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gainesvilletimes com
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Nick Bowman Features Editor | 770-718-3426 | life@gainesvilletimes.com
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
Assembly of Praise pastor Adam Reynolds is hosting a joint service at the Lula church with two predominantly African-American churches in the area on Sunday.
Right: Assembly of
Praise pastor Adam
Reynolds and wife Jenny
tend to church business
Thursday, Nov. 15, at the
Lula church offices.
Below: Adam Reynolds
walks to the church
sanctuary Thursday, Nov.
15, past the church’s
old sign which is about
to be updated to read
“Assembly of Praise.”
This Sunday the church
is hosting a joint service
with two predominantly
African-American
churches in the area.
WORSHIP
9:00 AM & 11:00
SUNDAY SCHOOL
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Wednesday
7:00 PM
‘It’s important that people look beyond the color
of somebody’s skin and see the commonality
And the commonality with this group of people
is that we worship the same God.’
The Rev. Adam Reynolds
Lula’s Assembly of Praise
Joint
Thanksgiving
service
Where: Springfield
Baptist Church,
6155 Hammett St.,
Lula
When: 6 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 18
More than skin color: Churches coming
together to worship in Thanksgiving service
BY LAYNE SALIBA
lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com
When the Rev. Adam Reynolds
gets up to preach on Sunday eve
ning, things will look a little dif
ferent from where he is standing.
That’s because he won’t be at his
own church, Assembly of Praise,
in Lula.
He’ll be at Lula’s Springfield
Baptist Church — and not only will
the location be different, the con
gregation will be, too.
Springfield Baptist Church is a
predominantly-African American
church while Assembly of Praise is
predominantly white. The Assem
bly of Praise congregation is join
ing with Springfield Baptist and St.
John Missionary Baptist Church,
another predominantly-African
American church, for a joint
Thanksgiving service this Sunday.
“We live in an area that’s
somewhat racially divided,” said
Reynolds, who’s been the pastor
at Assembly of Praise for about a
year.
The service is planned for 6
p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18. Pastors at
Springfield and St. John could not
be reached by deadline.
Bringing people together for a
common purpose — in this case, to
worship — is important to combat
the racial tension Reynolds said
the country is feeling.
For these congregations, that’s
what they believe.
“All you hear about is the divi
sion,” Reynolds said. “That’s all
that seems to make the news ...You
rarely hear about when every
body’s coming together and the
lines come down and we’re just
worshipping together.”
The joint Thanksgiving service
has been something Assembly of
Praise has been a part of for sev
eral years, and it’s actually where
Reynolds got his start as pastor at
the church. His first Sunday as pas
tor was at the joint Thanksgiving
service in 2017.
He said he feels strongly about
relaxing racial tension in his area,
something he saw throughout his
childhood growing up in Gaines
ville. He feels he has been given
the opportunity to be a pastor for
that specific reason.
“This is where color goes away,”
Reynolds said. “This is where we
have church together, we wor
ship together and there’s no black,
there’s no white, there’s no brown,
there’s no yellow, there’s no red.
“We’re worshipping God.”
Each year, the location of
the service rotates between the
three churches and the pastor of
the church that’s hosting never
preaches at his own church. It used
to be a bigger service — Reynolds
expects about 100 in the congrega
tion — but participation over the
years has dwindled.
“From my understanding, years
ago, it was several churches and
it just kind of fell apart over the
years,” Reynolds said. “It really
became just these three churches
that stayed.”
Even with fewer churches show
ing up and fewer people attending,
the Thanksgiving service has been
something Reynolds always been
passionate about.
“It’s just to kind of tear down
years and years and years of what
people have been taught to believe
versus what is actually, truly bib
lically true as far as race is con
cerned,” Reynolds said.
And of course, a Thanksgiving
service at church wouldn’t be com
plete without a meal afterward.
The churches will stay for a pot-
luck dinner following the service,
offering a chance for the entire
congregation to come together and
share a meal.
“Events like this are impor
tant,” Reynolds said. “We do live
in a divided world, we do live in a
divided country. Here in Georgia,
we’re no less divided, if not more
divided, than other parts of the
country.
“It’s important that people look
beyond the color of somebody’s
skin and see the commonality. And
the commonality with this group of
people is that we worship the same
God.”
FAITH EVENTS
LAMP Ministries Community
Thanksgiving Dinner. 11 a.m. to 2
p.m. Nov. 17. 794 Jesse Jewell
Parkway, Gainesville. 678-343-
6065 or mmauricio@lampga.org.
Thanksgiving Gospel Singing.
Featuring the Troy Burns Family.
7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 19. Calvary
Baptist Church, 1975 Ga. 82,
Statham. 770-725-5164 or
mattdibler@aol.com.
Mike Pardue. 5 p.m. Nov. 25.
Old Nacoochee Baptist Church,
487 Hub Tatum Road, Sautee.
706-892-9236.
Singles Enrichment/
Empowerment. 9-9:45 a.m. Nov.
25, Dec. 23 and Jan. 27. Mount
Zion Baptist Church, 4000
Thurmond Tanner Road, Flowery
Branch, mzbcinfo@yahoo.com.
2018 Festival of the Nativity.
Display of more than 800
nativities. 6-9 p.m. Nov. 29-30
and Dec. 1.3-9 p.m. Dec. 2. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints, 1234 Riverside Drive,
Gainesville. 770-561 -1199.
Movie Night. 7 p.m. Dec. 1,
Jan. 26, Feb. 23 and March 30.
Chicopee United Methodist
Church, 3 First St., Gainesville.
770-634-6803 or pegflute@
yahoo.com.
Wishes and Candles. Christmas
concert. 7-8:30 p.m. Dec. 8-9.
The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (Sugar Hill
Stake), 4833 Suwanee Dam
Road, Suwanee. 404-375-7882
or cketchem@ldspublicaffairs.
org.
Marriage Enrichment. 9-9:45
a.m. Dec. 9 and Jan. 13. Mount
Zion Baptist Church, 4000
Thurmond Tanner Road, Flowery
Branch. 770-967-3722 or
mzbcinfo@yahoo.com.
Christmas Lessons and Carols.
8:45 a.m. Dec. 16. Cumming First
United Methodist Church, 770
Canton Highway, Cumming.
The LeFevre Quartet. 6 p.m. Dec.
16. Lighthouse Baptist Church,
329 Harmony Church Road,
Dawsonville.
The LeFevre Quartet and Sounds
Of Jericho. 7 p.m. Dec. 28. The
Venue at Christ Place Church,
3494 Atlanta Highway, Oakwood.
Rethinking Retirement. Retreat
to encourage and equip elders
for the work of discipling the next
generation. 9 a.m. Feb. 15 to 10
a.m. Feb. 17. Ark on Lake Lanier,
6250 Old Dawsonville Road,
Gainesville. $150-400.
Darrell and Dawn Ritchie.
Noon Feb. 26. Concord Baptist
Church, 6905 Concord Road,
Cumming.
ONGOING
Celebrate Recovery. 6:15-9
p.m. every Friday. Dinner, large
group service and small groups.
Children’s ministry available for
children of all ages. CrossBridge
Community Church, 751 Ga. 53
E, Dawsonville. $2-3. 770-883-
2576 or slreeves2@yahoo.com.
Free clothing store. 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. every Tuesday. Infant,
children and adult clothing
available for those in need.
Donations appreciated. Holy
Trinity Anglican Church, 7049
Spout Springs Road, Flowery
Branch. 678-336-6964.
Gentle Hearts Ministry Food
Pantry. Distribution of food. 5-6
p.m. every Wednesday. St. Paul
United Methodist Church, 705
Summit St., Gainesville. 770-
536-4910.
Senior adult choir. 1 p.m.
Wednesdays. First Presbyterian
Church, 800 S. Enota Drive,
Gainesville. Membership not
required. 770-532-0136.
