By Heather Buckner | News Intern

Mars Hill Baptist Church will celebrate its 125th anniversary June 24.

William Short is the pastor of the church, which is located just off County Road 42, west of Jemison.

The committee in charge of the event consists of several longtime members, including Kathy Smith, Mittice Posey, Civilene Scott and Lynn Gothard.

Kathy Smith is the newest church member on the committee, and she has been attending for about 40 years.

Posey grew up in the area and has attended Mars Hill the majority of her life. She lived about a mile from the church as a girl and remembers walking to services with a family friend when she was so young she couldn’t even reach his hand. Now her great-grandchildren attend the church with her.

Gothard says she attended Mars Hill as a teenager, before all of the additions and renovations. The church was one room with space heaters and no water and the head deacon was also the pianist, music director and Sunday School teacher.

Throughout its 125 years, Mars Hill has been involved with a number of programs, recently including Baptist Builders and Relay for Life. Mars Hill has also fostered unity through programs like their Senior Adult Ministry, “The Senior Messengers,” who have visited places like Amish Country in Pennsylvania and the Chattanooga Aquarium.

In 2004 a vote was taken to either build a new church or renovate the current one, but according to Smith, the next project for Mars Hill will probably be remodeling the kitchen to accommodate for its growing numbers.

Anniversary festivities will start at 10 a.m. and will be followed by lunch. Joining the celebration will be state Rep. Kurt Wallace; the Executive Director of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission, Lonette Berg; and Probate Judge Bobby Martin.

Posey is excited to celebrate her church’s “continuous service to God and the community.” She is proud of how well her church has fared over the years—“We have faced hardships, but it was nothing we couldn’t overcome.”