First Bryan Baptist Church celebrating 235th anniversary

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - First Bryan Baptist Church commemorated 235 years of existence in their Sunday Service.

The church was founded by Andrew Bryan, who was enslaved.

Members of the congregation put on a play that showed the history of how the church came to be which leaders say is important for people to remember as they continue the work of the founders of the church Sunday.

“Really we wanted to impart it to everybody. Because our history is everyone’s history. The things that we hold onto are lifelines for us, and we want it to be a lifeline for the general community,” Rev. Pearls Smalls said.

“Even if my name wasn’t Bryan, I understand the power of the descendants and how they did amazing things when people thought that it couldn’t be done. So I sit in a seat where I can continue to do amazing things, and people think that it can’t be done,” Alderman Linda Wilder-Bryan said.

Though the church was founded in 1788 the building that’s used now wasn’t built until the 1800′s.

Church leaders say they’re having issues with the roof and are looking into potential solutions to get a new one.

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