Revival, Vacation Bible School,
& Dinner on the Grounds T By Gene Younts
remembering summertime at country churches
he church held a central position in our lives, being the place where we worshipped and experienced much of our social life. Baptism rites involved head sprinkling for some congregations and total immersion for others, and the type of communion drink varied from church to church. For the most part, however, Sundays meant not working and going to church. Not much took place around the church during the week, because farm families worked from daylight to dusk and the trip to church and back would have consumed too much time. Also, several churches shared the same minister, making it impossible for him to meet with each congregation two or more times a week. Parishioners who failed to appear were referred to as “backsliders.”
Revival Most churches conducted an array of special activities such as a Christmas exercise, vacation Bible school, youth fellowship, homecoming and revivals. Each of them held a special importance, but none as much as the revival, usually held at night near the end of the summer when temperatures rose to uncomfortable levels. Small-grain threshing was over and row crops had reached maturity and were “laid-by” waiting for their harvest a few weeks later. A laid-by crop no longer required cultivation or hoeing, and farm implements were set-aside for the next growing season.
As summer days shortened, churches that were not yet served by electricity lines from town required other forms of lighting. Candles and oil lamps played a big role in the very early days, but by the ‘30s, generators turned by gasoline engines offered a significant improvement. The generator in our church was manufactured by the Delco Company—we referred to it simply as “the Delco”—and produced sufficient wattage to burn several light bulbs hanging on cords from the ceiling, enough light for the congregation to read and the minister to see his notes. The Delco lacked reliability especially during summer thunderstorms when
light bulbs would flicker and fade often into total darkness. A few candles would come to the rescue, and a “jack-of-all-trades” member of the church would usually save the service by getting the Delco going again. Of course, church windows were held wide open by props to allow the cool evening air to blow across the members of the congregation. If this natural air conditioning did not remove the sweat beads from foreheads, parishioners would use a hand-held funeral home fan to take up the slack. Often, the light bulbs would attract a number of “candle flippers” through the open windows; these moths became serious distractions. Carolina Country JUNE 2007 29