The much-anticipated Limestone County Historical Society’s annual Christmas ornament has been cast and will be available for purchase in early December.

Chosen for its place in Athens’ religious history, First Baptist Church of Athens will be featured on this year’s ornament.

Founded in 1820 as Elim Baptist Church, the congregation eventually became known as First Baptist Church of Athens in 1948. Characterized by stained-glass windows throughout, oak pews and a majestic pipe organ, the ornament features the current church building’s original sanctuary, or what is often referred to as “the chapel.”

“Every year, we chose to acknowledge a building or site or sometimes even an event that captures the historical spirit of Athens,” Linda Nelson, the president of the Limestone County Historical Society said. “We want people to look at the the ornaments and remember the special times in their lives.”

“As for First Baptist, a lot of people were married in that sanctuary or maybe they grew up attending the church,” she added. “It was their time to be recognized.”

This isn’t the first time an Athens church was chosen by the society, both Athens First United Methodist and First Presbyterian Church of Athens were featured on ornaments in 2000 and 2003, respectively.

The ornament sale is the society’s only fundraiser, allowing the organization to commission and install the many historical markers that dot the county’s landscape. Every year, the society also places biographies of famous Alabamians in all of the city’s and county’s fourth-grade classrooms.

The ornaments will be sold for $15 at Osborne Jewelers, 22099 U.S. 72 in Athens, where a limited number of past editions from certain years will also be available for purchase. For more information about how to order the ornaments by mail, go to www.limestonecountyhistoricalsociety.org.