Curtis Baptist Bible church celebrates 50th anniversary
THE LEADER STAFF

At right, The Curtis Baptist bible church under construction in 1957. Above, the church in its present condition.

The Curtis Baptist Bible Church on Tannery Road in Campbell is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with activities planned throughout this weekend.

Today, there was to be a coffee hour at 9:30 a.m., slide presentation of pastoral biographies and short story clips at 10 a.m., morning worship at

11 a.m. followed by a banquet dinner and an afternoon service of special music and memory sharing at 1:30 p.m.

Special guests will be former pastor, the Rev. Theodore Brennan and Gladys Lane, widow of the late Rev. Fred Lane.

The need for a church became apparent in the early 1950s when Lane, a member of the North Baptist Church of Corning, with the encouragement of the Corning Area Bible Club and the Rev. Harold Edwards, began holding Bible studies in some of the homes in the Curtis area and held Sunday School in a garage owned by Charles Burlingame on Curtis Hollow Road. In 1956, the church became incorporated as "The Curtis Baptist Bible Church." Throughout the years, the church was built with Lane pastoring until his resignation at the age of 70 in November 1976.

PHOTOS PROVIDED

This year's anniversary theme, "Preaching, Teaching, Reaching ... Celebrating 50 Years!" is considered, among the members, to be most appropriate because of its numerous outreach activities, both overseas and in the U.S> Durng the holidays and over the years, the Sunshine Committee has taken goodwill packages to those in need, and since about 1984 the church has offered a "Friendship Class" f o r Pathways residents who wished to attend.