In This Site
 

Welcome

Rev. Bryan Carrubba, Pastor 
Ackerman United Methodist Charge
P. O. Box 239
Ackerman, MS 39735
Phone: (662) 285-6655
 

It was with great joy that I was able to attend the Tuesday evening worship service at the 2007 Camp Meeting at South Union. Sitting there in the open-air pavilion with the sounds of the Mississippi evening around us caused me to ponder how our ancestors gathered in other times to worship, fellowship, and repent in order to serve the Lord more effectively. I am grateful for those times and places that help us “re-member” and kneel in awe before our Heavenly Father.

Bob Rambo, Superintendent
The Starkville District

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Here is a link to my personal testimony. I am an ordained elder in the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church, serving an appointment beyond the local church as assistant to the Chairman and President of American Family Association and associate pastor on the Tremont United Methodist Charge of the Mississippi Conference.

Our interest in building this Website is to the Glory of God and legacy of our ancestors who loved God and South Union Campmeeting. Carol and I will forever be  grateful to our late grandparents - Arnold & Jennie Lee Bruce and Casey & Grace Smith - for introducing us to the life-giving Spirit of South Union United Methodist Campmeeting. We therefore dedicate the South Union Campmeeting Website to their beloved memory. (The picture at left is of Buddy Smith and his oldest grandson, Casey Joe Fowler, in front of his grandparents tent during Campmeeting 2007)   

My late grandfather Casey T. Smith (Paw Paw to me) was saved at South Union when he was 9 years old. The year was 1905. Paw said that this was his decision and that he couldn't eat for a day and half after he accepted Jesus as his Savior. He couldn't describe the feeling but said, "it  troubled his momma (the fact that he wouldn't eat anything) to the point that she threatened to whop me."

Paw Paw 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 tent. He said that they had a chicken coup behind the tent and would get a couple out to cook each morning. Paw Paw explained that they had an underground box behind and would buy 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.

The campmeeting movement began during the revivalism of the late 18th century. One of the most famous was the Cane Ridge campmeeting in 1801. According to some estimates there were ten thousand people present.

Campmeetings have been an important part of the ministry of the church, across denominational lines, since that time. God only knows the number of souls saved and hearts sanctified during campmeetings. The revivalistic atmosphere, the less-than-Sunday-best attire, the choir that never sounded better, and very expectant hearts all added to the campmeeting experience.

What is a Campmeeting? Campmeeting is a uniquely American institution, and from the earliest days of our nation it has been a vital tool for the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

During the first half of the 1800's, the population of the United States grew from five to thirty million, and the boundary of the nation moved ever westward. Revivals became the primary means of Christianizing the growing and expanding population. These revivals at the beginning of the nineteenth century became known as the Second Great Awakening.

The campmeeting movement is first cited at Rehoboth, North Carolina in 1794. The campmeeting revival movement then moved westward to the American frontier. Campmeetings came to characterize revivals. The beginning of these campmeetings can be traced to Cane Ridge, Kentucky. At a meeting in June, 1800, Presbyterian James McGready and two other pastors preached for 3 days; on the fourth day, two traveling Methodist ministers officiated and concluded with an emotional exhortation. Many physically collapsed at what they called conviction of sin. People were convinced they were experiencing a visitation of the Holy Spirit such as the early church had known at Pentecost. By the early part of the 19th Century, Campmeetings had become a fixture of Rural America in the Northeast, Midwest and on the American Frontier.

As the summer harvest was completed and the crops "laid by," families would get together and build "brush arbors," where they would hold Christian meetings, sing and catch up on the latest news with each other's families. This is the tradition from which the modern campmeeting has come.

Shingleroof Campmeeting, located in the heart of Henry County, Georgia, is a truly remarkable institution. The story of Shingleroof Campmeeting is a tale of religious devotion, love of heritage and cultural preservation. Read the online book about Shingleroof Campmeeting.

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.

The best way to experience campmeeting is to stay on the grounds the whole time. We stayed in a (wooden) tent with our grandparents during our childhood but now enjoy a motor home with some of the more modern conveniences like air conditioning and running water. Our good friends Mark and Carlene Hixon of Southaven RV Supercenter have graciously loaned us a beautiful unit for use over the past several years. There is a special kind of fellowship that takes place around the Arbor and the tents after the worship services and during the activities of the day.

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. I strongly disagree. Instead of allowing the campmeeting to die I believe we should renew our efforts to bring it to new life.

Campmeetings drawing thousands of people are going on almost constantly all over the nation. At these campmeetings people spend thousands of dollars on admission, food, lodging, and the materials offered by the promoters. Oh, they’re not called campmeetings, they’re called conferences. At these "campmeetings" people sit all day long listening to speaker after speaker, several days at a time.

At the church campmeeting you won’t pay a steep admission charge, and no one will ask you to buy hundreds of dollars worth of materials, No, you won’t be staying at the Ritz-Carlton twenty floors above the city streets, but then you won’t have to pay their price. The food won’t be steak or lobster. But your experience at campmeeting can definitely change your life.

I am old enough to remember campmeeting days at South Union when we had to haul the water from the spring and the floors under the Arbor and in the tents were sawdust. I also remember is the sight of altars covered with people seeking God and lives being changed. No, God does not need tents, 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 will meet with us like at no other time. Our faith will be met with God’s faithfulness to minister to us, drawing us ever closer to Him

Thank you for visiting the website of South Union Campmeeting. May God continue to bless and keep you.

Buddy Smith

Buddy & Carol Smith, Webmaster
126 County Road 1063
Plantersville, Mississippi 38862
Home Phone (662) 840-9069
Work Phone (662) 844-5036 Ext. 218
Cell Phone (662) 397-5634
E-mail: buddy@buddysmith.com

Pictured below are four generations of Smith's at South Union Campmeeting: Casey Marion Smith, III; Casey Marion Smith, Jr.; Casey Triplett Smith; Casey Marion Smith, Sr. Also pictured below in South Union Cemetery is the tombstone of my great grandfather, Dutch Smith.

     During the war between the states there was a "great revival" of religious fervor through the Holy Spirit. In 1865, several Choctaw County Christian families knelt together in prayer and asked for God's guidance to direct them in His was, believing, "All things work together for good to them that love God." (Romans 8:28) As a result of God's grace, South Union Church was organized here. The original church structure was built of huge logs in a pine grove near a spring of ever-flowing clear, cold water. "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in were later to receive." (John7:37-39) NIV

     The Holy Spirit continued working through South Union. Later, in 1872, a Camp Meeting was organized on land given by William Parham Pollard, or Grandpa Pollard, as he is lovingly known to this day, " ... for and in consideration for the love I have for the cause of Christ." S.E. Moss and Mr. & Mrs. T. M. Draper later gave more land. At night the camp ground was lighted by huge pine torches placed upon earth-covered scaffolds and the tabernacle, originally built by Arthur Tenhet, was lighted by candles. The women of the church donated these candles laboriously made from beef tallow. The long loud blast of a Texas horn called worshippers for miles around. One of the Moss boys, often Wesley, performed the service of blowing the horn which was owned by the John Buck family. A public school operated here for many years. Confederate reunions were held annually as long as Confederate Veterans lived.

     The Church edifice was destroyed by a tornado in 1883 and rebuilt. On July 18, 1914, the Tabernacle and some wooden tents burned accidentally. The present structure was erected immediately by church members, neighboring churches, like Old Lebanon Church, and other denominations and friends, as a community gathering place as well as a church. That close bond of cooperation and friendship still exists today. The camp meeting was held late that year, the only time it has not been held Friday before the 4th Sunday in July. In 1976, the Church almost closed. The situation reversed with the Lord working through Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Blaine and the whole congregation. "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6 NIV)

     Innumerable hundreds have been converted to Christ at these camp meetings. Many lives have been touched by the Holy Spirit, some having been called to preach the gospel. "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things." Often worshipers have become overwhelmed by receiving the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by shouts of happiness, speaking in tongues, and tears of joy. Today another revival of the Holy Spirit has begun. "In the last days, God says, I will pour out of my Spirit on all people." (Acts 2:17 NIV)

     This monument is lovingly dedicated to our Lord Jesus Christ and to all those through whom He has worked.

Copyright © 2009 South Union United Methodist Campmeeting, P.O. Box 239, Ackerman, MS 39735
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