Historic East Austin Baptist church prepares for its 150th anniversary
AUSTIN, Texas - A historical Baptist church in east Austin is set to reach a major milestone in the coming months.
Ebenezer Third Baptist Church is counting down the days to its 150th anniversary.
"Over the past 149 years, our church has been very involved in the economic growth of the east Austin community, but particularly the city of Austin in general," says Ebenezer Third Baptist Church Deacon Leroy Davis.
Ebenezer Third Baptist Church sits at the corner of East 10th Street and San Marcos Street in East Austin. It has been there since the 1800s.
Ebenezer means "Stone of Help."
"This is our third facility that we have been into because of the growth of the church. The original building, which was sort of a stucco-type building, they also outgrew that, and it was on Catalpa Street, I believe, and then they purchased this particular spot. During the days of segregation, Ebenezer led the political and social justice movement and tried to address the issues of inequalities," says Leroy Davis.
Members say the historic church formed a rich heritage in music.
"Our church had the first African American choir to participate on a commercial television station in the 1940s," says Leroy Davis.
As Ebenezer Third Baptist Church continued to grow to hundreds of enrolled members, several properties were acquired by the year of 1969.
"Next door, we have the child development center on the bottom floor and our family life center. Also, across the street, we have the senior village," says Ebenezer Third Baptist Church trustee Gloria Davis.
The sanctuary now holds close to 800 members. In February 2023, the congregation began preparing for the 150th anniversary, which is just five months away.
"We kicked off the 150th sesquicentennial celebration on our 149th church anniversary, and we started with a time clock with the countdown with the numbers of days it would take before we are actually at the 150th anniversary. Each month we focus on some aspect of our church history and most recently we focused on the music program," says Leroy Davis.
Leroy and Gloria Davis say they have been members for more than 40 years, watching the church transform for decades, but the root of the church service has remained the same.
"The music is exciting, the sermons are very inspirational, there is an opportunity for us to pray for people who are sick and shut in. We also have a social period afterward where we can just spread the love and the joy among ourselves," says Leroy Davis.
The sesquicentennial anniversary and celebration will be held in mid-February.