A day in the country

William E. Hatcher, the 19th and early 20th-century minister, used to escape the pressures of his city pastorate at Grace Street Baptist Church of Richmond by enjoying a day in the country with his friend, Bob Winfree of Midlothian. When the world became too much, he would drop Winfree a postal card in the morning to tell him to meet him at the train depot in the afternoon. The two would talk about Baptist politics and play quoit, a game similar to horseshoes. Soon the cares of the world would fall away.

Many readers of this column know that this columnist frequently portrays Hatcher. In July, on one of those rare summer days when the temperature was pleasant, this columnist decided to follow his example and visit a friend. Rand Forder had recently come to the pastorate of Muddy Creek Baptist Church in Powhatan, just a few more miles beyond Hatcher's getaway of Midlothian. The pastor invited me to spend a day in the country. There are no trains to Midlothian and Powhatan, but the travel is easy.

We headed out Highway 60 and saw evidences everywhere of the spillover growth from Richmond. We visited the quaint village of Powhatan and my mind recalled Jimmie Reynolds, who was a long ago pastor in the county and whose wife is memorialized in the village's Baptist church, May Memorial. Everywhere there was evidence of growth even in the village: a park, a public library, new fire station and large YMCA.

We continued westward, took a sharp turn to the right and went four more miles. At a bend in the country road, there was offered the first glimpse of a brick church with white steeple far in the distance beyond a vast expanse of green fields. It was Muddy Creek.

Older than the county or even the nation, Muddy Creek was constituted in 1774. It was established by two of the great ministers out of the struggle for religious liberty: Rane Chastain and Jeremiah Walker. Both men faced fierce opposition in neighboring Chesterfield, where Walker was confined to jail for preaching in 1773. Both men were associated with a number of churches and Walker was credited with planting upwards of 30 churches.

Jeremiah Walker would have been a good founding pastor for any century of Baptist life, but he especially was needed for such a time as the late 1770s, which were fraught with troubles for the dissenters. It was said by a contemporary that “his manners were exceedingly engaging … gentle, affable, polite, familiar yet dignified; in a word, he was everything that could encourage the backward or soothe the irritable.”

In 1793, Virginia Baptist leaders gathered at Muddy Creek Meeting House for the annual meeting of the General Committee, a forerunner of today's General Association. Important business was discussed and a sense of unity for the scattered Baptists was felt.

Among Muddy Creek's early pastors was the celebrated Edward Baptist, who is considered the founder of the General Association as well as the University of Richmond. He was probably the most educated of the Virginia Baptist ministers of his generation, having earned a master's degree from Hampden-Sydney College. He operated his little academy for Baptist ministers at Dunlora plantation, which is not far from Muddy Creek as the crow flies.

On the day of my visit, there was no one at Muddy Creek except this columnist and the pastor. The silence of the countryside was broken by chimes which played hymns on the hour. The front streetscape is impressive, with a long brick church building consisting of a columned sanctuary, educational space and fellowship hall. Off to the side is a one-room log schoolhouse dating to the 1870s, which was lovingly restored in 1978 and is occasionally used by the congregation. It has some old school desks and a black pot belly stove. To the rear is a cemetery and, still further, a picnic pavilion and children's play area set in a long grove of trees.

Every inch of the church grounds is manicured. The interior shows the same kind of care. Pastor Forder volunteered: “[The members] are good solid hardworking people and they think the world of their church. They take such pride in keeping it up.” And it shows at every turn. The proof is in the smallest of details. The towels in the kitchen are neatly stacked. The nursery is attractive and inviting. The rooms are nicely decorated. The sanctuary has a matching color scheme, from the stained glass windows to the cushioned pews to the walls. Everything shows that someone — probably the entire congregation — cares. If the outer appearance is pristine, it is a pretty good guess that the inner nature of the people is just as sparkling.

The church members welcomed their new pastor by preparing a study for him. It has fresh paint and carpet and bookshelves loaded with some of his many books. The pastoral scene beyond his study window is far different from some of the other places in his life, including downtown Bristol where he served as pastor of First Baptist Church. On one wall is an old photograph of the harbor and downtown skyline of his native Baltimore, which reminds Forder of the place of his roots. The walls also hold more degrees than even Edward Baptist had so long ago: a bachelor's degree from Washington and Lee, master's and doctor's degrees from Southern Seminary and a certificate from the U.S. Army Chaplain School.

There was another unexpected treat in my day in the country. The pastor had arranged for us to have a visit to nearby Derwent, the beautifully restored home where Robert E. Lee and his family found refuge following the War. From April 1865 until his call to the college in Lexington in September, the Lees lived as guests of Elizabeth Randolph Cocke. She offered them a place in her own residence, but Lee preferred what he called “some small little house in the woods.” It is said that he traveled by horseback across the area and visited various churches, including Muddy Creek.

For a day in the country this columnist sensed the peace and serenity which Lee found in the woods of Powhatan. He also grasped an insight into the peace that passes understanding which people at Muddy Creek Baptist Church have known for some 233 years.

Fred Anderson may be contacted at [email protected].