True Places: A Lowcountry Preacher, His Church, and His People

3. Life, Death, and Renewal

3 Life, Death, and Renewal In August 2003 I received this message rom Reverend Knowlin on my voice mail: “God Bless you, Lanzano Family. `is is your black pastor in South Carolina. Hello Joy! Hello my boy, Francis! Hello Mister Stanley! Stanley, could you call me? I have something important to tell you. I’ll be at my house this aternoon. It’s very important that I talk to you. Call anytime.” Pastor Epps was dead. I lew down wo days later to axend her funeral at Friendship United Methodist Church in Kingstree. `ree hundred and 0fy people came.`e ceremony was very solemn: sad music, simple piano, lixle preaching. Josie Epps was there with her husband. Pastor Epps’s son was there too; his mood was even more bleak than most because he knew he had to go back to prison right ater the funeral. I remember rows of people with crutches, the riends she used to drive back and forth to their doctor and hospital appointments. At the family hour, when I saw her lying in her co2n, I felt an almost unrelieved sadness. I thought about how hard her life had been, and now she was dead. For such a good woman to have such a troubled life made me feel as though she had been shortchanged, and so had we. But at the same time, I remembered how hapv and peaceful she always seemed and how proud she was of her daughters—one a chemical engineer, one a lawyer, and her third girl, Josie, a prominent pastor in Buford, Georgia. I also knew that the other mourners at her funeral, like Reverend Knowlin, accepted the rhythms of life, believing with certainy that there is a reason for everything and that God works in wonderful and mysterious ways. `e elements of life and death are all part of a continuum. Death is no stranger to Reverend Knowlin. When we meet and talk, he oten tells me about another family member who is dying or has just died. `at must be how it is when you have sixteen siblings. `en there are the deaths within his congregation, including Pastor Epps, deaths that he and his people accept with faith and equanimiy.`eir stoic acceptance of death is made easier by the acts of rebirth and renewal that are woven throughout their church year, beginning with “First Sundays.” On the 0rst Sunday of each month the Lighthouse holds Baptism of Deacon Johnny Arthur, Santee River, Georgetown Couny, 1998 (detail) ▲ 84 a special service. People take communion “in commemoration of the Lord’s broken body and spilled blood,” Reverend Knowlin says. “And it’s to remind us of the rebirth of Christ and rededicating yourself to Christ.” On First Sundays all the women and the Reverend dress in white. `e lixle pink church is adorned too. White bunting hangs on the outside, while inside on the podium the upholstered chairs and even the pulpit are completely draped in white fabric. Wearing white gowns with bright purple sashes, the women’s choir sits in pews near the altar and sings songs of praise. It seems like a mini Easter. On Easter Sunday itself, the church is lavishly decorated in white and the people come dressed in their most splendid 0nery. Everyone is smiling and greeting one another joyously. To Reverend Knowlin Easter means “rebirth, lowers, spring,” and most important, “it celebrates Jesus’s resurrection rom the dead.” His people hear his message of redemption and an aura of happiness sexles around them. `ey are proud of their pastor, proud of their children , and proud of themselves; they’re very content to be praying together in the Lighthouse of Jesus Christ.`e essence of baptisms is renewal.`ey take place in the early morning at the Santee River. I once saw a 0sherman just as a baptism started. Reverend Knowlin and his assistants were in the water. `e candidates, their families, and the elders-witnesses were on the shore. `e 0sherman pulled his boat over to the side behind tall grass and sat there for nearly an hour so he would not disturb the reverend and this holy ceremony. While the Lighthouse congregation displays a stoic understanding of death, its baptisms radiate hope. `ey are quiet afairs, with sot humming of spirituals and a small congregation : the candidates are dressed in white, as are their families and most of the...