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Donora church to celebrate 106th anniversary

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Courtesy of St. Paul Baptist Church

St. Paul Baptist Church members in an undated photo

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Courtesy of St. Paul Baptist Church

Churchgoers line up at St. Paul Baptist Church in this photo taken in May 1954.

St. Paul Baptist Church in Donora will be celebrating its 106th anniversary this weekend.

The church, located at 49 S. McKean Ave., will hold a service commemorating the occasion at 10 a.m. Sunday.

St. Paul Baptist came to be when a woman known only as Mrs. Penn started a mission house in 1916. It grew so quickly she needed to move into the old Star Theater in Donora, and they took the name Southern Baptist Church.

The church welcomed many of the African Americans who left the South during the great migration.

Plans to build a new church began in the 1920s, but construction did not start until 1942. The church was finished in 1954 under the stewardship of the Rev. Walter E. McBrayer, and the cornerstone bearing his name remains on the building.

The church’s vision at its inception was to “expand Christian Fellowship, Missionary and Education Service to all men, women and children of the Christian discipline.” That vision continues today.

St. Paul, under Pastor Lee Haney Sr., has continued the Carrie B. Hill Mission. The church also is affiliated with the FLM Haiti Mission, which provides a health care and literacy outreach. A monthly free drive-up food distribution through the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank is provided on the site as well as clothing and hygiene items.

In spite of precautions necessary due to the pandemic, services, Bible study and live streaming of movies continue, as well as in-person Sunday service.

The emcee for Sunday’s commemorative service will be Deacon David Hunter, along with Raymond Johnson of Antioch Baptist Church in Belle Vernon, who will serve as Worship Leader.

The keynote speaker will be the Rev. Kenneth E. Johnson, former assistant to the pastor at Rodman Street Baptist Church in Pittsburgh.

Those in attendance will receive a take-out bagged lunch and a commemorative gift.

The anniversary chairpersons are Sheila Groomes and Marion Ogletree.

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