Earliest members of Piney Grove United Methodist Church in Steens were among some of Lowndes County’s first settlers. That determined handful of the faithful organized in 1828, meeting in dwellings and the local school house until 1835, when a log structure was built. On Sunday, Oct. 7, the present frame church sanctuary erected in 1892 will be the site of a 2 p.m. celebration of Piney Grove’s 190th anniversary, with a public reception and open house. The community is invited to visit the church that forms a chapter of the county’s ecclesiastical history.
Margaret Sharp has been part of Piney Grove for 72 years; she was born into the church congregation. Her great-grandfather, Capt. E.C. Leech, deeded two acres of land for the “new” church in September 1891 and was integral to getting the present structure completed. That some of his descendants are still active in the congregation is especially meaningful to Sharp and extended family members.
“I don’t know how to express it,” she said when asked about the impact of this church anniversary. “We have been through a lot of thin years, but we’ve always pulled through.”
There are known to be 19 preachers who have gone out from Piney Grove Church, according to compiled church history. Pastored today by Andy Tentoni, Piney Grove holds services every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and a fellowship meal and Bible study on Wednesday evenings.
Milestones through its past are chronicled in church records. They include names of the 12 individuals who met on that first occasion 190 years ago to establish the church, as well as the building of new structures and improvements ranging from an upgrade from a coal stove to gas for heat in 1956, to the return of stained glass in the Gothic windows in 2015.
Mary Hays, Sharp’s sister-in-law, has been a member at Piney Grove for almost 60 years.
“It’s just amazing how the wooden structure still looks so pretty,” said Hays, who is helping coordinate the anniversary commemoration along with Mitzi Younger, Sharp and other volunteers. “We’re just fortunate that the building has survived and that the congregation has survived as a whole since 1828.”
The Oct. 7 observance will include brief comments and a condensed history of the church presented by different generations of the membership, followed by cake and refreshments and a display of photographs in the fellowship hall. All are welcome.
Piney Grove Church is located at 102 Fernbank Road in Steens. For additional information, contact Sharp at 662-327-1389, or Hays at 662-328-3207.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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