I have not attended my little church like I should have in the last couple of years. I have been deeply depressed and all this is due to low iron but I am getting better and shall be back soon. I have missed it deeply.
Ruhamah United Methodist Church was founded in 1822 one of the oldest Churches founded in Anderson County South Carolina. It is usually associated with the Glenn family but my mother's family was deeply involved from the beginning. The first Rainey that any of us have been able to find was John Rainey born probably any where from 1780 until about 1795. He was one of the founding fathers of the church. The name Ruhamah means beloved, and I can tell you that many people have walked within that church and felt the love of God within that tiny church as well as the love of the people.
Rev. William Glenn, who was the main founding father, was the first minister and there hangs a picture of him in the vestibule of the church. One of the early ministers was Rev. Henry Casper( or Cosper) and happens to be an ancestor of mine. When the first church was built- it was a log cabin and was located near where a ferry crossed the Savannah River. Sometime during the ferry days, a man who had crossed in the ferry from Georgia and happened to be drunk thought that the tall tombstone of Rev Wesley Earp was a man and shot it three times. In 1876 a little white church was built, and when Highway 29 South was built it was located very close to the road. Sometime in the 1950s Lake Hartwell was built and 29 South was relocated so that if made Ruhamah not on a main road.
It was about the time the little white church was built that Ruhamah used to be the site where camp meetings were held. People from all over came to the little church to fellowship and to listen to good speakers. Later it was moved to Providence Church.
In the early 1970s it became evident that a new church had to be built. The termites had did so much damage that my father was able to stick a pencil in one of the beams underneath the church. The last wedding held in Ruhamah, the uncle of the groom stayed outside just in case the church fell in. But building a new church was going to be costly if we used a regular contractor. At one of the building committee meetings my father volunteered his services. He had recently retired from being a civil engineer and he had time on his hands. My Brother Joe designed the building. But what I remember of those days was how everyone fell into helping. Men worked on their days off. The ladies of the church painted the walls inside. Mr. Campbell, a spry near 90 year old, took apart all the pews and mended those that needed mending and the women stained them. It was not only that but people started giving- someone gave the lights, someone gave a new piano, and another person gave the cross in the window behind the pulpit.
I was there at the last service in the old church, and as we were singing "The Church in the Wildwood". People one by one went down to the alter until there was only one or two who did not- mostly the older members. I believe they were thanking the old church for her service. Then on Easter Sunday 1977, we had our first service. The church was packed and we rejoiced in what we had witnessed in the building of the present day Ruhamah. One year later, the church building was completely paid off.
This little church has been a service to so many people, and has given so much to its community. Most people want to go to the larger churches these days. It has been within this church that so many of us has celebrated our lives. Babies have been christened there. I have attended many a wedding there. Many of us have said our final goodbyes within the walls of that church.
If you are ever down on 29 South in Anderson County South Carolina about 9:30 AM, stop in and visit us. We are a loving community, and despite my absence- they have kept in touch with me and attempted to get me to come back. I was not ready to do so. But I have missed it deeply- especially the fellowship of our small church... There is love within those walls.
Ruhamah United Methodist Church was founded in 1822 one of the oldest Churches founded in Anderson County South Carolina. It is usually associated with the Glenn family but my mother's family was deeply involved from the beginning. The first Rainey that any of us have been able to find was John Rainey born probably any where from 1780 until about 1795. He was one of the founding fathers of the church. The name Ruhamah means beloved, and I can tell you that many people have walked within that church and felt the love of God within that tiny church as well as the love of the people.
Rev. William Glenn, who was the main founding father, was the first minister and there hangs a picture of him in the vestibule of the church. One of the early ministers was Rev. Henry Casper( or Cosper) and happens to be an ancestor of mine. When the first church was built- it was a log cabin and was located near where a ferry crossed the Savannah River. Sometime during the ferry days, a man who had crossed in the ferry from Georgia and happened to be drunk thought that the tall tombstone of Rev Wesley Earp was a man and shot it three times. In 1876 a little white church was built, and when Highway 29 South was built it was located very close to the road. Sometime in the 1950s Lake Hartwell was built and 29 South was relocated so that if made Ruhamah not on a main road.
It was about the time the little white church was built that Ruhamah used to be the site where camp meetings were held. People from all over came to the little church to fellowship and to listen to good speakers. Later it was moved to Providence Church.
In the early 1970s it became evident that a new church had to be built. The termites had did so much damage that my father was able to stick a pencil in one of the beams underneath the church. The last wedding held in Ruhamah, the uncle of the groom stayed outside just in case the church fell in. But building a new church was going to be costly if we used a regular contractor. At one of the building committee meetings my father volunteered his services. He had recently retired from being a civil engineer and he had time on his hands. My Brother Joe designed the building. But what I remember of those days was how everyone fell into helping. Men worked on their days off. The ladies of the church painted the walls inside. Mr. Campbell, a spry near 90 year old, took apart all the pews and mended those that needed mending and the women stained them. It was not only that but people started giving- someone gave the lights, someone gave a new piano, and another person gave the cross in the window behind the pulpit.
I was there at the last service in the old church, and as we were singing "The Church in the Wildwood". People one by one went down to the alter until there was only one or two who did not- mostly the older members. I believe they were thanking the old church for her service. Then on Easter Sunday 1977, we had our first service. The church was packed and we rejoiced in what we had witnessed in the building of the present day Ruhamah. One year later, the church building was completely paid off.
This little church has been a service to so many people, and has given so much to its community. Most people want to go to the larger churches these days. It has been within this church that so many of us has celebrated our lives. Babies have been christened there. I have attended many a wedding there. Many of us have said our final goodbyes within the walls of that church.
If you are ever down on 29 South in Anderson County South Carolina about 9:30 AM, stop in and visit us. We are a loving community, and despite my absence- they have kept in touch with me and attempted to get me to come back. I was not ready to do so. But I have missed it deeply- especially the fellowship of our small church... There is love within those walls.