The PTA meetings must be fun
We drove up to Fentriss County Sunday for a family get-together (my sister the firefighter and her partner the cop were, of course, working on the actual Fourth). It's 55 miles of Tennessee state highways winding up the Plateau, and between Oak Ridge and her place, this side of Allardt just past Rugby, we must have passed 60 churches. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration - I didn't count; I should have - but there were easily several dozen (and more just off the main road, I know. Heck, little Sunbright (population 577 in the last census (2000)) has thirteen!
Mostly they were (no surprise) Baptist. A lot of just plain Baptist, lots of Missionary Baptists and an equal number of Independent Missionary Baptists. Also one Separate Baptist... There were two Methodists (one in the largish town of Oliver Springs) and a Presbyterian - a remant of Scotch-Irish settlers, that last - a Church of God (there's a redundant name) and two Churches of Christ. There was also a Church in Christ, and a plain Community Church (whatever they might be), and a Church of God of Prophecy. There was also an Episcopal Church, but that was in Rugby, so it doesn't really count.
And then there are these two, in Sunbright and literally not a quarter mile apart.
Labels: freethought, miscellaneous, myphotos
5 Comments:
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At 8:27 PM, July 08, 2008
Anonymous had this to say...
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At 8:43 PM, July 08, 2008
The Ridger, FCD had this to say...
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At 8:45 PM, July 08, 2008
The Ridger, FCD had this to say...
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At 2:44 PM, July 09, 2008
Anonymous had this to say...
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At 2:46 PM, July 09, 2008
The Ridger, FCD had this to say...
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<-- Older Post ^ Home Newer Post -->Denominational and church names are a lot of fun, aren't they?
Were the two Methodist churches United Methodist or Free Methodist, or one of each?
I've always loved the Church of God and Church of Christ names too. Obviously, all other churches are neither of nor in either God or Christ.
Community Church is often contemporary-speak for non-denominational, or, if you prefer the older term, inter-denominational.
I love the last one: Old Fashioned (meaning we use the same authorized King James Version of the Bible that Jesus used) Independent Missionary Baptist Church. God, what a mouthful. Their letterhead must be an eyesore!
Also "Old Fashioned" meaning "one true way™ - not like those slackers up the road!"
And I think they were both United Methodists - a good forty miles in between them.
Why shouldn't the church in Rugby count? It's still functioning after all these years with an active congregation. Rugby's not a ghost town. Come over and listen to rock music this Saturday night (July 12) in front of the Visitor Centre (opposite the church) and you'll see! -- a Rugby resident
Sorry - that was a joke, meant to point out how odd an Episcopal church is in East Tennessee. I didn't mean to imply that the church, or Rugby, wasn't an actual church or town!
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