ATLANTA -- Friendship Baptist Church is holding its final service on Mitchell Street this weekend. The congregation is preparing to move to a new location to make way for the new Atlanta Falcons stadium.
Actress Jasmine Guy is among the many people who have spent countless Sunday's inside the church, listening to her father preach from the pulpit.
Guy was the star of NBC's "A Different World," which ran for six seasons and continues to find viewers in syndication. Her role in the "Cosby Show" spinoff was as Whitley Gilbert, feisty Southern belle.
Guy grew up in Friendship Baptist Church, where her father, the Rev. William Guy was pastor.
The oldest black Baptist church in Atlanta is being knocked down to make room for a new billion dollar Falcons stadium.
"I'm like, 'What does [the stadium] do for our city? [The church] does something for the city. Our churches, our history," Guy said.
The church agreed to a $19.5 million to leave their home for the last 150 years.
The founding pastor, the Rev. Frank Quarles started holding services in a boxcar on the site in 1866 after the Civil War. When Morehouse College moved to Atlanta from Augusta in 1879, classes were held at the church. Spelman College started in the basement in 1881 and the close relationship with the schools and this church continues to this day.
"They don't want to leave this area," Guy said. "It's important – I think – that the schools have walking proximity to the church."
The last service in the historic church is Sunday with pastor Guy set to preach along with the current minister Dr Emmanuel McCall. Jasmine Guy said she will be there.
The final service will take place Sunday morning at 10. If you plan on attending, make sure you get there early.
