Beulah Baptist Celebrates 98th church anniversary

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By Portia Williams

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Beulah Baptist Church recently celebrated their 98th church anniversary. A celebratory service was held Sunday, Oct. 11. Rev. Margaret Tyson, Pastor of Allen Chapel A.M.E. was the guest speaker for the occasion.

Deacon Al Oliver, who currently is serving as co-moderator with Celeste Adams, who is also a longtime member of Beulah Baptist Church, said Beulah was once known as the ‘Mecca’ of the north end of Portsmouth.

“Beulah is the church that I was raised in, my dad and grandfather were deacons at Beulah, and at that time, Beulah was pretty much looked upon as the Mecca of the north end of Portsmouth, because so many people had originated out of Beulah, and kind of migrated to other churches,” Oliver said.

He said he can recall the days when the church was so full during service times, that it was a challenge to find a place to sit. Consequently, times are different, and Beulah is currently without a pastor. The last pastor, Adrian Jones, relocated for employment reasons, according to Oliver.

“Beulah has come this far by faith. It has been nothing but the Lord that has sustained us, and we are still carrying on. We still have faithful members that are going to stay here, and the fact that we are on the same page, communicating well and working well together,” he said.

Jeannette Langford served as the mistress of ceremonies for The 98th church anniversary service, and Beulah’s wonderful church history was presented by Jewell Collins. Special music was shared by Patricia Oliver, Oliver’s wife. He said the sermon delivered by Rev. Tyson was enlightening, and encouraging words that Beulah and all those present at the service could put to use.

He said the church will begin a detailed search in place for a new pastor.

“After that, we plan to proceed with the individual that will be our next pastor,” he said. “The process that we normally have taken in the past is to get the word out, and a candidate that is interested in becoming pastor of Beulah can send in their resume.

He said the congregation is praying in regard to the selection of the next pastor to serve their congregation, and they desire someone who will preach God’s word effectively, be able to get along with the members, and one that they will all be comfortable with.

Portia Williams at 740-353-3101, ext. 1929, or on Twitter@PortiaWillPDT.

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