A Brief History of Marrero, Louisiana
New Orleans West Bank Church Organized in 1979
In 1978, Bill Painter, a layman and member of the Franklin Avenue Church in New Orleans, started a branch Sabbath school in the West Bank area of New Orleans. On October 27, 1979, eighteen charter members were organized as the New Orleans West Bank Church (Hallett, 1980).
A New Church in 1999
After meeting in a number of places, on February 10, 1999, a church building was purchased by the congregation. The building was in desperate need of renovation. Under the leadership of Elders Glen Farinola, Bud Schermerhorn, and Ben Orian, this was finally completed. In 2005, the church sustained roof damage from Hurricane Katrina when the steeple was blown off (Newsletter, 2007).
Name Changed to Marrero SDA Church
Due to the confusion caused by mail being misdirected to three different churches which all had West Bank in the name, in August 2006 the congregation voted to rename their church by the community in which it resides – Marrero (Newsletter, 2007). By the end of 2006, the debts on the church were all paid off and on Sabbath, February 3, 2007, the congregation celebrated the dedication of their church (Newsletter, 2007).
Citations
(2007, Feb. 1). Newsletter, Arkansas-Louisiana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, p. 5.
Hallett, Marwood. (1980, Feb. 21). Southwestern Union Record, p. 12F.
How it all Began 