To kick off the 90th anniversary of First Baptist Church of McDonald, Pastor Mike Setser welcomed Dr. Allan Mosher who presented a dramatic recitation of the Gospel according to St. Mark.
Mosher, a professor of voice at Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music, presented chapters 1 to 6 on Jan. 2. He will presenting chapters 7 to 10 on Jan. 9 and chapters 11 to 16 Jan. 16. Both performances will be held at 6 p.m. at the church, located at 602 Illinois Ave. in McDonald.
The congregation got its start on Jan. 2, 1921 when services were held at the home of James Ague on Pennsylvania Avenue in the village. The first pastor at that time was James McPhail and the church was called the Baptist Mission of McDonald.
Article Photos
The First Baptist Church of McDonald recently began celebrating its 90th anniversary with a special presentation Sunday by Dr. Allan Mosher. Pictured from left are Shawn and Pastor Mike Setser, and Mosher and his wife, Jennifer.
According to Setser, the congregation met for a time in a little white building in Woodland Park, but the current church on Illinois Avenue was built in 1927. Recently the congregation has purchased 40 acres of land on Second Street where they hope to eventually build a new church.
''We hoped to do it sooner, but when the economy took a turn, the project was put on hold,'' Setser said.
Setser, who has been with the McDonald parish for 20 years, grew up around the Dayton area in southern Ohio. Prior to coming to McDonald, he and his wife, Shawn, pastored at a church in the St. Petersburg area in Florida.
''It has all been memorable,'' Setser said.
Setser recalled when the church was part of an attack by a group of vandals who called themselves the Merry Prank-sters.
''They wrote graffiti all over and set the carpet on fire,'' he said. ''Some of the pews were burned.''
The incident occurred on Good Friday, but the church was able to be cleaned up in time for Easter Service on Sunday, he said.
It was the will of God that brought him and his wife to the McDonald church, Setser said.
''The village of McDonald is a wonderful place to live,'' he said.