75th Anniversary Celebrated
Port O’Connor First Baptist Church celebrated its 75th Anniversary this past Sunday, April 14, 2013. The Church has been blessed with 32 different pastors during those 75 years. The current Pastor is Rev. Donnie L. Martin. The Anniversary Celebration began Sunday morning with a visitation from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pictures and artifacts of past years were on display in the church foyer for everyone to view and inspect. At 11:00 a.m., the morning service began with a fellowship of music by Minister of Music, Raymond Grant, and this was a joyous time. The choir sang a beautiful hymn and Bro. Donnie Martin gave the Invocation. Bro. Doyle Adams, who directed the church music for 12 years, led the congregation in singing a favorite hymn, “When We All Get To Heaven”. Executive Director of Missions of Guadalupe Association, Walter Jackson, addressed the congregation and congratulated the Church on 75 years of ministry in Port O’Connor.
Former pastor Bro., Marcos Gohlke spoke to the congregation and Marcos and Sue Gohlke sang the beautiful song “When I Get Carried Away”. Other speakers were Bro. George Yarbrough and Bro. J.V. Helms., Bro. T.L. Kennedy, Bro. Bill Reeves, Kenneth Clark and Tina Mendoza. We enjoyed the music of Rachael Grant as she played the dulcimer. After the service, everyone was invited to the beautifully decorated Church Fellowship Hall for a fantastic luncheon. Visiting between the “old timers”, families and friends was held for several hours. It was a “once in a lifetime” affair and everyone certainly enjoyed the 75th Anniversary Celebration.
On February 20, 1938, the Church was named First Baptist Church of Port O’Connor, 27 years after the vacant lot on Jefferson and Fifth Streets was bought for that purpose. The Church was organized through the efforts of two families, Mr. & Mrs. P.L. Lewis and Mrs. H.P. Clark. Mrs. H.P. (Mary) Clark was the last surviving Charter Member of the Church and she went to be with the Lord in June, 1984.
The Church met in the school house in 1941-1942 because a hurricane destroyed the old church building. Building a new church building met delay after delay. In June 1947, Chapel No. 3 at Camp Hulen, Texas in Palacios, was purchased from the War Department for $1,500. The building was moved by barge over West Matagorda Bay to the foot of 5th Street in Port O’Connor and was transported by low-boy trailers to exactly where it sits today. Hurricane Carla arrived in September, 1961 and almost all of Port O’Connor’s buildings were destroyed, but First Baptist Church was not moved! The church building was damaged, but after repairs, church services were held again.
Through the years many renovations have been made: new windows, air conditioning, new pews, carpets, sound systems, and in 1992 a beautiful new Fellowship Hall was constructed to everyone’s delight! This building is used for many functions in Port O’Connor: birthday parties, wedding and anniversary functions, club and organization meetings, plus all Church activities.
The Church has a beautiful new parsonage and a paved parking lot. God has blessed the Church through the years and the Church has never been in debt.
-See you in church Sunday!
