On Sunday, July 25, members and friends of the Emanuel Baptist Church will pause to celebrate the 76th anniversary of the Emanuel Baptist Church in Elmont.

Seventy-six years ago, a small group of residents of the community came together and agreed that there should be a Baptist church in the Elmont community known as "Jamaica Square." From that humble beginning the church has grown to become one of the prominent Baptist Churches in the state of New York.

The guest preacher for the 11 a.m. service on July will be a Baptist preacher, the Rev. Mr. Darrell Lee Sydnor, a United States Army Captain from Helena, Montana. At present the Rev. Mr. Sydnor serves as the Company Commander for the 747th Postal Company in Fort Harriston, Montana. He served four years on active duty as an enlisted personnel administrative specialist with the second armored Division in Fort Hood, Texas.

The Rev. Mr. Sydnor has extensive travel during his military career and has received numerous awards, including the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award. He is a 1994 Distinguished Military Graduate from the Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. He also received a bachelor of science in Business Management from Central Michigan University and a master's of administration in human resources from the same institution.

The Rev. Mr. Sydnor previously served as an associate minister of the Faith Baptist Church of Hempstead, New York, under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Joe L. Brown. He is married to the former Cora J. Snell of Ozark, Alabama and they are the proud parents of three children. Pastor Parker and the Emanuel Family invite their many friends to spend the day of rejoicing with them on Sunday, July 25.

The day's celebration will be climaxed at 4 p.m. that day when the Rev. Dr. H. Devore Chapman, pastor of the Greater Bright Light Baptist Church of Brooklyn, and past moderator of the Eastern Baptist Association of New York Incorporated, preach the 76th Anniversary sermon. Again, Pastor Parker and the Emanuel Congregation invite their many friends to witness this day of celebration with them.