BOSTON – Beatrice Busby turns 109 this week. She has been attending the same church in Boston for 100 years!
100 years in the same church
If you have ever attended Sunday service at Peoples Baptist Church of Boston in the past 100 years, you have probably come across or met Mrs. Beatrice Busby. She has been a member of the Church since she was nine years old, dating back to 1924.
“She even encouraged her parents to join the church,” her godson, Mark Gray, told WBZ-TV. “She’s been leading people to this church for a while.”
Busby turns 109 years old on Thursday, Thanksgiving.
“I feel good,” she told WBZ.
Busby, born in 1915, is really from Boston. On Sundays you will always see her sitting on four pews up front, worshipping, singing and reading the program book. For her, this church has been a place of comfort and community.
“What does it mean to me? It’s like home,” Busby said. ‘I’ve lived here all my life. I grew up in this church.”
“A very loyal member”
Pastor Wesley Roberts has known her for 44 years.
“She has been a very faithful member and we have enjoyed her presence, both as a worker and as a worshipper. She is always here on Sundays,” Roberts told WBZ.
Busby was baptized in the church and married there. On Sunday, the church honored her with a banquet to mark her 100 years of membership.
“I was looking forward to it. I did what I did because I wanted to do it,” Busby said. “And it’s my church.”
Busby had a son who died 30 years ago. She has a grandson who lives in Colorado, so this community keeps her going.
“She is an inspiration and has always been that way my whole life,” Gray said. “I see her as a beacon of light for someone to follow and an example of what she has brought to her life and the church.
Busby said the secret to her success is praising God and doing good things for people.
Paul Burton
