Memorial Baptist Church 60th Anniversary

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Special Service and Potluck Luncheon

Sunday, April 29, 2007 | 10:30 a.m.

Take a look at
photos from the 60th Anniversary
worship and celebration

Read the special
60th Anniversary "Recollection Section"
of the April 2007 newsletter.

Download the worship folder.

Download a message
from our mission partners in India.

Read the press release.

A brief history-in-photos of Memorial's growth:

Memorial held its first public service at the Glebe Theater (later the Dominion) on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947. Click on the photo at right for exterior and interior images of the old theater. (And note the title of the movie showing when this photo was taken.)

This lot at the corner of North Glebe Road and Dittmar would become the site of Memorial Baptist Church. The sign on the telephone pole says "Exhibit Homes"-- a relic of a time when Arlington was transitioning from a quiet, almost rural area to a bustling post-war suburb of the Nation's Capital.

The chapel was the church's first worship space at this location. Ground was broken at the corner of Glebe and Abingdon on December 12, 1948. Construction was finished by October 1949 and the chapel was dedicated and the cornerstone placed on December 18, 1949.

The young adult choir in the chapel choir loft. Ed Briggs (top row, right) and Priscilla Nicholson (middle row, left) would later marry, and she would serve as our administrator for nearly 30 years. The remodeled chapel is currently the worship space for our contemporary service on Sundays at 8:30 a.m.

The Education Wing was the next part of the church to be built. It was dedicated in this ceremony on November 6, 1952. This part of the building is still the vibrant location for our children's department and our G2R Youth Group.

Ground was broken for the main sanctuary at Glebe and Dittmar on Saturday, March 25, 1956, to serve as the main worship space for a growing community of faith.


The new sanctuary was dedicated on Sunday, November 10, 1957. It is still the worship space for our traditional service on Sundays at 11:00 a.m.

Memorial Baptist Church today:

Pastors from our past:


Rev. James Farmer Organizing Pastor 2/27/1947-12/31/1949	Rev. Paul Harrell 1/15/1950-7/25/1965	Rev. Jack P. Lowndes 1/1/1967-2/16/1976	Dr. Randall Robinson 5/1976 - 1/1990