Go to Meetin' Time!

Sunday and 9:30 am brought the faithful out to Graysville UMC just as it does others who worship God on the first day of the week everywhere.

  

We were greeted warmly by all who met us, including, of course, Carolyn and husband Jack.  Carolyn is the Church Administrator and it was she who received our request to stay here for several nights first.  Today was the first time we’d met Jack, a retired schoolteacher who told us a little about Graysville in the Civil War (mostly burned by federals because the Gray family made wooden gun 

                                               stocks for the Confederate Army here).

Jack also told us a humorous story he had heard from a Park Ranger at Chickamauga Battlefield. I direct my telling especially to Jennifer Choudhry, teacher of all ages extraordinaire.

A few years ago a young special needs class teacher had her class at the park for a personal tour.  At the end of the time with the ranger the class was asked if there were any questions.  Only one hand went up; the teacher’s.

She asked, as the ranger related to Jack and he to me, “Why did they choose to fight the battle at a National Park?”  To which the ranger unblinkingly replied, “Well, there were already lots of cannons here so…” . Jack said he thinks the class got it too.

The music at Graysville UMC  is supported by an accomplished pianist who really put herself into her music.  After the service I had to tell her I thought so.  She smiled broadly and agreed that a band, or better yet, an orchestra, would suit her just fine. Till then, play as well as you can.

Pastor John serves Graysville and Rossville, UMC so he preached first to us and then drove the several miles up to the town we visited yesterday; the location of Chief John Ross’s home.  You cannot get far from historical tragedy in this part of the country.

Pastor John’s wife, Katie, is also a UMC pastor and serves Newman Springs UMC about 45 minutes away.  They live at the parsonage at the Rossville Church and maintain an apartment near the Newman Springs Church so they may be together when serving any of their three charges.

The service ended with communion by intinction (all come forward to dip a piece of bread into a cup of grape juice). Adult Sunday School followed in the Family Life Center where we had snacks and Bible study around the Hebrew testament character of Joshua. Carolyn was our teacher. I think Jack wanted to sing the old negro spiritual, “Joshua ‘fit the battle of Jericho…” but Carolyn kept us on track.

Don asked if we were going to be dumping tanks tomorrow and told us that if so beware of a particular road to a nearby campground which shrinks in width to the point that vehicles our FROG’s size get badly scraped by the trees.  Many thanks Don!  We are going to wait to dump till well on the road to Clayton, Ga.

Clayton is home to First UMC of Clayton, our overnight destination in northeast Georgia, and to the Foxfire Community.  In the mid sixties students of several grades in that area began collecting stories, movies and photos of mountain people and their crafts, workmanship, and cooking to preserve from extinction as the old ways of the Appalachians were dying out. The project just grew! 

It grew into newsletters, mailers, books, and movies. It grew into more than 60, mostly authentic buildings collected on the mountain hillsides of the community which showcase many of the original items those first students collected and wrote about.  And more importantly, it continues to grow a couple of generations later in the ongoing Foxfire Project.

But that’s for tomorrow.  Today we came home, had lunch, did laundry, relaxed around home and had a fine dinner.  But then, ALL of Mona’s dinners are FINE!

-Ken