An English Visitor's Observations of FBG
Posted by Dick Stanford
Over the years my family and I have made friends with and hosted visits by several colleagues from universities in U.K. and Belgium. Recently while cleaning out some files in preparation for a possible move, we came across an essay about a visit to FBG in 1989 by Mr. Dennis Iles who with wife Sylvia was visiting from the U.K. Dennis, who passed away recently, was a lecturer and reader in economics at a U.K. university. He taught introductory economics courses at Furman on two different occasions. He also directed a men's chorus where he lived in the Cotswolds so he was quite familiar with both secular and church music in England. After his 1989 visit with us, he wrote the following essay about churchgoing in South Carolina, U.S.A.
According to Billy Graham on his recent tour of Britain, 40% of the American people go to church regularly. This may not be typical of some parts of the United States - the North East for example - but in South Carolina the percentage must have been more like 90%. Every family we met went to Church regularly each week; and every one we ate with began their meal with a blessing.
Greenville County has 300 churches serving its 300,000 poulation. We were privileged to attend the two largest, each with 3,000 members. At times it seemed that most members were at the service, because although both churches were very large, they also seemed very full. Each church had a full range of facilities - apart from the essential car parking space, there was a whole range of other buildings, for junior church, nursery, youth club, sports and recreational facilities and for use as teaching rooms.
The First Baptist Church of Greenville was an exceptional building. Crowned by the usual white spire, it was built "in the round", although, unlike the Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool, the altar, pulpit and choir are all at one end of the Church. The pews were tiered, and a most beautiful feature was the vertical panel behind the altar, spreading branchwise into the roof of the church - a symbolic representation of the "tree of life". Offices and ancillary rooms were on a lower level, and there were so many entrances that it was quite possible to get lost going into, and coming out of church!
The music was very good. The choir of 40 plus was regularly reinforced by visiting singers, and each week 2 or 3 anthems would be performed as well as solo items. The organist [Stephen Spoon] was superb; his extemporizations were a feature, and his accompaniments, on organ or piano, of choir and congregation alike, were faultless. Not surprisingly, the television cameras were frequently in evidence. Going to church was a special family occasion, for which everone dressed up. And we loved the habit of going out to lunch after church - I especially remember a Japanese and a Mexican restaurant....
I was reminded so vividly of going to church as a boy some 50 years ago - the size of the congregations, the dressing up ("Sunday best" was compulsory), the quality of music. In Britain we may, sadly, have moved on from that period; but churchgoing in South Carolina is alive and well.
My wife and I feel privileged to have shared in this and in the fabulous South Carolinian hospitality.
D. J. Iles,
Milton-under-Wychwood.
June 1989
Over the years my family and I have made friends with and hosted visits by several colleagues from universities in U.K. and Belgium. Recently while cleaning out some files in preparation for a possible move, we came across an essay about a visit to FBG in 1989 by Mr. Dennis Iles who with wife Sylvia was visiting from the U.K. Dennis, who passed away recently, was a lecturer and reader in economics at a U.K. university. He taught introductory economics courses at Furman on two different occasions. He also directed a men's chorus where he lived in the Cotswolds so he was quite familiar with both secular and church music in England. After his 1989 visit with us, he wrote the following essay about churchgoing in South Carolina, U.S.A.
CHURCHGOING IN SOUTH CAROLINA
According to Billy Graham on his recent tour of Britain, 40% of the American people go to church regularly. This may not be typical of some parts of the United States - the North East for example - but in South Carolina the percentage must have been more like 90%. Every family we met went to Church regularly each week; and every one we ate with began their meal with a blessing.
Greenville County has 300 churches serving its 300,000 poulation. We were privileged to attend the two largest, each with 3,000 members. At times it seemed that most members were at the service, because although both churches were very large, they also seemed very full. Each church had a full range of facilities - apart from the essential car parking space, there was a whole range of other buildings, for junior church, nursery, youth club, sports and recreational facilities and for use as teaching rooms.
The First Baptist Church of Greenville was an exceptional building. Crowned by the usual white spire, it was built "in the round", although, unlike the Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool, the altar, pulpit and choir are all at one end of the Church. The pews were tiered, and a most beautiful feature was the vertical panel behind the altar, spreading branchwise into the roof of the church - a symbolic representation of the "tree of life". Offices and ancillary rooms were on a lower level, and there were so many entrances that it was quite possible to get lost going into, and coming out of church!
The music was very good. The choir of 40 plus was regularly reinforced by visiting singers, and each week 2 or 3 anthems would be performed as well as solo items. The organist [Stephen Spoon] was superb; his extemporizations were a feature, and his accompaniments, on organ or piano, of choir and congregation alike, were faultless. Not surprisingly, the television cameras were frequently in evidence. Going to church was a special family occasion, for which everone dressed up. And we loved the habit of going out to lunch after church - I especially remember a Japanese and a Mexican restaurant....
I was reminded so vividly of going to church as a boy some 50 years ago - the size of the congregations, the dressing up ("Sunday best" was compulsory), the quality of music. In Britain we may, sadly, have moved on from that period; but churchgoing in South Carolina is alive and well.
My wife and I feel privileged to have shared in this and in the fabulous South Carolinian hospitality.
D. J. Iles,
Milton-under-Wychwood.
June 1989
Comments
Post a Comment