Lighting a flame to burn a $250,000 mortgage that was paid off by members of New Friendship Baptist Church were, from left, Calvary Grove, Trustee; Bishop Michael Mack; Rev. H.L. Harvey Jr., Pastor Emeritus; Steven Reece Sr., Chair of Board of Trustees and Deacon; Carol Taylor, Trustee; Curtis Brooks, Trustee; Jessie Broach, Trustee; and Bill Ware, Trustee and Deacon. Not visible is Gertrude Moyre, Trustee. Photos by Mark Ramey

By Dan Yount

The Cincinnati Herald

“it was kind of like God’s miracle for us to pay off the church mortgage so quickly, and now we are free to pursue other options,” said Dr. Steven Reece Sr., Chairman of the 250-member New Friendship Baptist Church’s Board of Trustees, during a Dec. 11, 2022, mortgage burning ceremony the church’s 3212 Reading Road location in Avondale. “We thank our membership for their support.”

Signing off on the New Friendship mortgage were, from left, Trustees Jessie Broach, Steven Reece and William Ware. Photo by Mark Ramey

New Friendships’ trustees mortgaged the property from U.S. Bank in 2009 to make improvements to the building and for operations, with Reece, Deacon William Ware and the late Deacon Black putting up their houses as collateral.

Shown at New Friendship Baptist Church during the church’s mortgage burning ceremony were, from left, Gertrude Moyre, Trustee; Curtis Brooks, Trustee; Rev. Damon Lynch Jr., the event speaker; Bill Ware, Trustee; Bishop Michael Mack; Carol Taylor, Trustee; Rev. H.L. Harvey Jr., Pastor Emeritus; Jessie Broach, Trustee; Calvary Grove, Trustee; and Steven Reece, Chair of the Board of Trustees. Photo by Mark Ramey

The building originally served as a Greek synagogue, before being purchased by New Friendship, which moved there from a Walnut Hills site.

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