Touching experience to walk through historical area, see work done by one of Baptists’ missions matriarchs
It isn’t often that I’ve had the opportunity to walk through an area and vividly experience a moment of history that I previously read about in a book.
I did get that opportunity in early February, however.
On my way to the Feb. 10–14 editor’s meeting for state Baptist publications (my first time to attend this annual gathering as TAB’s editor), I added a side trip to the plans.
Our meeting was held in Charleston, South Carolina, so I traveled two days ahead of time to stay with friends on Edisto Island.
As we drove from the airport to the island, our friend who lives there pointed out historical notes and various places along the way.
The more she shared, the more I felt like I had been there before — but I knew I had not. Still I couldn’t shake the feeling and even started finishing my friend’s sentences with details that only someone familiar with Edisto would know.
And then it hit me. I had been to Edisto Island before — through the pages of Rosalie Hall Hunt’s book “Her Way: The Remarkable Story of Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend.”
Written in the form of a historical novel, “Her Way” shares the story of the woman credited for launching missions societies that helped fund various missions efforts. The development of Woman’s Missionary Union of the SBC is one group that can be traced back to her efforts.
Being inside New First Missionary Baptist Church, which Hephzibah helped build as the first Baptist church established for African Americans there, made the pages of the book come alive.
The pew in the pulpit area is one of the original ones. And Hephzibah is buried in the church cemetery.
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