On Saturday, Aug. 17, Trinity Baptist Church (TBC) in Ukiah celebrated 60 years of service to the Lord and the roots their church has made in the community. It was August 1964 that Bethel Baptist Church and Northside Baptist Church united under a common roof to make a new church known as Trinity Baptist Church.
The Rev. Gallie Bennett, who had been the pastor of Northside Baptist Church since Aug. 17, 1963, became the first pastor of the new church.
Both Bethel and Northside churches were sold and the old Seventh Day Adventist Church at 900 S. Dora St., Ukiah, was purchased.
It took a year-and-a-half, however, before the congregation could move into the Dora site. Attendees at the celebratory reception agreed “We are celebrating the fact that God has kept us safe through a pandemic, through global turmoil and a whole bunch of it. Six decades of service reflects dedication.
” Well-known pastor and tent evangelist Dick Coolidge became pastor at TBC on Feb. 8, 1976. His warm, relatable, yet direct style of preaching, along with his legendary “Chalk Talk Drawings” (drawing a beautiful picture using fluorescent chalk as he preached, and then illuminating the picture at the end to depict a more vibrant picture to augment the theme upon which he preached).
In 1977, Rev. Dick Coolidge established an epic Passion Play at Coyote Dam at Lake Mendocino. This was in partnership with Redwood Valley Baptist Church and Redwood Valley Community Church.
This inaugural presentation of th.