DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Harris County. Now settle in, because this is a story about a congregation that just kept growing — and growing — and then growing some more. In the late 1890s, a church organized in Freedmantown.
It went by Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church for a spell, but that name didn't stick. Macedonia Baptist Church is what it became, and Macedonia Baptist Church is what it stayed. Then came 1907, and the congregation made a move — bought land at 1216 Ruthven Street and raised up a one-story wood structure to call home.
They were buildin' something. Five years on, in 1912, they made it official and incorporated as Macedonia Baptist Church. Now, a lesser congregation might've settled right there.
But not these folks. By 1928, they sold that property on Ruthven, turned right around, and purchased land at 1401 Ruthven Street — still on Ruthven, mind you, just further down the road and thinking bigger. And bigger they built.
A large, one-story wood structure went up, and this one had twin towers. Twin towers. You don't put twin towers on a building unless you mean business.
Then, over twenty years after that, the congregation reached deep again and erected a larger two-story structure — with an auditorium, classrooms, and a kitchen. Everything a community needs to gather, to learn, and to be fed. Over the years, Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church has continued to enrich the community through outreach programs and assistance.
That's a congregation that never once confused arrivin' with bein' done.
What the marker says
IN THE LATE 1890s, MACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCH ORGANIZED IN FREEDMANTOWN, AND WAS BRIEFLY KNOWN AS SHILOH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH. IN 1907, THE CHURCH BOUGHT LAND AT 1216 RUTHVEN STREET AND BUILT A ONE-STORY WOOD STRUCTURE. THE CHURCH INCORPORATED IN 1912 AS MACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCH. IN 1928, THE CHURCH SOLD THE PROPERTY AND PURCHASED LAND AT 1401 RUTHVEN STREET. A LARGE, ONE-STORY WOOD STRUCTURE WITH TWIN TOWERS WAS BUILT. OVER TWENTY YEARS LATER, A LARGER TWO-STORY STRUCTURE WAS ERECTED AND INCLUDED AN AUDITORIUM, CLASSROOMS, AND A KITCHEN. OVER THE YEARS, MACEDONIA MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH HAS CONTINUED TO ENRICH THE COMMUNITY THROUGH OUTREACH PROGRAMS AND ASSISTANCE.