Vivamus. 

Integer egestas orci quis lorem feugiat adipiscing. 

COLUMBIA BAPTIST COLUMBIA BAPTIST CHURCHCHURCH

     The Columbia Baptist Church was established on May 12th, 1832 by nineteen devout settlers desirous of a place to worship in their immediate area. In its first years the church met in the homes of various congregants, but by 1840, construction of a permanent meetinghouse was underway. The paucity of available funds stalled the project’s completion until 1848 when the small church was dedicated. As a result of congregation growth, this church was enlarged in 1881. A new parsonage followed in 1892.

By 1899 it was apparent to all that the church was in dire need of repair. A survey of the congregation resolved the course; rather than work to repair the old church, new facilities would be constructed. Stone was donated by the Columbia Stone Quarry Co. and carted to the site by congregants. The church, modeled after the then-popular Akron architectural plan, was dedicated on September 12th 1900, debt free.

 

Among the Gothic Revival-styled structure’s most striking features are the sanctuary’s twin stained glass windows, which bear the names of the church’s founders. Columbia Baptist continued to flourish in the new century. In 1950 congregants donated their time and energy to enlarge the church’s basement, accommodating additional classrooms and kitchen facilities. The bounds of the school grounds were expanded in 1955 when the old parsonage was sold. A new parsonage was constructed on West River Road. Despite these improvements, church growth necessitated yet another renovation in 1963. A building adjacent to the church, known as the Garman property, was purchased and converted into new classrooms. 1966 saw a cosmetic renovation of the building; the stone was sandblasted, the sanctuary repainted, and the roof replaced. A campaign of even more extensive improvements to the sanctuary, kitchen, classrooms, and Fellowship Hall began in 1982. In 1976 Columbia Baptist Church was added to the National Registry of Historic Places.

Columbia Baptist Church 25514 Royalton Road

Columbia Station 40028 (440) 236-8206

 

 

EVENTSEVENTS

Save these dates! Three delicious offerings for our Food and Faith series:

January 23, 2010: Back by popular demand, we will be making pierogi at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 418 W. 15th Street, Lorain. Pinch, taste, and take pierogi home! The fun begins at 9:00 AM. (Space is limited; reserve your spot now!)

March 7, 2010: Join FSLI for our mock Sedar at Agudath B’nai Israel Synagogue at 1715 Meister Road in Lorain. Celebrate this special meal and learn more about the Passover holiday.

May, 2010: Details forthcoming. Stay tuned!

SLI ON THE WEBSLI ON THE WEB In September, the Sacred Landmarks Initiative hired their Leadership Lorain County summer intern Matt Kilbane with the express purpose of developing SLI’s web presence. Despite a few technological complications, we are happy to announce that the website is now functional! It is SLI’s hope that the website will offer relevant information to Friends in an accessible manner, facilitate new lines of communication, and thereby increase the level of engagement with the organization. On the Events page, visitors will find the information necessary to keep abreast of the organization’s current programming. By searching the online Church Database, visitors can access a thorough inventory of the county’s churches, synagogues, and meetinghouses, complete with historical sketches and contact information. And in an effort to increase distribution, FSLI Newsletters will also be available in an easy-to-use paperless format.

On Facebook individual users create and update personal profiles through which they can interact with other profiled users or visit organizationally-based pages like the SLI Facebook page.

Much of the information on the SLI page resembles that of the website, including information on upcoming events, church information, and paperless publications. But Facebook differs from the website in two important respects. Firstly, the Facebook page can be updated more quickly than the website. As a result, the Facebook page contains near-daily church news updates, culled from online resources like the Morning Journal and Chronicle-Telegram. Secondly, Facebook offers Friends of SLI the opportunity to actively participate with the SLI page. Once an individual has created a Facebook profile, he/she can communicate directly with SLI and other Friends by posting comments and joining (or initiating) discussions. The reward for maintaining a Facebook page—and a web presence, generally—is the degree to which these efforts increase participation in the organization by creating new avenues for the exchange of information and ideas. To check out the Facebook page, visit the SLI website and click the link at the bottom of the main page. To join Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com and follow the prompts to create your own account. For more detailed instructions, or for comments, suggestions and questions, email Matt at mkilbane@lorainccc.edu or call the office at (440) 366-4590.

Tickets for each of the Food & Faith events are $10.00. For more information about

any of the above events, or to reserve your spot, call our office at (440) 366-4590,

email sli@lorainccc.edu.

 

http://www.lorainccc.edu/sli More exciting, however, than these existing features are the prospects for future growth. Pages featuring paperless versions of SLI and FSLI brochures, archived newsletters, and publications are ready to be published. (Look for these new additions by the end of the month). And in the near future, SLI hopes to design an online calendar detailing church events throughout the county, as well as a digital archival space for SLI’s work on the county’s stained glass treasures. Exciting as this is, the website is not the only site of SLI activity on the Internet. Recently the organization decided to join Facebook, the (in)famous social networking site. Taking cues from other non-profits who have utilized this free marketing venue to great advantage, SLI created a Facebook page. The expected value will lie not in its capacity as an alternative website, but rather, in its ability to complement and extend the reach of the standard website.