Sometimes I think we forget that we are the sum total of all we have met. I am a product of growing up in a small Southern town who, with my brother, was introduced to Sunday church going at an early age.
Going to church was like being with a second family. As a young girl, my first real Sunday school class was literally filled up with girls and their crinoline petticoats. It was an all-girl class in a rather small room. Miss Bebe Buchanan taught the class. Back in the day, people would refer to an older, unmarried woman as an “old maid.” Miss Bebe, as I remember, was often given that now very dated title.
I still remember what Miss Bebe emphasized in her class: ”Put God first in your life, others second, and yourself last.”
I am a church-going Baptist because of the happenstance of my birth. I could have been a Hindu, Muslim, or a member of another large religious group.
I think all religions have gathering places for its people. Christians, of course, call their places of gathering churches. Considering the catastrophic damage created by Hurricane Helene, I have thought of the immediate help to these ravaged areas given by churches across the country along with other first response agencies.
Since the COVID pandemic, I feel we have become a much more isolated society. Many big box stores as well as shopping malls have closed in the last few years. Shopping online is the big thing nowadays. Many of my friends nowadays habitually have groceries delivered on a weekly basis. Along with these great changes in shopping, social media in all its forms have provided an alternative to having personal contact.
Because of these changes and others, our churches have become much more vital in maintaining personal connections besides their primary role of providing a place to worship our creator. Going to church for many people nowadays is the only time they see people other than members of their immediate family.
Sadly, however, we are recently seeing a decline in church attendance. In my youth, attending church was what you did on Sunday mornings. It is disheartening to see so many church buildings not being greatly utilized, especially considering the cost of maintaining them.
We can only hope and pray we can keep and maintain one of our last large and remaining social institutions.
Helen Cox is a former journalist and educator in Richmond County.
