LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (ABP) — A Baptist church in a rapidly growing part of Georgia is no longer sitting high on the hog, thanks to a recent name-changing vote.
And some longtime members of the 152-year-old congregation as well as those in the surrounding community have raised a stink about it.
Hog Mountain Baptist Church, located about 40 miles northeast of Atlanta, became Hamilton Mill Baptist Church Dec. 10, when the 75-member congregation voted to change its name.
A tally of the vote was not immediately available. But an earlier poll on whether to change the church's name at all ended up in a 21-7 majority in favor of shedding the “Hog Mountain” moniker.
The new name took effect immediately. The name of the street in front of the church, Hog Mountain Church Road, will not change.
Older members of the church initially complained to local media outlets about the proposed change, which pastor Barney Williams said was discussed for five years prior to the vote.
Many had grown up in the church when it was located in a rural area and were attached to its quirky, porky name. Others questioned the logistics of renaming the church, which has an official historic marker sign at the front of the building. Deacons did not respond to a Nov. 30 Gwinnett Historical Society letter asking them to reconsider the change.
Local lore says the name Hog Mountain came from men who stopped on a nearby ridge — part of the Eastern Continental Divide — to rest pigs overnight on their way to market.
But, during the late 1990s, the surrounding area was overtaken by Atlanta's ever-increasing suburban sprawl. “Hamilton Mill” became a more popular name for local developments and businesses than the earthier “Hog Mountain.”
According to Williams, renaming the church will attract potential members who may have been turned off by its porcine appellation. He reported that other church members said they preferred the modification because, in the Bible, pigs are associated with sin.
Williams told the Gwinnett Daily Post he was often teased about the church's name at meetings with other local pastors. Apparently, his colleagues had taken to calling him “Sooie Barney.”
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