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The former headquarters of The Foreign Mission Board, National Baptist Convention, U.S.A. at 701 South 19th Street in 2019. | Photo: Google Street View

The recent demolition of 701 South 19th Street on the surface seems like a routine gentrification story in Graduate Hospital: an aging, three-story row house and an adjacent address being replaced by upscale, new construction.

The narrative broadens however, when you take in the sign that had hung over the door of the first floor, proclaiming it the home of The Foreign Mission Board, National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc. Still, perhaps, not overly noteworthy in a city chock full of churches and their ancillary buildings and programs. And then theres the dizzying array of Baptist affiliations, splits and spin-offs, that is hard for an outsider to keep track of.

Although cooperative efforts among Black Baptists date back to the Antebellum period, the National Baptist Convention U.S.A., Inc. NBC-USA traces its roots to 1880, when a number of Black Baptist ministers met to create a cooperative organization that extended beyond state lines. The resulting Baptist Foreign Mission Convention is considered the origins of the NBC-USA. Its current structure was created in 1895, when three Black Baptist conventions, the Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, the American National Baptist Convention, and the National Baptist Education Convention agreed to consolidate. In its founding year, the resulting organization boasted a membership of over one million, pastored by more than 10,000 clergy. Within the new organization, each of the founding conventions had a different primary focus of foreign missions, home missions, and education, respectively. Today, NBC-USA is one of four Black Baptist conventions in the United States.

701 South 19th Street in 1959. | Photo courtesy of PhillyHistory.org

The phrase foreign mission conjures up a narrative that holds some historical truth: white Christians seeking to convert people of color on other continents. But the story at 701 South 19th Street tells another, less acknowledged side. Even before emancipation, Black churches in the United States also engaged in missionary work in Africa and the Caribbean.

In the International Bulletin of Missionary Research in 1986, Gayraud S. Wilmore, at the time Dean and Professor of Afro-American Religious Studies at New York Theological Seminary, noted the concerns of Black missionaries extended far beyond the religious and included industrial training and rural development programs. Dr. William J. Harvey III, who headed the Foreign Mission Board (FMB) for over 40 years explained to Wilmore that the Black Baptist missions had a completely different philosophy and motivation than the white churches. The Protestant missions of that time were mainly concerned with the salvation of the souls of Africans. Black Americans were concerned with the material as well as the spiritual welfare of the people. That is why we were the first to introduce industrial missions to Africa.

Behind that low-key facade at 19th and Bainbridge Streets, the FMB of the NBC-USA operated for over 100 years. While the Convention is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, the FMB is paired with one of the member churches, the First African Baptist Church, the oldest Black-founded Baptist church in Pennsylvania. Although in 2015 the church moved into the former St. Callistus Roman Catholic Church in Overbrook Park, its original location was at 1600 Christian Street, six blocks from the FMB building. That same year, the original church building, which had been erected in 1906, was placed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. In his nomination, historic preservationist Oscar Beisert noted the building, designed by the Philadelphia firm of Watson & Huckel, was one of the few examples from its period of a purposebuilt, architectdesigned church for an African American congregation.

701 South 19th Street was demolished over the summer in 2020. The Foreign Mission Boards old printing presses can be seen in the foreground. | Photo: Michael Bixler

The FMB had noteworthy leaders during this time. Dr. C. C. Adams served as corresponding secretary from the 1930s into the 1960s, supervising over 60 mission stations in Africa and making three extended trips there. In 1948 he was knighted by the Liberian government for his service to the country. Adams was succeeded by Dr. William J. Harvey III, who was such a prominent figure in the Baptist Missionary world that his tombstone in Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Delaware County, refers to him as Mr. Foreign Mission.

Publications were a central part of the FMBs activities, both for their mission work and for donors and church members at home. This past summer, the demolition of the FMB building uncovered evidence of that when, in the exposed basement, two antique printing presses were revealed. A 1916 street map of the city that identifies the FMB building notes the presence of a printing room at the rear.

The pair are Chandler & Price New Style letterpresses, dating to around 1914. Tom Familetti, CEO of the sites developer, Zatos Investments, said he reached out to firms knowledgeable about antique printing machinery to try to find a home for them. Unfortunately, they were deemed too old and rusted to salvage, he explained. We felt bad because theyre antiques, but were probably going to have to call a scrap company.

The Southbridge Condos will fill the lot at 19th and Bainbridge Streets. | Rendering: Bright MLS Homes

The FMB missionaries had a quite a bit of local company. In an interview in the 2002 book African American Experience in World Mission: A Call Beyond Community, Elder Donald Canty of Carver Foreign Missions, founded in Philadelphia in the 1950s, referred to the city during this period as the capital of the world for missions as far as African-Americans are concerned. The 1960s saw the establishment of more groups, including the Afro-American Missionary Crusade and Germantowns Have Christ Will Travel Ministries. Canty credited much of this growth to the Philadelphia College of the Bible (now Cairn University), one of the few institutions at the time that admitted Blacks.

Today, the FMB has mission stations in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, Zambia and Nicaragua. According to their website, they have plans to expand to Guyana, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia.

Kimberly Haas is a staff writer for Hidden City Daily. She is a long time radio journalist, both nationally and locally with WHYY and WXPN. In particular, she enjoys covering Philadelphias neighborhoods, culture and history, as well as urban sustainability and public policy, in both print and audio.

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A Building Demolished, but the Mission Continues - The Hidden City Daily

The new pavilion located off South Church Street will feature heating and air conditioning.

LEXINGTON, S.C. The new pavilion in the Town of Lexington should wrap up on construction by the end of this month.

The town announced last year in the State of the Town address they would be working on several projects. Some included road and traffic light improvements, but also adding a new pavilion downtown.

It'll be on South Church Street right next to the Icehouse Amphitheater.

"This will provide an area for vendors to set up. It has fans and heat for the winter time," said Laurin Barnes with the Town of Lexington.

The project will become the new home for the Lexington Farmer's Market and for food trucks in the area. Town officials say the open air covered pavilion will be paid for through general obligation bonds, costing $2 million.

Barnes says they expect to be finished up with construction by the end of this month.

"It's really exciting to add on to Main Street and everything that's going on down here," explained Barnes. "It's just a good place where the community can come and enjoy. The amphitheater being here and now the pavilion being outdoors during the pandemic, it's a lot easier and safer to have events outside. We're just excited for a place for the community to come out and enjoy."

The town says they may have a soft opening for the pavilion soon with events like the chili cookoff.

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New Lexington Pavilion construction to wrap up at the end of February - WLTX.com

published February 9 2021 12:53 PM

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ST. LOUIS Ferguson Roofing has successfully invested $40,000 in funds, time, or services in 57 501(c)(3) organizations after completing their 80 in 80 charitable campaign. The St. Louis-based roofing company kicked off this campaign in 2019 to celebrate their 80th year in business with plans to donate 80 grants to 80 organizations in need.

Ferguson Roofing nominated 36 charitable organizations, while 20 more were nominated by the public, to receive grants. An additional 20 of the 80 grants were originally held for trade scholarships to assist students with tuition or supplies. Ferguson Roofing realized early in their campaign that they did not have the bandwidth to connect with this audience. They decided instead to aggregate the funds, time, and resources for the scholarships and roll them into a support program for one trade school, North County Tech.

Also, due to the amount of time and resources spent for Bikes for Tykes, a volunteer organization that repairs, refurbishes, and rebuilds bicycles for children, they were awarded a total five grants.

Below is a list of award recipients, starting with those nominated by Ferguson Roofing:

Here are the charitable organizations nominated by the public:

ABOUT FERGUSON ROOFING

Family-owned and operated for three generations, Ferguson Roofing opened for business in 1939. Their focus is on providing the same excellent service to customers from beginning to end. Now in their 82nd year, they remain true to the same values they started with: honesty, fairness and community involvement.

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Ferguson Roofing Invests $40,000 in Multiple 501(c)(3) Organizations - RiverBender.com

CALLAWAY Fla. (WMBB) Callaway residents were welcomed back home at their Northstar church campus.

The Callaway campus suffered structural damage and electrical problems. Since then, they have been working to fix it.

We are back here in the Callaway area, said Michelle Cassell, the Callaway Northstar kids ministry director.

Northstar Callaway Church officially re-welcomed community members Sunday at their morning service.

Cassell said residents nearby were struck by Hurricane Michael, as well as their church, but now they all have a fresh start.

The fact that we are able to be here in this community living and working together with families, just you know, being able to be the light of Jesus in this community is just a special privilege to us, said Cassell.

And the campus pastor, Lee Cordell, said he has seen and felt the excitement from those coming back through their doors.

Weve had some families that are brand new, their first time was today, so thats really exciting, said Cordell. Its great to see, like hey, there is an opportunity here. and its just a new life and a new start. You know, those kinds of things coming around so its been great.

Cordell said he is ready to re-immerse himself into the Callaway community, just like they had in the past.

Were excited really that we have a stable base, where we can then be able to work in the community and help other people with things that come up, and so its just great to be able to have a base of operation, said Cordell.

Northstar Callaway held Sunday services from the Panama City campus until now. But residents were able to walk and ride their bikes to the reopening once again.

We had to close down while we did construction, and so we were a little bit disconnected from things that were going on immediately around here, said Cordell.

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Callaway residents are welcomed back home to the Northstar church campus - WMBB - mypanhandle.com

ROSSFORD Building will begin in April on a new 137-acre site in Rossford, to be developed by Scannell Properties, the largest industrial developer in the country.

Between this site and the Crossroads, I can envision 10,000 new jobs for the region in the next five years, Rossford Mayor Neil MacKinnon III said. All this will spur other growth and work its way into the traffic pattern, developing the customer base and attracting new development.

The property is at the Buck Road interchange, the largest span of commercial marketed real estate along Interstate 75 in Northwest Ohio, with 2,000 feet of highway frontage. The property is also bounded by Glenwood Road and Mandell Road, with Lime City Road bisecting it. The southern edge of the property is adjacent to the Cedar Creek Church property.

Terry Coyne, Newmark Knight Frank Real Estate Services, said that the site will be for light industrial, manufacturing and logistics.

Its a great site. We scoured the market north, south, east and west. We love this corridor. Rossford and Wood County have been fantastic to work with, Coyne said.

He said that the site is shovel ready, with basic infrastructure already in place, including sewer, drainage, electrical and gas.

Were very excited. This will increase our tax base and will provide jobs and opportunities, not just for Rossford, but to the entire region.

Architects renderings show as many as eight buildings planned for construction. T

hey will break ground on the first building as soon as the weather breaks, which Coyne expects to be in April, but said that they will start before that if possible.

The first building is going to be a 300,000-square-foot spec warehouse.

Coyne pointed out that the facility will be across the highway from Penta Career Center and also near the new FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight Distribution Facilities. Newmark Knight Frank is working on a leasing application now for a possible manufacturing company.

Excerpt from:
New Rossford construction continues adding jobs in area - Sentinel-Tribune

St. Martins Academy Theotokos Hall. Photo was taken from the schools website.The St. Martins Academy all-school photo taken December 2020. Submitted.

Saint Martins Academy, rural Fort Scott, is a Catholic boarding school for boys that combines classical academics with a practical work program on a sustainable farm, according to its website. http://www.saintmartinsacademy.org

The school is in its third year.

Daniel Kerr is the headmaster of the academy and gave fortscott.biz an email interview.

We have 42 students this year across all four grades: 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th, Kerr said. Our first graduating class of nine will graduate on May 29th. Our graduates plans include college, apprenticing in a trade, and mission work.

One of the new faculty this year is Adam Taylor, who is the assistant headmaster.

Adam spent 20 years in the Marines before entering the private sector as a vice president at Cloudera, a software company, Kerr said. His son, Ian, is a 12th grader.

The school also has a new dean of student life, Bryan Meyers.

Bryan has taught at a variety of private and public schools for over a decade and has a passion for integrating academics with the living laboratory of the farm and fields, Kerr said. He teaches several classes and is also the schools beekeeper with several active hives and more on the way.

The school offers rugby as part of the program.

Practices for the 2021 Rugby season are well underway and we have seven or eight matches slated in the late winter and early spring, mostly with teams from the Kansas City metro area, Kerr said. Team captains Ian Taylor, Henry Hickey (12th grade), and Nate Jones, Danny Harrington (11th grade) will lead the Kingfishers in our first year of playing with a full squad of 15. Rugby is played by all the boys who are able and helps develop a real esprit de corps and sense of camaraderie.

The school is still in the construction phase with the main completed building, Theotokos Hall, the center of activity.

Theotokos Hall serves a multifunctional purpose during our first years, Danielle Bauer, who has development and fundraising duties at the academy, said. Currently the building houses our kitchen, dining hall, common area and hearth, library and classrooms. Most importantly, the top floor of Theotokos Hall serves as our chapel where the boys gather daily for prayer and Holy Mass.

It also served as a temporary dormitory until bunkhouses could be built.

Three of our five bunkhouses scheduled for construction are now occupied by the boys, Kerr said. This has been a game-changer for us by freeing up space within our main building, Theotokos Hall, to be developed for proper classrooms and a library. Enrollment next year should approach 60 and it is likely we will have a waiting list by May.

The students are involved in the community.

Among our work project, the boys are currently re-building several picnic tables for Gunn Park and have done some preparatory cooking for Fort Scotts soup kitchen (Feeding Families In His Name at the First United Methodist Church), Kerr said.

I am sincerely grateful for the hospitality and kindness of Fort Scotts civic leaders and residents in welcoming St. Martins these first few years, Kerr said. We look forward to being increasingly engaged in service and cultural projects that make positive contributions to the community.

St. Martins Academy is located at 1950 Indian Road, Fort Scott.

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St. Martins: Third Year Educating Boys - FortScott.Biz

Repairs and cleaning of the Alamos Long Barrack will soon begin as conservation experts determine the best way to preserve one of the oldest buildings in Texas.

Roof repairs at the mission-era structure began Monday and are expected to be completed by Friday. Cleaning of the exterior walls will begin later this month, as early as Feb. 15. But the state-owned Alamo complex will remain open to the public.

Just like when caring for artifacts like historic documents and artwork, the Long Barrack needs cleaning every so often, Alamo conservator Pamela Jary Rosser said. We will use the gentlest methods possible to clean the stones in the Long Barrack walls, using skilled masonry cleaners, and will not perform any repairs that pose a risk of damaging the structure.

On ExpressNews.com: Work to determine if Alamo church exterior was painted in mission era

During recent archaeological investigations in the Long Barrack, the Alamo preservation team discovered blisters in its replacement roof, installed in 1975, resulting from cracks in a roof membrane added in 2014. Parts of the roof have bulges up to 12 inches high from moisture infiltrating the membrane, which is under warranty. Areas where blistering has occurred are being repaired this week.

The long, rectangular building is less celebrated than the iconic Alamo church. But it was among the first structures built after the site became the third and final location of San Antonios first permanent mission in 1724. Much of its west and south walls are of original mission-era construction.

The Long Barrack was built by Spanish craftsmen and indigenous people living near the Mission San Antonio de Valero. It was completed by the 1740s as a two-story convento, where Spanish friars lived and worked. Later, as part of a fort, it housed a jail and, on the second floor, the first hospital in Texas, dating to 1805.

The Long Barrack also is the location where a high concentration of Texian and Tejano Alamo defenders are believed to have died in hand-to-hand fighting in the early morning battle of March 6, 1836.

Decades after the battle, the building was part of a grocery and liquor store. It was threatened with demolition by a hotel developer when Clara Driscoll and Adina de Zavala worked to save it in 1903, starting a new era of Alamo custodianship by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. The DRT renovated the building to house museum exhibits in 2005.

The building has been closed to the public in recent years for archaeological digs conducted to preserve the church and Long Barrack. Excavations in the Long Barrack have unearthed 1800s musket balls and other artillery, and a piece of earthenware believed to date from 1650 to 1725. Archaeologists also found, about 5 feet below the surface, what they believe is the base of the Long Barracks original mission-era west wall, the oldest intact structure at the Alamo, with a foundation dating to the 1720s.

On ExpressNews.com: Early mission era artifact unearthed at Alamo in downtown San Antonio

In the weeks ahead, masons will clean the exterior limestone walls with water, specialized soap and soft-bristle brushes to remove dirt and black and dark green biological growth so the preservation team can assess the condition of the stones and mortar for a long-term repair and treatment plan.

In a YouTube video posted by the Alamo, Rosser explained that a very gentle cleaning process will remove the growth materials and contaminants that visually obscure details and conditions of the stone and grout.

And then the building will be preserved in the best manner possible, she said.

shuddleston@express-news.net

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Cleaning, repairs to begin at Alamos Long Barrack, one of the oldest structures in Texas - San Antonio Express-News

HARTLAND When the Village Board gathers on Monday evening it will hear a presentation on a developers plan to transform the historic Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church property at 415 W. Capitol Drive into an event center and small hotel.

According to a staff memo, the church would be expanded and transformed into an event space, while the existing house on the property would be razed and replaced with a new house that could house event center patrons.

The church addition would be about 1,500 square feet. The single-family house would be roughly 2,000 square feet and have underground parking.

Developer Miller Marriot Construction Co., LLC, has had several successful projects in the village, the memo states, and will be on hand to explain his proposal to trustees on Monday.

The future of the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church property has been a topic of discussion in recent years in the village. The building had previously been eyed by the village as a potential community center, but that plan ultimately fizzled.

In 2018 the church announced that it was hoping to sell the building and would be moving services to its school campus at 1023 E. Capitol Drive. According to a calendar on the churchs website, however, many services are still taking place at the church. The church is still owned by the congregation, according to online tax records.

Political signs

Trustees on Monday are also expected to review some proposed changes to the villages sign ordinance, most of them designed to ease restrictions on political yard signs.

The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Village Hall, 210 Cottonwood Ave.

Read more:
Developer wants to make Hartland church into event center - Greater Milwaukee Today

Bob Montgomery|Herald-Journal

Many road and bridge projects are planned this year in Spartanburg County by state and county transportation departments.

Funded projects on county-maintained roads this year include:

Intersection improvements at 4th Street/Hanging Rock and Valley Falls roads in Boiling Springs; Lightwood Knott and South Hammett Roads at Reidville Road; Willis Road at U.S. 29; and the installation of a traffic signal on S.C. 290 at Draexlmaierin Duncan.

Also, the county will continue to resurface roads, replace and repair bridges and large culverts on county-owned roads.

More: Spartanburg County roads see greater need than road projects planned

Projects planned on county-maintained bridges and culvert replacements include:

Calvary Road Bridge, Miller Town RoadBridge, Gate Road Bridge, Rabbit Moffit Road Bridge, Reidville Sharon Road Bridge, Beardon Road Bridge, Waspnest Road Bridge, Frey Road Bridge, and Settles Road Bridge.

More: A look at some of the key Spartanburg County, state road improvements planned for 2021

Spartanburg County Public Works Director Travis Brown said county road projects such as improvements in Boiling Springs near Highway 9 are often done in tandem with state Transportation Department projects.

At the recent Spartanburg County Transportation Committee, comprised of state lawmakers who represent all or parts of Spartanburg County, these new projects were approved:

Highway 14 East paving; widening of Robinson Road from Fulmer Drive to Highway 290; paving of Sloan Road/Mill Gin Road, from Jordan Road to Mt. Lebanon Road; paving of Shiloh Church Road, from Highway 358 to Wasp Nest Road; paving of Westmoreland Road in Greer; paving of East Church and Savannah streets, Tumbler Rock Road and Pebble Court in Cowpens; Edwards Lane in Duncan.

Also, Woods Chapel and Victor Hill Road intersection project; and curb, gutter and storm drainage improvements to Preston Street in Spartanburg.

S.C. Department of Transportation projects planned in Spartanburg County this year include:

Lyman Traffic Triangle, $6.5 million. Construction is expected to start this fall. Improvements to main intersection areas in the town of Lyman: U.S. 29 at Pine Ridge Road; S.C. 358/Holly Springs Road at Pine Ridge Road; S.C. 129 at Holly Springs Road and U.S 29. at S.C. 292.Nearby in Lyman, left turn lanes on U.S. 29 at Pine Ridge Road will be lengthened and left turn lanes added on Pine Ridge Road.

Chesnee Highway and Old Post Road intersection. A traffic light will be installed, and a right turn lane added on eastbound Chesnee Highway, as well as left turn lanes on all four legs of the intersection.

Old Post Road and Hyatt Street intersection. A traffic light will be installed and the intersection will be reconfigured to allow for through traffic to and from Interstate 85 along Hyatt Street, construction of a right turn lane on eastbound Old Post Road, and a left turn lane added on northbound Hyatt Street.

Farmington Road will be extended a short distance to align with Old Post Road after the Old Post Road/Hyatt Street intersection is modified.The project is needed due to anticipated growth in the Gaffney area and the corridors proximity to both I-85 and the Gaffney Premium Outlets.

Country Club Road corridor. The existing corridor is primarily a two-lane roadway that connects the City of Spartanburg at Union Street and South Pine Street to Glendale.The $6 million project is near the trailhead of the Mary Black Rail Trail and trails near Glendale Shoals and is expected to start this spring.The road will be widened, drainage improved and safety upgrades at key intersections for a multi-use pathway.

A roundabout at S.C. 11 and Paris Bridge Road.

Planned paving and widening projects included in DOT's 10-year planin Spartanburg County include:

Holly Springs Road (SC 358), 3.3 miles; Bryant Road, 1.15 miles; Southgate Drive; 0.35 miles; Brice Road, 1 mile; Old Georgia Road, 2.65 miles; Lawson Road, 1.68 miles; Freeman Farm Road, 0.33 miles; Walnut Grove Road, 1.69 miles; Greenpond Road, 3.5 miles; S.C. Highway 101, 11.3 miles; S.C. 14 (East Rutherford Street), 1.45 miles; S.C. Highway 14 East, 0.54 miles; S.C. Highway 417, 2.3 miles.

Also, Waddell Road, 1.83 miles; Fairfield Road, 0.9 miles; Fairfield Street, 0.51 miles; West Georgia Road, 2.69 miles; West Georgia Street, 0.89 miles; S.C. 292 (Inman Road), 2.59 miles; S.C. 292 (Lyman Road), 2.61 miles; South Pine Street, 0.52 miles;U.S. Highway 176 Bypass, 2.93 miles; S.C. Highway 14 West, 3.7 miles; S.C. Highway 14 (West Rutherford Street), 0.86 miles; S.C. Highway 56, 22.73 miles.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers from Spartanburg County are allocated state funds to designate for road projects in their districts.

Is there a road or project in Spartanburg County you want us to check on? Email Bob Montgomery at bob.montgomery@shj.com.

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Here's a list of road projects planned in Spartanburg County for this year - Spartanburg Herald Journal

From the time they met, Mark and Christina Thomas were married within a year. Yet they werent exactly an instant match.

We didnt hit it off right away, because hes bold and Im a little more shy, Christina said. The first question he asked me was, If you were to die today, would you go to heaven? I was like, Yeah, of course. What do you mean? Then I pondered that thought and began considering what it meant. I thought that was a little strange and bold, but it did make me think.

The Carmel couple will celebrate 21 years of marriage Feb. 12, two days before Valentines Day. Mark, raised a Baptist, was 30 when they married, and Christina, raised a Catholic, was 10 years younger.

Former Colts defensive end Mark Davis celebrates a tackle of former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe during a home game. (Submitted photo)

The two met in a Chicago gym where Christina worked. Mark, a defensive end, had played with the Chicago Bears but was now playing for the Indianapolis Colts and was in the process of a move. He learned Christina was going to school for interior design, and she suggested he look at furniture from her uncles store for his new home in Carmel. She came to Carmel to help him set up his house.

The couple would meet with Colts teammates Hunter Smith, Jeff Saturday, Justin Snow and Adam Meadows on Monday nights for a Bible study born out of the Champions for Christ athletic ministry.

The couple was supposed to get married April 1, 2000 but moved it up to hold a ceremony at a Champions for Christ conference in Orlando.

We were champing at the bit to get married, Mark said.

They would later have a wedding ceremony in the Chicago area, but Mark wanted football and ministry friends to attend. Close friends attended as well.

We had an ulterior motive. We wanted people close to us to get a dose of Jesus and we knew they would never come to a conference, Mark said. Members of (Christinas) family got saved. Her parents got saved. It was a powerful week. It wasnt the most aesthetic wedding. It was borderline cheesy. We were married in a ballroom. But lives were forever changed from the wedding.

When Mark retired from the Colts after the 2001 season, he attended a two-year program with Champions for Christ in Austin, Texas, to become a pastor. He returned to become pastor of a Carmel church in 2003, leaving in 2018. The church, which has undergone several name changes, is now The Well in Carmel.

Because I wore so many hats as pastor, I started counseling people, and then more and more people came as couples and Christina would join us, he said. We work well together. We were five years into marriage and shes only 25 and counseling people that are twice her age. The Lord just gave her wisdom and people benefited from it. We enjoy doing it together, and the way were wired is so different.

Sometimes, it was a one-week counseling session and sometimes it would be 10 weeks. If he was going to perform a marriage ceremony, Mark said he would usually have six to eight pre-marriage counseling sessions.

The couple could speak from their own experiences.

We faced a lot of challenges early in our marriage with job loss and moving across the country. We had four kids in six years, Christina said. Our youngest has special needs.

Christina said they dont officially charge for the counseling service.

Weve just always said whatever you think its worth, but weve never said this is our rate, Mark said. It hasnt been that formal. Its just been they need help, and they are our friends, or they introduce us to their friends.

From left, Katelyn Thomas, Christina Thomas, Deb Hudson and Mark Thomas attend a house church session. (Submitted photo)

Besides counseling couples, Mark Thomas leads a group of friends in a service called house church in the home of he and his wife, Christina, or a cabin on their property. Its typically a group of approximately 20 people. House church is a term given to a group of Christians meeting in private homes.

What we like about it is that it fosters, almost necessitates, community, he said. This is who we are with all the time. Realistically, three to five times a week these people are in our home. We actually do life together. The other thing it really cultivates is participatory gatherings.

Instead of a minister delivering a sermon, everyone participates.

Its discussion-based, instead of just monologue, Mark said. What this does is, my kids are all involved, and they love it. The dialogue process helps people grow and mature.

The couple has four children: Caleb, Katelyn, Naomi and Jude.

The couple conducted services by Zoom for nearly two months when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a lockdown.

All of us in the family then had COVID around the same time at Thanksgiving, Christina said. We think our youngest son got it from going to an arcade.

But they have been able to resume services after a break.

Once every other month, well do it at someone elses house to spread it out, Mark said.

The cabin on the couples 8-acre property was the first house built in Carmel. Constructed in 1828, it was originally owned by the Kinzer family. The main house was built in the 1840s.

The deed is on sheepskin, Christina said of the property, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The couple also keeps busy as Mark has found a way to assist in Christinas home design business.

Instead of just wanting interior design ideas, she was finding clients would want a new master bathroom or kitchen.

We decided to do a design and remodel business, said Mark, who has taken on the role of project manager. I handle the construction, and she handles the design.

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Legacy of love: Former Colt, wife work together to improve marriages, homes Current Publishing - Current in Carmel