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A.J. White, Sr. Home (now demolished)
Block Building on White Street (vacant)
Building used from 1972-2004
(Now owned by NW Alabama Dept of Mental Health)
Current
Building.
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The earliest historical record of the Parrish Church of
Christ dates back to 1917 when the church was meeting in a one room school
house on Main Street,
down and across the street from where the First Baptist church building now
stands. The Church was them composed of about ten members and a few children.
The contribution averaged two to three dollars a week.
When the old school building was torn down around 1919 the church met in the
Methodist church building when it was not in use. This arrangement lasted
about six months until the Methodists had an extended revival which forced
the church to move elsewhere. The church began to meet on Mr. A. J. White,
Senior's front porch while construction took place on a new wooden meeting
house. This location is on White
Street across from the Methodist Church.
Brother Charlie Nichols was the first known regular preacher and Brother Wes
Sanford the first known elder. Brother Will Nelson was appointed an elder and
Brother George Courington a deacon around 1925.
Each served faithfully for over forty years until their deaths.
At least two debates were held in the old wooden building in addition to many
outstanding meetings. Brother Pride E. Henton drew
an estimated crowd of four hundred in 1924. Of course more were outside the
building than inside.
The church experienced gradual growth to about sixty members with an average
weekly contribution of about forty-five dollars, when on September 23, 1947,
the old wooden building burned. The church met at the community building
until August 1, 1948,
when a new block building was completed on the same site.
On March 27, 1971,
land was purchased for a new building which was completed October 29, 1972. In the Spring of
1995 the entire auditorium was remodeled. In April of 2001 the church
purchased land on the New
Parrish/Oakman Hwy. We moved into a new building
at 584 New Oakman Hwy
in September 2004. Since moving in
Sunday morning attendance has increased to an average of 160. We recently
added more seating and purchased property next door for future expansion.
Preachers known to have served the church here on a regular basis include:
Charlie Nichols, Pride E. Henton, L.R. Wilson,
Luther Weathers, John McCleskey, C. A. Wheeler, W.
A. Black, S. F. Hester, J. G. Pounds, Sr., Rudolf Hunt, Harold Walton, Giles
Hester, Garland Pounds Jr., Gerald Watt, Jerry Bramlett,
Raymond Bush, Bobby Liddell, Kenneth Jones, James Brown (associate), Jake
Norris is served in the position of Minister Intern (2010), and presently
Scott McCown.
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