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Churches
are thriving in columbus.
One nationally
known theologian, the Right Reverend Frank E. Wilson who wrote the book
Faith and Practice, said that the church is a family in which we help
one another to be better. Columbus must be a very good town, for there
are about 145 churches and one Jewish synagogue in Columbus and Lowndes
County, which means that a lot of people are actively practicing being
better.
And should one doubt that these places of worship are thriving, look
around and see the church steeples that make up the Columbus skyline,
and see the additions and other expansions just finished or still under
construction. Most visible are the churches closest to downtown Columbus.
The Annunciation Catholic Church is proud of its most impressive multi-million
dollar expansion. It carries on the tradition established by Father
J.B. Mouton, Order of Architects of the Catholic Church, who is thought
to have commissioned the beginning of construction of Annunciation in
1861. His goal was to pattern the new church after the great, Gothic-styled
Sainte-Chappelle in Paris. The Civil War impeded the progress, and after
the war, the poverty of Reconstruction prevented immediate completion.
When the congregation decided to build a new sanctuary (the old one
seated only 212; services were held in shifts), they appointed a building
committee to oversee the project. One of the committee members, artist
and retired art teacher Miss Eugenia Summer, went to Paris to study
Sainte-Chappelle. She came back with definite ideas for the new sanctuary
and today it is indeed a work of art. A few finishing touches are left
to be done to the beautiful sanctuary, but services are held there,
with a seating capacity of 600. Sometimes the sanctuary is filled to
near capacity to hear the Irish-born priest, Father Gerry Hurley, speak
the words of God.
The First United Methodist Church, thought to be the city’s oldest
congregation, is still in a wonderful building begun in 1860, which
was the third building used by the Methodists. FUMC expanded in 1989,
with another major expansion just recently completed. The new addition
is across the street, behind the main church. It is to be primarily
used for youth activities, though it also holds a fellowship hall and
a kitchen. This major expansion gives the big First United Methodist
Church an even greater presence in downtown Columbus.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, officially organized in 1837, with
the present church consecrated in 1860, welcomes as its latest addition
the St. Paul’s Episcopal School. The school is situated next to
the church, and the new architecture blends perfectly with the existing
Gothic structure. The school and its rave reviews are second only to
the good news and great reviews garnered by the new rector, The Rev.
Rob Wood.
African-American churches continue to grow and expand, some of whom
are well known for their music ministry and outstanding choirs. The
oldest African-American church building in northeast Mississippi is
Missionary Union Baptist Church, circa 1833, though it is thought that
Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church originated under a “brush arbor”
around 1821, when a few determined Christian slaves decided to have
their own church. The church has been at its present site since 1867;
in the new church building since 1970.
Two of the city’s largest churches, First Baptist Church and Fairview
Baptist, have expansion projects underway, which is necessary to accommodate
their large congregations. Whatever the denomination of choice, it is
likely to be found in Columbus, for this is a place where religion matters..
