First Baptist Jacksonville. In recent years, staff, leadership and lay members have been decorating and this year was no different. “Serve Day” was used as a way to allow members to take part and many Christmas decorations were set up. It is unclear when the first tree was decorated at the church but for sure, the birth of Christ has been front and center.

This year’s tree is at least 20 feet tall with the songs of the seasons framed and hanging . Go see it. It will not disappoint.

See you tomorrow,

Sources: Personal interviews, Personal experience, Buddy Wall, church historian, [Idea about a tree a day came from the editor of the Daily Record, Karen Mathis].

Visit-First Baptist Church- 125 West Ashley Street , Jacksonville, Florida 32202

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November 17

Saved

It is unclear if I was searching for God or if I had a new-found determination to know Him. Somewhere about 1960-something, I walked the aisle at the Woodstock Park Baptist Church, which at that time was located on St. Clair Street in Jacksonville, Fl. Interesting to note that the church moved in 1997 from St. Clair to Crystal Springs road on a 10 acre plot exactly next to our home. We had moved from the Woodstock Park area about 1960.

The church pastor who welcomed me into the fellowship was Harold Cushing and it was then that I had an experience of new life in Christ. The expression of the Christian faith is often said in this way; “I accepted Jesus in my heart” and I did.

From that time, I had convictions that I had never known and the realisation that there was indeed an eternity and that I would one day see Jesus face to face. Yes, I believe that even today. No, I have not lived the perfect life but yes, I live forgiven daily as I depend on His Holy Spirit for strength, power and understanding.

For many years, we remained at Woodstock Park Baptist Church and both of my parents served faithfully. My Father was a deacon and my Mother worked in various positions at the church and as listed in the 1964 Church Directory, she was on the missions committee.

When my parents bought the 10 acre plot on the Westside of Jacksonville about 8 miles from Woodstock Park Baptist we continued to attend the church until we joined Macedonia Baptist on Fouraker Road to get involved in the neighborhood church. It seems I was about 10 years old.

It was so interesting in 1997 when Woodstock Park Baptist Church moved right next to our home on Crystal Springs Road. They purchased the land and built a big, beautiful, white church with office buildings and all. Our family never returned to join the church, although my niece was pianist there for a bit. In my Father’s older age, he visited a few times by simply walking across his property line to the churches transom. Full circle.

In 2019, Woodstock Park Baptist ended up in the hands of Hillcrest Baptist Church and there was a name change. It will alway be Woodstock Park Baptist to me though.

In my adult life, I attended Westside Baptist Church and then joined the First Baptist Church, the fellowship of my grandparents, Clifford and Lula Long. Again, full circle.

My life would have been very different without Christ. I’m thankful for the change. I’ll never be the same.

See you tomorrow,

Sources: Brochure- Jason Whittkopp

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November 4

The Night Before the Wedding

The night before the wedding, everything was set. The entrance was ready for the gates to open wide in the morning. The chapel was set and all benches in place. The barn was ready for a party.

The chapel was actually our Dad and Mom’s barn for the camper. It was parked under a covering and they could pack it and get it ready for their next campout without worrying about weather. When we decided to remodel it for a chapel, we added a second side, painted it and put in 20 benches for seating; 10 on each side. It’s called Vaughan’s Chapel.

After the wedding, we would need a barn for the party so we set up a barn the size of the swimming pool. The swimming pool was 20 x 40. The barn was extended to a 24 x 40 and was set up for the party.

See you tomorrow,

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August 18

Pandemic 2020 in Jacksonville

In February of 2020 the news media began stories about COVID-19. Words like COVID, pandemic, medicines, sickness, world-wide, virus spread, “Center of Disease Control and Prevention” and the like were being talked about. Experts were being brought into news stations to talk about virus spread, SARS-CoV-2 and such. Many of those experts knew absolutely nothing about this virus.

By March 2020, many business, churches and families began to restrict activity in their lives. Some churches and businesses completely shut down narrowing their activities to online only events. In Florida , Governor Ron DeSantis gave an executive order that restricted all activities except for those considered “essential”. People stayed in their homes and did not even go to their family members homes during this time for fear of disease spread.

By September of 2020, many restrictions were rescinded, however the public was well aware of the possible dangers and in Florida, sought to manage within safety conditions. DeSantis encouraged wise decision and allowed the people of Florida to live their lives while the Federal Government in many cases took liberty and freedoms from the people.

Those who kept the records completely failed the American public, counting those who had the actual sickness with those who were in the hospital with other conditions so we will never really know the extent of the number of cases. The news media, particularly, CNN played eerie music during their showing of virus cases, with a sidebar ticking away virus case numbers which were not even true numbers. This proved to be a tactic that caused much fear among those watching these programs.

The Center of Disease Control pushed vaccines, and serious mask-wearing for even young children. Certainly, a lot of the restrictions, school board decisions and business regulations were controversial. Considering the numbers, which more than likely are not even correct, depending on who collected them and how, Florida choices during the pandemic proved to be more positive overall than others with complete lock downs.

Now that the virus is considered under basic control, there are a lot of businesses offering sale items of masks and other pandemic things. We as a people are still all affected by this world-wide pandemic but we try to move forward.

In Jacksonville and I’m sure the world, the pandemic changed everything. I do believe every part of our lives were affected by this virus often called the “China Virus”. It is believed that the virus began in Wuhan, China.

From the loss of seeing our family members for weeks and weeks and weeks, to the loss of work which affected our financial situations, this sickness changed even our mind-set. The way business is done, our personal actions and behaviors have been changed.

Even the Church and the way the fellowship of believers meet has had an impact. During the pandemic, the number of people were restricted as to how many could gather in a room affected membership roles. Chairs were closed off and covered, ropes were places on designated areas for seating and online services were enhanced which even affected followers today. There are some members who have not returned to church using the online programs as their church service. For sure, the financial situation has been impacted at the fellowship with many do not see the importance of keeping open the doors of the church.

As we all rebuild after this horrible pandemic event, we observe many of the see-through plastic walls in front of registers come down, no masked faces and less hand sanitisers on counters. We’re now over two years out and things seem to be getting more normal. I say “more normal” because things will never be the same. I wonder about your thoughts concerning the pandemic of 2020. 8-18-22

See you tomorrow,

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August 15

My Parents Were Married in RBC

Today, I left my church, the FBC of Jacksonville, a little early and headed to the St. Vincent’s Hospital to visit a 96 year old friend. As I rode past the Riverside Baptist Church I noticed the front doors open wide. Pulling over, I decided to drop in to see where my parents were married in 1945.

It’s actually jaw-dropping to walk into that beautiful sanctuary. The 11:00 am service was at a close so I sat on the back pew and just marvelled at the beauty of that space. In looking it up, it is on the United States National Register of Historic Places since 1972 and won a spot on the Florida Arcitechture: 100 Year. 100 Places.

Riverside Baptist Church. Ramey Collection

The architect was Addison Mizner of The Winter White House fame.( President John F. Kennedy’s place). He had also designed work in Boca Raton and the Everglades.

This church was completed in 1926. My parents were married in 1945 just after WWII. The best man was Tommy Thompson and the Maid of Honor was my Mother’s twin sister, Geneer. It is interesting to note that Tommy Thompson and my Mother’s twin, Geneer, married in this same church in January of 1946 with my parents being their support system.

Geneva and Alec in front of the Aberdeen home in Riverside

See you tomorrow,

Sources: Google, Wikipedia, RBC, 8-13-22

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