CYNTHIA CARTER: The church back in the day

A charge to keep, a God to glorify who gave his son my soul to save and fitted for the sky. Every now and then, I have to go back. That’s why it’s good to never forget where you came from. It will keep you balanced.

I was raised in the church; Union Baptist was the name. I remember how we had to sit on the front row of the church. If you talked, laughed or chewed gum, any adult could reprimand you. All they had to do was look at you and you knew you had to stop whatever it was that you were doing.

We were happy to be in church. That is when we saw many of our friends and we also had a chance to participate in church activities. In most of our families, we had ministers, deacons, deaconesses, ushers and choir members. As I can remember, that was the basics of the church. No clubs.

My grandmother was an usher and she was a proud usher. I remember watching her wash, starch and iron her uniforms, and she was always on time when the church door opened. She was right there at her post. Of course, I was right by her side, entering the church. I went down to the front, sat down and watched others arrive.

The deacons led the devotional service, singing common meter hymns and praying. Women participated also, singing, praying and moaning “Lord, have mercy!” There were no church programs, but you knew the order of service because it was the same every Sunday. After devotion, the choir would march in, sometimes with music, sometimes without. They had a director and a musician who played the piano. The choir could really sing and they knew it. It seemed like more people shouted in the spirit back in the day when the minister preached and the choir sang than they do today.

One Sunday, nine of us children joined the church. We all got baptized at the same time. I was 9 years old; most of us were around the same age, give or take a year or two. Why we all joined at the same time I don’t know, but it felt good.

The church did a lot of good things with the youth. I remember the speeches and plays that I was a part of. I loved participating in church activities. It gave you a sense of pride as a young person.

You weren’t allowed to talk in church. You paid attention to what was going on. I didn’t always understand the messages the preachers preached, but I did learn a lot in Sunday school because you could ask questions. Our Sunday school teacher would explain our questions to us.

I remember asking a question about Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus and the heavenly Father. Well, I didn’t understand how Jesus had two fathers. It’s funny how you can remember certain things that have happened so many years ago. I will never forget that, because my Sunday school teacher hurt my feelings. We didn’t know things that children know today. Asking too many questions back then was a no-no.

Whatever an adult said, right or wrong, you had to respect it. That’s the way it was. They raised us good, the best way they knew how. Some of these children today need to be raised the old-fashioned way. Look how we turned out. Not bragging, but I’m glad I was raised the old-fashioned way. It made us better children because we were more disciplined. When parents spoke, we moved. If not, we knew what was coming.

They loved us in their own special way. We had home training, which included manners and respect for our elders. We also were taught to love and care for one another. Parents raised many good kids back in the day.

Ask Grandma is a weekly column written by Cynthia Carter. If you have a question to Ask Grandma, email it to [email protected] and include “Ask Grandma” in the subject line. You also can mail questions to Ask Grandma, c/o The Albany Herald, P.O. Box 48, Albany, GA 31702. Phone-in questions can be left on our Bright Side comment line, (229) 888-9351.