Craftsmen from miles around donated their weekends to gutting out the burned interior of Dancy First Baptist Church in the winter and spring of 2006. It was hard and dirty work as the volunteers stripped out smoke and water-damaged insulation, drywall and wiring. After successfully killing off the lingering stench of smoke, they reconstructed the interior and added an educational wing. The church was more than filled for its rededication on June 25th, 2006, and has returned to its ministry stronger than before.
This sign at the church captured the sentiment of the church members. They continue to pray for the arsonists and minister to their families.
Dancy is only one of about 150 congregations located in our county. Most are well-connected to the community which they serve and welcome visitors and new members.
We relocated in Pickens County at the end of 1997 from Atlanta, Georgia. I had lost my position with the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention that summer when it was reorganized. My wife was a registered nurse working for a state agency in downtown Atlanta.
Both of us love small towns. We like to know our neighbors and have direct relationships with political officials, merchants, and tradesmen. We enjoy fellowship with small groups of persons with similar interests.
We have found Carrollton and the whole of the county to be welcoming. I work part-time for the association of Baptist Churches (36 of them) in the county. We get to worship across the county. We have developed many friendships with good and Godly folk.
We enjoy southern gospel music. It is all around us here, and several well-known groups visit and sing in our churches every year.
My wife Jackie has launched a support group for people with diabetes. She has connected with some quilters and enjoys working with and learning from them. And she does blood pressure checks as a public service each month at the Baptist Center Thrift Store. I am offering Bible classes for pastors and church leaders through Beeson Seminary Extension.
Our seven-year-old granddaughter, a veteran of several pilgrimages to Disneyworld, tells her parents that she prefers visits to the Eatman’s farm in the Sapps community, pancakes at the Town Square Diner, and a tea party with her grandparents and friends in Pickens County.
