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The ADVANCE, October 4, 2023/Page 18A
Harden’s Chapel to
Celebrate Homecoming
Courtesy of Harden's Chapel
Harden’s Chapel is
thankful to say we have a
“new beginning” and we’re
continuing our HOME
COMING, which began
in 1863 as Wesley Chapel,
named after Charles Wes
ley. We wanted to share a
little history... during the
Civil War the church build
ing was burned and the
site was abandoned. After
this tragedy, services were
transferred to a site two
or three miles west of the
original location. In 1891,
a new church building was
begun on the original site
and the name changed to
Harden’s Chapel Method
ist and has continued to be
an active church. Our pres
ent building was erected
and dedicated in 1946-
1947. In later years, it be
came a United Methodist
congregation.
In June of 2023, we
became an independent
church, disaffiliating from
the UMC. We are led by
our DECLARATION of
FAITH as we continue to
trust God and live by faith.
We pray Harden’s Chapel
will continue to serve as an
inspiration to those who
come this way.
The message is, Hard
en’s Chapel has been a cor
nerstone in the community
since 1863. Our forefathers
and mothers worked hard
to leave a legacy in the
community for future gen
erations, and we feel they
would be proud of our ef
forts to continue.
Adjoining the church
grounds is one of the larg
est cemeteries in this sec
tion of the state. Descen
dants of the early planners
and organizers are brought
back from great distances
to be laid to rest near their
forefathers. Since 1992,
the upkeep and manage
ment of the cemetery has
been led by Harden’s Cha
pel Cemetery, Inc., Board
of Directors, when it was
deeded to the corporation
by Harden’s Chapel UMC
Trustees.
Now, it is time to come
together and celebrate
“what God has done” in
the life of our church and
community. As we begin
a rebirth of Harden’s Cha
pel, we encourage and in
vite everyone to join us
on Sunday, October 8, for
our Homecoming Celebra
tion. The service will begin
at 10:30 a.m. Local sing
ers are encouraged to join
us for singing prior to the
morning message.
Our guest speaker will
be Rev. Harry Sims, pastor
of St. Matthews Church
of God, Lyon. He is an
ordained Bishop in the
Church of God. He began
the ministry licensing pro
cess in 1986, successfully
passing the three levels of
licensure in the Church
of God, becoming an Or
dained Bishop in 2000. He
and his wife Vickie served
their internship at Vidalia
Church of God and have
pastored St. Matthew’s
Church of God since 1989.
He retired from Southern
Company at Plant Hatch in
2016 after 40 years of em
ployment.
Everyone is invited to
worship with us and bring
a covered dish for lunch,
being served at 12:30.
Lyons
continued from page 5A
because they’re making the
community what it is.
“A Citizen of the Year
is really just an ordinary
person doing extraordi
nary things in their com
munity,” she summarized.
Williams connected
the importance of the Citi
zen of the Year with the
importance of community.
“What is community?” she
asked the audience. “Is it
just a geographical area? Is
it defined by city or state
policies? Is it a number of
people? What really de
fines community? To un
derstand that you have to
understand the value of
people within the commu
nity because that is where
community starts.”
She reminisced on
when she first moved
to Lyons in elementary
school. She explained that
upon first learning she was
moving, she protested the
situation to her parents, as
most children do. She said
that she was happy with
her life in Lawrenceville,
where she spent her days in
an air-conditioned school
and taking biweekly trips
to the mall.
“We moved during
spring break, and one
day, my dad told us all to
load into the car and ride
around town so he could
show us our new home
town,” she recalled. “I
thought the place was very
beautiful, but I said, ‘But,
where’s the Burger King,
Dad?’ He told me there
wasn’t one but there was
a Weenie Bird and a Tasty
Freeze, and that he thought
I’d like both.”
She continued, “We
continued riding and I
asked where the mall was.
He told me that we prob
ably wouldn’t get to go as
much as we used to because
it was in Savannah. Then,
we drove by my school and
I asked why there were so
many windows, and he ex
plained that the way school
used to be, you just had
fans and you would open
the windows for ventila
tion, but he told me that I
would be fine.
“At that point, I re
member being in the back
seat, and I busted out cry
ing and said, 1 want to go
back to Lawrenceville,”’
Williams said. “Now, my
Dad said, ‘Give it time.’
What I didn’t realize as an
8-year-old is he was so right
because what community
is about is not buildings or
whether or not you have
Burger King or any of that,
what I would learn is that
community is about the
people. It’s all about the
people, and it’s about noth
ing but the people.”
Williams explained
that this concept had
grown truer to her
throughout the years of her
life. “The heart of the com
munity is how people con
nect and bond, and how
they grow together and
support each other. Do we
want growth? Of course,
we want growth - we have
people moving into this
community all the time.
Growth is good because
we can offer resources to
people if we have growth.
But what really makes a
community stronger is the
ability to provide stability,
security and peace to peo
ple that live here.”
According to Wil
liams, community is simi
lar to a quilt, in that it is
several different people
with different backgrounds
coming together to make
something beautiful. “We
all come from different
backgrounds. We all have
different thoughts on life.
We raise our kids differ
ently. We go to different
churches - we have differ
ent belief systems. We all
look different. But when
you knit us together, we
make the most beautiful
tapestry which is a unique,
complete object that can
serve a purpose,” she told
the crowd. “Separately, we
can still do things we need
to do. But when we’re wo
ven together, we are strong
- we are beautiful, and we
serve a purpose together.
We are unified.”
She emphasized, “It
takes every bit of material
to make a quilt complete.
If you leave a square out or
a piece out in the middle,
you have a hole, and it’s not
serving its purpose. Hav
ing us all knitted together
allows us to thrive. We all
have to be willing to do
that; it takes all of us play
ing our part.”
Other Aspects of the
Night
The 51st Citizen of
the Year event was host
ed by Lyons Lions Club
President Christian Bur
ton, who entertained the
crowd with his comedic
banter and his unique per
formances of “Onionville”
and “I’m a Believer.”
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2023
BBQ 8$ Music Festival
Rick Kimbrel, D.M.D.
Kacy M. Morris D.M.D.
Logan Christian, D.M.D.
Scotty Blanchard Jr., D.M.D.
S i n kVourjTeet hi mtg
SoTnelPeliciouslBBCr
Come to Lyons for the
BBQ 8j Music Festival
October 6 8j 7
Since 1936, Altamaha EMC has been
deeply rooted in the communities we
serve. We invite everyone to come and
enjoy this wonderful community event.
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