Honoring Black History: Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church
FAIRMONT W.Va. (WBOY) — At Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Fairmont, Senior Pastor Dr. Mark A. Staples says that they try to share Black history all year long, because Black history is 'all our history.'
The story of Mount Zion itself is representative of African-American history. The church started in a member's basement in 1902 in the midst of segregation. They enlisted Carl E. Barnett, who was the third-ever licensed architect in West Virginia, to help complete the original church building on Cleveland Avenue in 1928—right across the street from the Dunbar School. Due to the era, Barnett struggled to find other work as an architect.
Over time, Mount Zion became a pillar of the community, but it outgrew the Cleveland Avenue building and wound up moving to its current location on Maple Avenue in 1989.
Joan Elaine Lacey has been a member of Mount Zion for just under 20 years. She told 12 News that she enjoys 'that we as a congregation look out for each other, we care for each other, and that's about the best thing that we can do.'
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Mount Zion remains active in the community today, offering programs for kids, premarital classes, and cooking classes for the older members. In 2022—120 years after those first basement masses—the church was offered its original building back from the people they sold it to.
'He wanted to give us back the property even though it had some damage to it as a gift under one condition – that we use it to serve the community,' Dr. Staples said.
Mount Zion hopes to restore the original Cleveland Avenue Church and turn it into a community center that they will call the 'Center of Hope'.
My favorite scripture is Ephesians 3:20. 'For God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we asked think or imagine according to the power that work in us.' I'm just a dreamer and I believe God has even greater things in store for Mount Zion and for the people here in Fairmont.'
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