Last week, I asked who is supposed to be memorialized by Memorial Baptist Church in Newberry. I noted that the subjects of many memorials are forgotten over time, even the victims of horrific tragedies. That's the case here. One man responded that the church memorializes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Can't argue with that.
All churches do.
Another reader thought it was named in memory of settlers massacred by Indians. On Christmas night in 1872, the congregation gathered with their children in the church for a Christmas pageant. The former academy building was packed. The timbers groaned, plaster fell among the carolers and the floor collapsed. Dark confusion reigned and then a fire broke out.