An Early Settler’s Account of a Camp Meeting

“Soon after we came to a Methodist encampment. This was formed of three continuous lines, each occupying a side of a square and about one hundred feet in length. Each row was divided into six or ten cabins with partitions between. The height of the rows on the inner side of the enclosed area was…

Petey the Circus Dog Who Loved My Grandma’s Church

My dad was a great storyteller, and most of his stories were about his childhood during the Great Depression. Largely because my grandfather was one of the few men who kept a job during the Depression, my dad’s childhood was colorful, and he could afford many things that most of the other kids could not….

Listening for the Voice of God

A couple of weeks ago, I visited with two ladies who have been friends almost their entire lives. At various times, Estha Mae Coleman Parker and Virginia McKibben Vanlandingham lived and worshiped at the old country church at Pilgrims Rest in Yalobusha County, and now, both of them live only a couple of farms away…

Memory of an Old Country Revival in the Wildwood

Last week, I visited with Estha Mae and Porter Parker. They are dear, sweet people from Calhoun County, and they have lived near Pilgrims Rest Church and School almost all their lives. Because Mary Sue Stevens has known the Parkers for a long time, she took me to visit them. After we turned left on…

Finding the Spirit of God in a Forest Church – at Pilgrims Rest

This week, I have continued my search for an old place of worship that I have been carrying in my heart for many years, and in doing so, I discovered the Pilgrims Rest Church and Schoolhouse. It is important to note that in this area, many of the original church buildings are no longer standing…

My Church Journey Feeds My Soul

For the past week, Yalobusha County’s former circuit clerk and lifelong resident Mary Sue Stevens has taken me on a tour into her past—which, in some ways, was also a tour into my own past. For many years, I have been fascinated by old, white country churches, and as soon as I settled in Water…