Gimme that old-time religion After 137 years, a flock of summer visitors remains faithful
to rustic Methodist campground
By Buddy & Carol Smith
The 137th Campmeeting at South Union United
Methodist Campground was held July 24 - 29, 2009. The preacher
was Rev. Ron McDougald who serves as Chaplain of Trinity Place
Health Center of Columbus.
Carol
and I served as the song leaders. The pianist was Janees
Garey. Among those sharing in the special music this year were;
"Still Blessed Trio" of Tupelo,
“Alan
Sibley and The Magnolia Ramblers” of Ackerman, Sam Griffin
of Ackerman, and “The Wells Brothers Quartet” of Noxapater. Rev.
Bryan Carrubba is the pastor of South Union United Methodist
Church.
As children in the 1950’s, Carol and I stayed
in a (wooden) tent with our grandparents. They started coming
here before the grounds had electricity and flaming pine knots
helped to light the evening sky. They told us stories about
horse and buggy days at campmeeting, unloading their vegetables,
and slaughtering chickens for Sunday dinner. Carol and I well
remember campmeeting days at South Union when we had to haul the
ample supply of flowing pure water from the spring and the dirt
floors under the open Tabernacle and in the tents were covered
with sawdust. This year, we enjoyed a more modern stay in a
motor home with air conditioning.
Carol and I return to South Union Campmeeting
to seek God and see lives being changed. No, God does not need
tents, tabernacles, sawdust, benches, or campgrounds to meet
with us. But when we choose to set aside a special time to get
away from the normal routine to seek God and to hear from Him,
He meets with us like at no other time. Our faith is met with
God’s faithfulness to, minister to us, drawing us ever closer to
Him.
For us, campmeeting takes us back to a simpler
time; just good old-fashioned worship of God under the open
arbor with hymns like, “I’m Dwelling in Beulah Land,” “Revive Us
Again” and “Love Lifted Me.” Campmeeting affords us the
opportunity to worship and to teach our children (and now our
grandchildren) to worship in the same place our ancestors did,
in the same way. We can go back to a single, uncomplicated time
and place and always know that God is with us and He loves us.
My late grandfather Casey T. Smith was saved
at South Union when he was 9 years old. The year was 1905. He
attended school at South Union and helped to build the current
Tabernacle in 1914. My grandfather explained that campmeeting at
South Union was a very special event because people didn't
travel much in those days and it provided a unique opportunity
for fellowship. He recalled that before ice was available that
they would go together and kill a beef and what was left over
would be salted heavily and put into a hole in the ground behind
the wooden tent. After ice was available he said they had an
underground box where they would place a 50 pound block of ice.
He recalled that a one-horse wagon would deliver 100 pound
blocks of ice from Ackerman to South Union at 15 cents a pound.
He remembered the special times when they would make home made
ice cream.
Today many people believe the usefulness of
the campmeeting has passed. They consider it an old mode of
operation that needs to be put to sleep. We strongly disagree.
Instead of allowing the campmeeting to die we should renew our
efforts to bring it to new life. Far from being a dried relic of
the past, campmeetings still provide the opportunity for many
people to hear the message of Salvation and Scriptural Holiness.
As Carol and I grow in years, we become more
convinced that our parents and grandparents gave us life's
greatest treasure; a Christian home. Now, our prayer and passion
is that we will be found trustworthy of offering that advantage
to our children and grandchildren.
We believe that the God of the Scripture, the
God who displayed His glory in the great camp meetings of the
past, is the same God we worship today. He has not changed. He
is no less able to turn the heart of a nation today than He was
100 years ago! All the social and political evils that threaten
to be the undoing of our world today are no match for our God.
He is willing – yes, eager – to manifest Himself and His saving
grace to this lost, prodigal nation.
Visit
www.SouthUnionCampmeeting.org for photos and videos of this
year’s campmeeting and historical information. We think you’ll
especially enjoy the video of a trip to the spring with the
children. Join us next year for campmeeting which always begins
on Friday before the fourth Sunday in July and closes the
following Wednesday night.
Slideshow and Videos From Campmeeting 2009
Campmeeting Children's Choir and Lynne Chambers Currie
"Precious Memories" by Alan Sibley and The Magnolia Ramblers
A Visit to South Union Spring
"The Next Time That You See Me" by Still
Blessed
"Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine" by Alan
Sibley and The Magnolia Ramblers
"God Wants to Hear You Sing" The Wells
Brothers Quartet
