Old Regular Baptist Foot-Washin': July 29, 1973

rectly about the preacher and of a bevy of black-bonneted old women never wavered , but the attention of the audience at large was only caught and held when he got to weeping and shrieking and working on their feelings as to the dead babies. Finally one woman jumped up and began shouting, which was the signal for handshaking to begin; and while the preacher preached frantically on, number two of the preachers got up and lined out one of their minor pathetic hymns; the hymn went on, the handshaking went on, and the preacher went on almost insanely until finally announcements were "published" for funerals next September, nearly a year off. The meeting was pronounced by all a pretty meeting indeed. Long since, sitting When we arrived at the Ivy Point ohurch at about 10 a.m. the singing was over which had probably started at about 9 a.m., or 9:30, and the moderator of the church, Nelson Seals, was speaking. Four different preachers preached at the service . The preachers that I can remember were Nelson Seals, O. Baldridge, and Leonard Slone. The preaching was differon those logs in that heavenly spot, that joy of "all's right with the world" had died out of our hearts; and in its place was a great ache for the tragedy of souls before us—all this assembly, indeed all the inhabitants of these mountains, asking for bread and receiving a stone. And most of all this soul hunger has so long fed on ashes and husks that husks they want, just as eating wrong food engenders an unnatural appetite or relish; not a practical suggestion, not a single help for their religion for everyday . In fact, they have no practical religion and no opportunity to get any from their preachers. Those meetings are their diversions and social intercourse; but their religious convictions are sincere and deep rooted, as all illiterate people attest. ent from any I had ever heard. Their sermons pertained mostly to the preacher's own personal experiences and feelings rather than scriptural references. Sometimes when preaching and singing they held their hand over their ear. After each sermon there was usually a song. One thing that I found to be very different from most churches in this area was the seating arOLD REGULAR BAPTIST FOOT-WASHIN' July 29, 1973 Ivy Point During the past summer two student workers, Frieda Mullins * and Diana Hall, spent a good deal of time visiting and interviewing Sam Johnson, an 81-year old Regular Baptist preacher and former moderator of the Ivy Point Reguhr Baptist Church. They learned a great deal about some aspects of mountain life they had scarcely known before. Near the end of the summer, they attended the special yearly foot-washing meeting of the Ivy Point Church. They were asked to record their memories and relictions to the ceremony. Comparing this with J. W. HaWs description of foot-washing ceremonies in the Summer '73 issue can give some insight as to how tradition persists and survives through change. 20 rangement of the church members. The members sat up front, behind the table serving as a pulpit. The women sat on one side of the church and the men sat on the other. The service was very informal because while the preacher preached people would talk and say things like "That's right," "Praise the Lord," and "Amen, Brother Baldridge." Some of the church members arrived late and while a sermon was being given people would get up and walk out and babies would cry and children kept running in and out of the building. There was so much of this going on that it was hard sometimes to hear what the preacher was saying. It was not uncommon to see men crying and women crying and shouting. The entire service lasted around four and a half hours. After the sermons were over, Ed Mosley, the oldest preacher there, sang a warning song which he wrote himself. Then there was a break so that they could get ready for the sacrament and the people could smoke and visit the small shack perched on the hill in front of...