Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church
Item
-
Title
-
Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church
-
Description
-
[01/29/16] Some old books used to write down the minutes from Sunday school classes have been found, and I am currently scanning each page of these 5 books, hoping to make a DVD of them or find some other format to preserve them. As this church enters its 120th year of existence, it humbles me to see the recordings in these books. The church was founded by black Americans in 1896, some 30 years after slavery, after the Civil War. The earliest writings in these books are from 1914, only about 40 years from slavery and the war. These church founders were born in to slavery. It is remarkable to me that the records kept by people who were forbidden to write and/or express themselves are so detailed and well written. As one of their descendants, Marion Green, commented, "I'm surprised they knew how to write." And the record keeping is faithful, each Sunday, a church member carefully detailed the events of the Sunday school class from the date, to who was present, who said the prayer, who read the scripture, and which scripture, and the topic of the lesson, and of course, how much offering was provided. These books travel all the way to the 1960s. In some of them, you find girls as young as 10 leading the Sunday school class, and inscribing in the book the usual events; but, sometimes, writing down their fantasies about some boy, or changing the way their last name is spelled. As we approach the month designated to celebrate history such as this, I am overwhelmed with amazement and even more appreciation for a people who kept God first, and persevered when it would have been easier to surrender.
-
Date
-
2002-08-17
-
Place
-
Garcitas Community, Inez, Tx
