This columnist was the anniversary speaker for Sharon Baptist Church in Buckingham County for its 150th and again on Palm Sunday, March 28, for its 175th. I think it would be wise for the anniversary planning committee to begin lining up another person for the 200th.
Actually, there were several references to the 200th which should occur in 2035. At the beginning of the service there was happy noise made by infants and toddlers, and Pastor Perry Clore said: “Doesn’t that sound good! They are the hope of the future of the church.”
The pastor also referred to the happy sounds in his children’s message. He looked in the eyes of the little ones and said: “You are the future of churches and 25 years from now you will be adults and will be in charge. Now is the time for you to come to church to learn.” And then he gave them a challenge: “Do the best you can to find out who is the best in the world and that’s God.”
Fred Anderson
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The little ones gathered across the front of the old auditorium on the 175th anniversary were white and black. Most of the black children were guests from one of the four African-American Baptist churches which were constituted by former members of Sharon.
In the congregation were the parents and grandparents of some of those children. Several older African-American women climbed the stairs to the three-sided gallery where once their spiritual forebears were designated to sit in slave days. In the end, the women wisely chose the downstairs pews which, unlike the old days, were upholstered.
In the service Gordon Ragland, the church’s historian, shared historical information. He noted that the building dated to 1855 and was built at a cost of $1,126. Ragland married into a Sharon family and quickly adopted the church’s heritage. He has captured its story in an engaging book entitled The Tie That Binds. Also in the service Bessie Rush, the longest serving church clerk, was recognized for her 38 years of devoted work.
There have been 27 pastors who have served the church. Keith Williams, pastor of Falling River Baptist Church near Brookneal, served as pastor of Sharon from 1999-2004; and he returned to deliver the anniversary sermon. Seated toward the front were his wife, Tammy, and the three handsome and attentive Williams boys — Isaac, Nathan and Caleb.
Keith Williams also referred to the 200th anniversary. “The evidence of Jesus Christ in your daily living, your character and commitments, will determine not only your future but also the future of the church. The fruit that you give will determine whether this is a museum at its 200th or the presence of Jesus Christ offering help to a hurting and dying world.”
The weather was cold and rainy and many abandoned the idea of sitting under tents for the dinner-on-the-grounds and huddled instead in the small space of the lower level of the building. The Sharon people happily enjoyed food and fellowship with their guests from four African-American Baptist churches: Spreading Oak, Union Branch, Mourners Valley and Ridgeway.
In the afternoon, the auditorium was crowded once again with members and guests. The choir of Union Branch presented a concert and their lively gospel music was well received. Interspersed with the music were wise and thoughtful words from the pastor of Union Branch, Maynard Jones.
And then it was time for this columnist to appear in his favorite persona, William E. Hatcher. The real Hatcher once lived just across the James at Fork Union. In the anniversary message, the make-believe Hatcher reminded the congregation that up until about 1873 Sharon had a membership of over 400 and the majority was black. The antebellum blacks had been drawn to Baptist churches partly because they offered a degree of freedom not found in most religious societies. It was not a perfect or complete freedom but it was an introduction to freedom. It was freedom of the soul, the spirit, expression, service and an entrance into the Kingdom of God.
It took Sharon folks eight years after emancipation to decide to separate; and when they did, the new black churches often began out of brush arbor meetings. Hatcher told about a noted black Baptist preacher in Buckingham, Watson “Watt” Jennison, who taught himself to read by unloading packet boats on the James River and learning from the advertisements printed on fertilizer bags. The old-time preacher used his new skill to learn Scripture and reach generations of his race with knowledge of Christ.
The make-believe Hatcher issued a challenge: “Let’s not wait another 25 years to the 200th anniversary to get together again. I challenge you to pray for ways your churches can cooperate together and perhaps it could be in a great shared missions project in Buckingham.”
After the service, one of the first men to approach this columnist was a tall distinguished black man holding a green book. I took a chance and said: “You’re White, aren’t you?” I was referring to his name, Charles White. He answered in the affirmative and presented me a copy of his book, entitled The Hidden and the Forgotten: Contributions of Buckingham Baptists to American History. In the 1980s he had come to the Virginia Baptist Historical Society to research the early history of blacks in the Baptist churches of the county. I had discovered the book by accident the week before in a public library which explains why I was so quick on the draw when I said, “You’re White ….”
The 175th anniversary Sunday was “an all-day-meetin’ ” and it seemed to some of us that a spark was ignited which might lead to increased and greater cooperation among these joint heirs to the Kingdom.
Fred Anderson is executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society and the Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies, located on the campus of the University of Richmond. He may be contacted at [email protected] or at P.O. Box 34, University of Richmond, VA 23173.