By Frank Kourt
Register Correspondent
RICHMOND —
A good church is not only a place of worship. It also is a center of the community it serves, providing for the social, as well as spiritual needs of its members.
Tates Creek Baptist Church in Richmond has been doing just that for an amazing 225 years and members and friends celebrated the church’s long history Sunday with specially themed services and a traditional potluck.
“Tates Creek is a beautiful place. Everybody’s so kind and good here,” said Jo Day of Richmond, who has been with the church since 1961 and who has been involved in organizing many a potluck during her tenure there. She worked the day as a greeter.
Penny Foster has been a member of the church for a dozen years, even though she’s a former Richmond resident who now lives in Lexington.
“I love this church. The people are so friendly and there’s a close relationship among the congregation,” she said. “You just can’t find a church like this in Lexington. You really don’t find one like this anywhere.”
Darell Wells has been a member for 62 years and he, too, cites the friendliness of the people of the church as a major reason he has kept coming back over the years.
Edith Ratliff, a member since 1941, is the church historian and organist who also has taught Sunday school. In addition to the warmth of the people, she cites the fact that the church follows scripture as her reason for faithful attendance over the years.
Charles Moore, 95, has been a member since 1929, but moved away for many years, only to return three or four years ago.
Dr. Jerry Huffman, who has been pastor of the historic church for about five years, understands the value of the church to many lives because, he said, it serves as a support system.
“People realize that this is a place where people really care about each other,” Huffman said.
It was a full house on Sunday, with not only current members participating, but with a significant number of former members who moved away over the years, but who took the time to return to celebrate a milestone in the church’s history.
Sitting down to a potluck that included fried chicken, country ham, baked beans and too many side dishes and homemade desserts to begin to count, members old and new and friends joined together to remember good times over the years.
The church, located at 1255 Boonesborough Road in Richmond, traces its roots back to a church that was built in 1785.
The original church was located near the intersection of Tates Creek Road and Shallowford roads, a stone structure known as “the Stone Meeting House” that burned in 1850. The current brick building was erected a year later at its current location, and has endured as a place of worship over the decades.
Tates Creek Baptist Church stands as a testament to faith, support and fellowship that has endured for more than two centuries and looks confidently to the future.
