Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church is located on Hwy 200, west of downtown Ocala. It is set back from the road, and we've driven by numerous times without noticing it. The other day, however, we saw a large group of black folks exiting the church building and decided we needed to photograph this quaint religious facility.
If you look closely at the second photograph, you'll see, off to the right, a covered area which appears to be for picnics or informal gatherings. Also to the right, off in the distance, is a cemetery. We would guess this church has been around for many years.
Just a click down the road and fronting Highway 200 is College Road Baptist Church, a huge operation covering several acres. College Road Baptist overwhelms Mt. Calvary and that's probably one reason we have not noticed the smaller church previously.
Ocala is in the "Bible Belt," and is Baptist country. I would guess there are between 75 to 100 Baptist churches in our relatively small town. Maybe more.
Mt. Calvary describes itself as "soul winning fundamental."
28 comments:
It's an interesting looking building. The photo's are outstanding.
What? 75 to 100 Baptist churches? What's the population? I love the shade under the majestic tree.
This building looks more like a small castle than a church, the place is nice anyway. It's really incredible the number of churches, and this for the Baptist only!
Wonderful pictures!
Very interesting post!
Léia :-)
It doesn't look like a church to me. Very interesting!
I bet their picnics are to die for. And just in case, it's right there.
I wouldn't have thought it was a church if it weren't for that huge sign. Cute building.
I think my sister and brother would feel right at home in Ocala…
Sweet church.
I have a blog called 'holy houses' would you mind if I posted this pic on that blog.? Kudos to you of course. MB
@ Mary SCS - Of course you can post this pic on your blog...I'm honored!
I love the vibrant colors of these shots.
It does resemble a small castle. I like those small twin "towers"!
@ Vogon Poet...yes, just Baptist. We've also got Pentecostals, non-denominational (a ton of those), Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Church of Christ, Methodist (lots of those), etc.
@ CQ - See note to Vogon Poet. The population within the city limits is about 50,000. But, including people who consider Ocala their home but live out of the actual city limits, there are probably 150,000...I'm not sure of the exact number.
Anyway you figure, it's way more churches than any community needs!
Sounds like the number of pharmacies over here! There is one every couple of hundred metres. I'm really impressed, including all the other churches, that means what? 200 churches all in all? Sorry to be so inquisitive, it's quite fascinating.
Hehe, again something what does not look like a church (like for me).
I love to see the differences between America and Europe at your blog. Thanks!
THAT many Baptist churches? Amazing!
I like the simplicity of this building.
@ CQ - I think 200 churches is a low estimate! One of them, which I'll show soon, is called St. Mary's Baptist Church! Baptists don't believe in "saints," so why the name? I don't have a clue!
75-100, that is a LOT of Baptists - I wonder what the collective noun would be for them? A bushel of Baptists, maybe?!
@ Jackie - I might use another "collective" noun. :-)
For some reason, my comments kept getting "eaten" at work. Grrrr...
Anyway, we have plenty of Baptist churches here in Jackson as well - many of them of the Missionary variety. A friend of mine says they are quite jubilant in their worship. It might be fun to stop by one day!
Jacob, since starting PDP I've learned the difference between a cemetery and a graveyard. The latter is part of a churchyard and a cemetery stands alone. I find that knowing that takes some of the scariness out of the idea of a graveyard which is kinda nice if you're going to go around photographing your hometown.
@ PJ - Thanks very much! That is good to know and I had never heard that before.
Do you know why they put fences around cemeteries and graveyards?
Answer: People are just dying to get in!
LOL, Jacob!
Hi Jacob, I enjoy your photos whenever I get a chance to drop in. Thanks for all your kind comments on mine. A few days ago you asked me how I achieved a particular effect on a photo ( the "420" post ). I use High Dynamic Range (HDR) processing for most of my photos these days, which probably accounts for the slightly different look they have. If you're interested you can find out more by looking up "Photomatix" - the name of the software I use.
@ Ben - Thanks very much for your kind words and I shall look up Photomatix.
gorgeous!..there lots of Baptist churches too here in the Philippines but unfortunately it doesn't look like that big and nice church..
I attended this church over 50 years ago. Went back to it 6/10 for my grandmother's funeral. We buried her in the graveyard. I was surprised how much of it was still the same. My family & ancestors have belonged to that church for over 100 years.
@ Mercedia: Thank you so much for writing. You have an amazing story...not many people can say they've attended the same church for 50 years!
Best wishes to you!
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