Preserving Ebenezer
Preserving Ebenezer
Once again, the weather is nice and we are in the process of making repairs to our original building, which was built in 1876. During the winter, a water line started leaking after being frozen. It leaked for days, maybe over a week before water running out of the building was noticed. The damage was confined, to a large extent, to the kitchen area. After ServePro got the floors dry, we proceeded to ‘gut’ that area. We will have a new kitchen soon. I didn’t mention that the building is used as our fellowship hall. In addition to re-building the kitchen, we are re-building much of the foundation and support for that part of the building.
Our pastor, Randy and I have undertaken this task. And no small task it is. Anyone who has tackled this kind of work will know the unexplainable toll it can have on the human body. The word ‘heavy’ is a good adjective to describe working under the building. In addition to that is the accumulation of dirt and debris over the past 145 years. And watch those nails sticking out! I am, by the way, current on my Tetanus vaccination.
As we set each block in place; as we replace each damaged joist, or just clear away the debris left by so many animals and birds, we come a little closer to our goal. The blocks that we set in place were lovingly written on by Ms Betty Kay. Each and every block was engraved with a scripture or a dedication to a church member, either past or present. These will become a permanent attachment to our building. This act of dedication and love is every bit a part of the reconstruction as is lifting a heavy beam in place. Thank you, Betty Kay, for your devotion and tireless care of our church.
So, why not just let it fall down?
When Ann and I visit The Smokey Mountains, we like to go to Cades Cove. In that area and others, are many old church buildings still standing that are approximately the same age as our old building. Some of these have cemeteries that have been long forgotten. Thanks to the Park Service for keeping these building in good repair so they can be enjoyed.
Being in one of these (no matter the denomination it was), I try to imagine the gathering of those members on Sunday morning at that time in history. I imagine some walked, some rode a horse and others arrived in a horse-drawn buggy. What attire did the people in these mountain churches don on the Lord’s day?
How was their service? As a musician, I wonder what hymns they sang, what the hymnals looked like, who led the singing. Were they fortunate enough to have a piano? Did they have a pastor or a circuit rider?
When I go into these old buildings, I see them not as just an attraction at a National Park, but as a timeless bit of history where there might just be a lingering of the spirit of that church of old.
I think that in our case, in our old building originally known as Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spirit of all those before us lingers and our spirit will, at a certain time, become a part of the ongoing history of our church. And when the time comes that our church is no more, I hope our building will continue to stand and be a testament of all that we were.
As for me, I don’t want to relinquish any part of the history of our church. Our history does not start and end with our recallable memory but rather with what has been preserved by each generation. We have a physical building that was built in 1876 that we can see and touch and even hear when we walk across the floor. The gaps in history; we can only imagine how it must have been through the generations.
We continue with our work, our perseverance fed by the love we have for our church and the family of believers that it is.
Brother Charles