Congregation celebrates opening, dedication of new church

MARION -- A historical marker in front of the Old Marion Baptist Church notes that the area is the geographic center of Georgia.

On Sunday, the church itself was the center of attention in Twiggs County, with about 500 people filling the newly constructed building for a dedication service.

The new church replaces the former building on the same site, which was destroyed April 5, 2007, in a fire that took place just days before Easter Sunday.

The fire was believed to have been electrical in nature, though an official ruling was never made, said Twiggs County Fire Chief and EMA Director Sammy Stokes. Without a nearby hydrant or sufficient water supply, firefighters could only watch as the church burned, leaving only brick and ash. The church was completely engulfed, destroying historical records, photos and other items in addition to the building itself.

Church officials broke ground in January 2011 for the new building.

God giveth, and God taketh away, church mother Mary Sampson said during the dedication service. We lost everything we had. But (the community) gave us money and they gave us love. We want to thank yall for helping us. ... God has blessed us with a new building. Thank God everybody has come out and help us celebrate.

The service started with a processional from the churchs auxiliary building across the street, which has been a temporary home to the congregation. The Rev. Hillmon Graves, the churchs pastor, led those marching in the hymn Weve Come This Far By Faith.

Graves noted before the service that it took awhile for the church membership to come together on a single vision as to what the new church should be.

The biggest struggle was getting all of the hearts and minds to be of the same accord, he said. We had to focus on a single vision. We all came together. This church has many members, but were one body.

Freddie Riggins Jr. served as the project manager for the church. He said the new church cost about $825,000 to build.

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Congregation celebrates opening, dedication of new church