MARIETTA –— A Marietta church will celebrate its birthday by welcoming the pastor of the church it separated from.

Of course, 126 years has provided time for the fissure to heal.

Cole Street Missionary Baptist Church will host the celebration at 3 p.m. on Jan. 27 in its Fellowship Hall. Zion Baptist Church pastor the Rev. Dr. Harris T. Travis, whose church Cole Street broke away from in 1887, will be guest speaker.

“We have a cordial relationship,” said Cole Street pastor the Rev. Dr. Larry V. Purvis.

The event is themed “Work while it is day,” which Purvis said is based on John 9:4.

“You’re trying to convey a theme of urgency,” he said. “It challenges us to be more about what we’re there for.”

Cole Street has such a celebration every year. In 2012, the 125th anniversary event featured a return speech by a previous Cole Street minister who had been transferred to California.

The theme last year was “Lead by Example,” Purvis said.

“You’re challenging everyone in a position of leadership to be a leader and lead by example,” he said.

Veda Dickerson of Douglasville said coming to the church is worth the drive. She joined the small congregation, with around 50 members, five years ago after moving from Colorado.

“When I first went to it, it felt like home,” she said. “I felt wanted, and I felt loved.”

The church is located at 159 Cole St. in Marietta.

A dinner will take place before Travis’s speech from 1:30 to 3 p.m. For information, call (770) 428-5146.