Roser Memorial Chapel will be OPEN for PRAYER and historical information on Saturday May 3

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The Roser Memorial Chapel will be OPEN for PRAYER and historical information on Saturday May 3.
 
In 1913, Anna Maria Island land developer, Charles Roser, funded the construction of a chapel in honor and memory of his parents, John and Caroline Roser. Mr. Roser was a successful businessman and philanthropist, whose generosity is a lasting benefit to coastal Florida. 
 
A century after it first began, our beloved Chapel still stands, welcoming all who will enter for a time of peace, and closer contact with the ever living, ever loving God of all the ages and of each new day. Who could count the host of heartfelt prayers, the billows of joy and the mountains of sorrow shared in that sacred space? Who could picture the faces or recognize the voices or remember the names of all who walked through the doors? No one could but God, and God  does—every marriage, every child dedicated or baptized, every loved one committed to God’s everlasting arms by families, and friends gathered in that Chapel. 
 
In the stillness of the Chapel, one can sometimes sense the continuing presence of the small group of early Anna Maria Island pioneers who came together to worship and to study the words and ways of the Christian faith. As they grew in spirit, they also grew in numbers and as their program of mission and ministry grew, so did their building. By the 1970s the numbers of people who gathered for worship each week so exceeded the capacity of even the expanded Chapel building that a new place to worship had to be built. The interior lines of the new building were inspired by the distinctive shape of the historic Chapel. The church’s congregation now comes from Anna Maria Island and beyond.
 
The Chapel will be open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm during Food and Wine on Pine. Everyone is invited to stop by and ask about what Fig Newtons have to do 
with this beautiful Chapel.
 
The historical book: OUR CHURCH And How It Grew And Grew And Grew was published for the centennial and details the history of the church. It begins… 
Back in the year 1911, the lovely island marked on the map as Anna Maria Key, situated between the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay, off the mainland of western Florida, lay sleeping in the sun like some centuries-old prehistoric giant. Up and down its seven-mile length there were only a few scattered sun-bleached houses, homes of pioneers who had homesteaded the white-sanded stretch two decades earlier. 
By the following spring however, the sleeping giant began to awaken and raise its head. Vacationers had suddenly “discovered” the island. There was activity on all the north end. An elongated pier was flung out into the bay, streets were cut from bay to gulf and sidewalks laid. The jungle was cleared, homes erected, gardens and lawns planted.
Right in the center of this activity a lovely little church lifted its steeple to the blue sky…
 
The book will be for sale along with centennial mugs and other memorabilia. Roser Memorial Chapel is located near the Anna Maria City Pier at 512 Pine Avenue. For more information call the church office at 941-778-0414, email [email protected], go to www.roserchurch.com or find us on Facebook at www.facebook/roserchurch. 
___________________________________

Bev Shepperson I Church Administrator

Roser Memorial Community Church
941-778-0414 I 512 Pine Ave I PO Box 247 I Anna Maria FL 34216
 

I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want; for I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power. Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV)

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