Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 115, No. 13	March 26, 2008

A tale of three churches

Photo courtesy of Gerald Fischer
The time is uncertain, but the purpose is clear: over 300 people gathered at Amos Mattingly’s pond for a group baptism.

By GERALD FISCHER and PEGGY GREENWELL
Special to the Messenger

The settlement of Kentucky was closely followed by Baptist missionaries intent on spreading their faith. In Kentucky, there were two conventions of Baptists – the Elkhorn Association, located at Bryant’s Station Fort near Lexington, and the Salem Association of Baptists located at three small forts built a mile apart from each other in Severn’s Valley.

On June 18, 1781, 18 converted Baptists met under a large sugar maple tree and founded the first Baptist church in Kentucky in what is now Meade County. Indeed, other congregations near Bryant’s Station, the largest fort in Kentucky, could have had congregations. In those days, Indian attacks on the settlements occurred with frequency, and attending a church meeting could be hazardous. Lookouts armed with Kentucky long rifles had to be kept to ensure the safety of the members. Shawnee, Huran (locally called Wyandotte), Cherokee, Mingo and Delaware Indians were always looking for an opportunity to drive out the white settlers.

There are probably no better known pioneer leaders than Daniel and Squire Boone. Squire was a Baptist minister and held open air services near Blue Spring on Doe Run that preceded the Salem Association. When the Salem Association was formed, they were not aligned with the Elkhorn Association; although in 1787, the two associations were corresponding. The Salem Association had adopted the entire Philadelphia Convention of Faith and Treatise of Discipline while Elkhorn embraced only part of the Philadelphia Convention.

By 1815, Wolf Creek Baptist Church was one of the four established churches in this area, born from that first meeting of 18 Baptists. Twenty-seven years later, in 1842, Goshen Baptist Church (present day Payneville Baptist Church) was founded. Goshen Baptist Church joined the Salem Association, continuing the pioneering traditions that formed Wolf Creek. Goshen had 29 members, and in 1845, it was renamed Spring Creek Baptist Church.

Church services in the early days were far different from services today. People rode on horseback or in wagons to services that were held once a month, regardless of the weather. Meetings might be held in the open air or in the houses and barns of the congregation. The congregation knelt during the service while one deacon sang his prayers, and other deacons sometimes cried as they prayed. Services were hours long, and baptisms were held at nearby ponds, even in the winter when ice had to be broken to submerge the person being baptized. (I suspect many people prayed for their conversion to take place during warmer weather.)

In those early days, you would not hear a Baptist preacher use the words altar, pulpit, pew, church house, sacrament or recite the apostle’s creed for that was an offense. The preacher mounted a stand, preached to the congregation seated on benches, administered the ordinances, read the scriptures, and lined out the hymns. Lining out hymns was a practice whereby the preacher sang the first line, followed by the congregation that repeated the line. This system was used in early churches because hymn books were costly, and most people could not read. Later, lining was used by slave congregations and by African American churches for the same reasons – it continues in practice by some churches today.

The congregation assembled at a meeting house or a meeting place. Every church circulated subscriptions (offerings) to compensate the ministry. These were usually paid in produce or poultry. Every member was expected to make a subscription. From 1852 until 1866, the Rev. E.T. Hickerson was the pastor of Spring Creek Baptist Church (Payneville Baptist Church). Ministers, especially circuit riders who preached at various churches, often took dinner or supper and lodged in the homes of the congregation.

In 1883, on May 7, a group of religiously motivated citizens met at the Raymond School to form a new church. Several churches were represented and in attendance. Stephensport, Walnut Grove, Sandy Hill, Brandenburg and New Bethel Baptist churches were in attendance. Payneville Baptist Church (Spring Creek) sent representatives as did others. The name of this new church was to be Raymond, and J.W. Albright was named the first pastor. The church decided to hold its services the second Sunday of each month with the business meeting to be held the second Saturday of each month. Raymond joined the Salem Association.

It was not as easy to be a member of the church at that time. Many people were excluded from attending these early churches for a variety of reasons: nonattendance, bad language, misbehavior, making a picnic, dancing, being drunk, attending ball games and violating the church rules. One member of one of the three churches was excluded for eating brandied peaches. However, after an apology, he was reinstated.

In those days, at various times because of small congregations, commonly numbering a few dozen souls to as many as a hundred or so, the churches would come together for special services such as baptisms and social events that were slowly becoming tolerated. Sometimes a minister such as H.J. Blackburn would become a preacher, at different times, for more than one church, such as Raymond and Payneville, where he served several years at each church. This acted to bond the communities of churches and led churches to work together.

In some churches, baptisms were scheduled when several people had joined the church and they could be baptized at one time. Sometimes two or more churches would join together for this sacrament.

During the late 1800s or early 1900s on the property of Amos Mattingly of Raymond, one such event, a combined baptism took place where at least three churches took part, perhaps more. We do not know exactly when this particular event took place, but we can conjecture a bit based on the photograph accompanying this article. Many of the men are wearing straw hats of the skimmer variety that were popular from the 1880s through the 1920s. There are no automobiles apparent, so the baptism could have taken place prior to 1903. It was a large gathering of several hundred people wearing their Sunday best, dressed in the style popular at the turn of the century. The photographer probably positioned himself on the roof of the Mattingly house in order to record the scene. We know that Wolf Creek Baptist Church took part because Ben Curl’s wife, Blanche, could not attend with Ben because she could not ride a horse or mule that far. Raymond and Payneville churches were represented, and it is believed over 300 persons were in attendance.

How things have changed. I remember my grandmother’s expression, “Poor as a church mouse.” When this phrase was coined, a church mouse, if one could be found, was always near starvation because food was not allowed in church. Now there are church socials, chili and spaghetti suppers, wienie roasts, potluck dinners, breakfasts and a host of other events that would have been unthinkable to those early Baptist Christians. I shudder to think what they would say about Halloween or Christmas parties, the Easter Bunny and egg hunts, baseball leagues, bowling leagues or other such church-sponsored celebrations.

Now services are held every week, and sometimes two or three times. The churches of today, protestant and Catholic, have evolved in many wonderful ways. They have become a social center, a family guidance center and a provider of advice and solace in our ever-changing, mobile, technological and multicultural society. Let us all take part in those organized church activities, support and celebrate them. But let us not forget those early Christians who braved Indian raids, long, hard drives in all sorts of weather, and cold pond water to create the churches we have today.

It is interesting to note that with the recent 11 inches of snow, many churches closed for reasons of safety. What do you suppose those folks would think about that?

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