Just A Church

Rogersville First Church of God had a bus that came by picking up kids that didn't go to church. This was after there was no longer church at our little Methodist church. I don't know why we quit having Sunday school, at least. My grandmother, Ofie, Cofie, Zokie and Opel were the deacons; if you could call a group of homemakers that. I was thirteen and church is and always will be life’s greatest social gatherings. My reason for wanting to go to church here every service was somewhat selfish; I met a boy. The boy that would be the first boy I ever kissed. Thirteen was an exciting time to have a boyfriend at church. You could go to church and see him. Having someone to sit with at church was thrilling also. My grandmother knew of my boyfriend at church and was not so freaked by it. There came one trip to church camp that my daddy refused to let me go. He was bound and determined that I was not going to camp; and that was final. I even went up after church one Sunday night and had prayer said for me to get to go, one time prayers weren’t answered. That was probably a time my daddy knew better than the one’s praying for me did. The boy moved and that was that. I still went to church there until I was married at that church; one of the few times Grandmother went to that church. She had many critical things to say about The Church of God. Her memories were of years past, when there was a woman preacher. Grandmother thought that was totally inappropriate. The old version of this church was held down at the creek in a brush harbor. From what I gathered it was a shack that they used tree limbs for the roof. I never saw one only had a picture in my mind. Sometimes that could be larger than any fairytale. There was also what Grandmother said about them speaking in tongues. That to me was another puzzle. I had some figuring to do on that one. At first thought the word tongue had much to do with it and a flapping tongue was my conclusion at first. Listen was what I did when around adults or ask way too many questions. It was not long till I got a slight understanding of what the whole tongue thing was about. It was speaking a weird language; when you are touched by the Holy Spirit; got it. I have been touched lots of times, but that tongue thing has never happened in my mouth. The family that was the primary part of the Rogersville Church of God was the children and grandchildren of the women preacher from the church in the brush harbor by the creek in the Corum Hollow. Mary was her name. She had already passed when her descendants organized the church in Rogersville. Younger and more modern they turned to the organized version of their denomination. I never heard weird language, but did see the deep belief in the power of what God can do. I said that Grandmother only went to my wedding, but maybe she did go to the Christmas Celebration. I recall her rounding up gifts to take after I think about it.  We had a revival once that I begged her to go to, because there was going to be a woman preacher. Her soapbox was pulled out quicker than you can say Mary Miller. Mary Miller was the preacher. I had never seen a women preach, either. It was good and not so shocking as one would assume in nineteen seventy something. Where the Baptists, Methodists and COC's had the majority of God fearing people.