It would be a tragedy.
A masterpiece of craftsmanship and a testimony to the faith of earlier generations, Timmons Temple, an African American church built during the segregated Jim Crow era, may be destroyed. Why? To build efficiency apartments.
I'm a preservationist - you can read more about how I feel about things like efficiency apartments here.
But this church's story is best told by the ladies who drove past me as I was shooting these photos yesterday afternoon.
A shiny sedan pulled up alongside the curb. I was perched on the rear bumper of my Jeep, firing off angled shots of the roofline of the church. The window to the driver's side slowly rolled down. A lady with hair graying around the temples, and suspicious eyes sized me up.
"We're meddlin', but may I please ask what you are doing?"
I'm getting used to this, as I tend to do lots of odd things when I have a camera in my hands. I lowered my camera, and stepped down off the bumper.
In the back seat, I could see the silhouettes of two other ladies, and another in the front.
"We're wanting to do what we can to save this church," I replied. "It's beautiful, and it makes me feel something. I'm just taking pictures."
I saw two emphatic nods in the backseat, and heard a murmuring amongst the women. The driver gave me a smile.
"Oh, praise Jesus. Somebody needs to. They ain't even mowed this place."
And it was true. The grass was knee high.
"You know, these ladies in back here, their parents were some of the original congregation."
Oh wow. These women knew the hands that carried the rocks from Jordan creek, spread the mortar and placed the cornerstone. Hands that lovingly painted railings and saved a parking spot for their pastor every Sunday.
So we talked for a little bit, about "progress." We talked about baptisms and church socials. I told them about my grandma, a Pentecostal Church of God congregant herself. But the thing that surprised me most was that these ladies didn't yet know about the grass roots effort to try to save their former church - about the volunteers and the money. I told them about that. I told them we were trying to do what we could, that we hoped it might be enough to hold the bulldozers at bay.
But here are the facts:
Unless our community raises $200,000 by June 2nd, to relocate the church to a city park just down the road, it will be torn down. All those memories, gone. The careful, intentional stonework, gone. A legacy of strength and faith during a time of adversity, gone.
Will you help?
Even if you can only give a few dollars, it will be something. If a thousand people just give a few dollars, it will be a game changer.
I challenge you: if you are a lover of history, a person of faith, or just someone who roots for the underdog, please give.
To find out how you can donate, go to savetimmonstemple.org and watch this video
And please...share this post.
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