MOULTRIE — The Williams Tabernacle Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church will celebrate 121 years of service and worship in Moultrie this weekend.

The church is located at 314 Third St. N.W. and the pastor is the Rev. Connie E. Scott. The theme for this year is “Connected to the Vine — Destined to Thrive in 2009.”

The 121st anniversary will be celebrated with a special afternoon service on Sunday, April 26, at 4 p.m., at the church. The Rev. Michael Johnson and the congregations of Centenary Missionary Baptist and New Hope Missionary Baptist Churches, both of Boston, Ga., are special guests and will be in charge of the celebration service. Dinner will be served after the worship service.

Johnson is a native of Thomasville, Ga., and he is a graduate of the SEAN International School of Theology of Atlanta, Ga. He is presently pastoring Centenary Missionary Baptist and New Hope Missionary Baptist Churches.

In December of 1870, the organizing General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church set up a separate and independent church for their colored members.

It was understood that if the colored members were to have a church that was historically, constitutionally, and ecclesiastically Methodist, it had to be done within the framework of the Methodist system. Setting up the colored members into an independent Methodist body, therefore, required authority and directions from the General Conference. It took four years to move from an idea to a reality. It began with the General Conference of 1866.

In 1888, with people migrating from different places seeking jobs and housing in Moultrie, and feeling a need for a house of worship, the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in Moultrie was born. On May 17, 1954, the “Colored” was changed to “Christian.”

As the colored population of Moultrie increased, the church grew in membership and the need for expansion became apparent.

The church was renovated in 1949 and the annex was built under the leadership of the Rev. Maceo Pettigrew in 1952 and is now known as the Thomas W. Lee Fellowship Hall.