Members of the North Shelby Baptist Church from Birmingham, Alabama, get prepared for an upcoming celebratory neighborhood block party on Thursday afternoon at the Alder Baptist Church in Centralia.
This is the second year that the North Shelby Baptist Church has sent a contingent to help renovate the Alder Baptist Church, which was heavily damaged during the flood of 2007. Last year 14 members traveled from Alabama.
Members of the North Shelby Baptist Church from Birmingham, Alabama, get prepared for an upcoming celebratory neighborhood block party on Thursday afternoon at the Alder Baptist Church in Centralia. This year a flock of 21 Alabama Baptists volunteered to help out in the Hub City.
This year a flock of 21 Alabama Baptists volunteered to help out in the Hub City. The block party will be held at the Alder Street Baptist Church on Sunday, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
In 2007, the Chehalis River ravaged the physical structure of the Alder Street Baptist Church in Centralia and displaced the congregation. But the flood could not wash away the faith of a dedicated baptist community. Instead, the waters served to inspire and unite two distant baptist communities separated by some 2,500 miles.
Last year the North Shelby Baptist Church from Birmingham Alabama sent 14 members to Centralia in order to help the Alder Street Baptist Church community make major headway on repairs to their damaged sanctuary. The effort was such a success that the North Shelby Baptist Church has returned with 21 members of their congregation in order to help with the extensive finishing work for two weeks.
“We’re trying to wrap everything up. We really are,” said Rudy Nix, pastor at Alder Street Baptist Church. “We’re really at the cusp of having our facilities up and running.”
Currently the church is confined to the worship area at the front of their church building due to the unfinished nature of the expansive rear quarters of the building. That area includes numerous rooms for Bible study and fellowship gatherings as well as the community kitchen.
“The sanctuary is open. We’ve been open for three years. But you can’t have a growing church without a kitchen,” noted Nix.
In recent days they’ve been working on finishing floors, hanging drywall and doors, and mounting water resistant kick panels in preparation for the next flood. They even had to overhaul an electrical system that hadn’t been updated in more than 60 years. Up until recently, the church had no mechanism for heating other than a few wall heaters and a mass collection of blankets to keep the flock warm during winter services. A donation from the community fixed that problem and now the expansion of the church’s gathering spaces is the primary focus.
“People used to come in and see us all huddled together and the blankets and think, ‘Wow, this is a very close congregation,’” joked Nix.
After helping to organize last year’s inaugural volunteer effort, Allan Murphy recently retired as pastor of the North Shelby Baptist Church. However, his retirement could not keep him away from the hard work that called for finishing at Alder Street Baptist.
“It’s extraordinary that they didn’t give up, that they didn’t sell the property and disband,” Murphy told The Chronicle last year.
Nix acknowledged that there have been many obstacles and setbacks to overcome along the way to recovering the Alder Baptist Church, and he is grateful for the helping hands of community at large, and the North Shelby Baptist Church in particular.
“The biggest hurdle was when a crook stole all of our insurance money. It’s really difficult to fix a church with no supplies and no money,” laughed Nix. “They say the Lord won’t give us anything we can’t handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.”
On Sunday the Alder Street Baptist Church is hosting a Neighborhood Block Party from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. in an effort to help neighbors meet neighbors on common ground. The gathering will include a bounce house for children, games for all ages, music, door prizes, and free food.
The Alder Street Baptist Church is located at 1010 Alder Street, Centralia and can be reached by telephone at 360-209-4310.
