The Old Church House

Do any of you ever think about the church you attended when you were a child?

I suppose that many of you may still attend the very same church that you grew up in...

Just this past weekend, I had the opportunity to visit my old church.  As a child, I attended a small country church that is only about 10 miles from where I live today..

Yes....I grew up in the Methodist Church....

Visiting the church brought back so many childhood memories for me....

I was terrified of Sunday School!  Go figure this.  Who knows why, but every time my mother left me in that big huge room, my heart would start to beat faster and faster.  It was the longest thirty minutes of my life.

I do think that I eventually grew out of this!

Another thing that I remember was the smell.....You know, the Methodist smell!

You've got the Baptist smell, the Assembly of God smell and what ever church you attend smell....Perhaps it was the old hymnals, the upright piano, or maybe the wooden floors.

Am I the only one that could/can differentiate the smell of old churches?

I remember the isle of the church....It seemed like it took forever to walk to the front of the church, when in fact, it was only about ten pews long.

And....... there were the pews at the front where the choir sat..

I could not wait to get old enough to sit up there.  When I finally was old enough, I remember how my cousin Molly and I would open those hymnals and sing our hearts out....

This is a picture of Molly and I at the family

reunion this past weekend.....We were always

best friends.

I wanted to show you the attendance board....I remember this board!

Of course, I do believe the attendance was much greater when I was young, cause I can remember all of the pews being completed filled.....

{I told you this was a small church!}

I cannot be positive that this is the same carved wooden piece of art that always hung on the wall at the front of the church, but it sure looks like it....I remember seeing one like this as a child...

I was not able to get a picture of the "Fellowship Hall" or the "Outhouse." Both of these will forever be in my memories.....I would say that the old fellowship hall/Sunday school room was the size of  a 18 X 20 room, but it sure seemed huge at the time.  What I remember about the meals served at the church gatherings was that there was always a LOT of good food and it was served in containers that we don't see much today! .....I'll always remember the watered down kool aid!

The old outhouse was {I'm sure} an upscale outhouse....There were two stalls for the women and I'm just not sure what was on the men's side..One thing was for sure, if it was raining....it was much easier to hold "IT" in, than it was to get wet...

In the Springtime, there was always Lunch on the grounds.  Sunday lunch was not actually on the ground, but there were waist high tables that held all the food and everyone brought there own blankets to sit on when it came time to eat...This was an event that no one wanted to miss....

These were the good days........however, I sure do like the air conditioning that we are blessed to have now!

Sam and I were married in a Methodist church and we were members of the Methodist church here in our town for many years.  It was when our girls were very little, that we felt a need for a deeper spiritual walk with the Lord.  We visited the Assembly of God church, and shortly after, became members.  After some twenty-five or so years, this is still our church today.  Both daughters and their families still attend the same church as well....

We absolutely love our home church, but I am also thankful for the memories that I have of growing up in the old country church...


Hoping your day is filled with special memories of times past...

Blessings,

Shug ~