I recently enjoyed an opportunity to tour St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Greenville, Alabama. A thousand times—since childhood—my eyes have surveyed this beautiful and historic structure. But never had I seen its full glory until member Mary Dearing opened the door and invited me inside. The aroma of old wood wafting from original hardwood floors, pews, and dark-beamed vaulted ceilings all testify to its storied service in this small town of about 7,000.

As we entered, meticulous icons depicting the Stations of the Cross caught my eye. They were all created by local artist Frances Frakes. The Stations of the Cross is a 14-step devotion that commemorates Jesus Christ’s last day on Earth as a man, beginning with His condemnation and ending with His crucifixion. The stations become a mini pilgrimage as the individual moves from one to another. “But look at His hands. All of this little delicate work! When Frances painted, she would roll her fingers with the brush and get a fine, fine, almost living line. How she managed all of this is spectacular. She did not start painting icons until she was in her fifties,” Mary said. Frances, soon to be 99, also designed the needlepoint for the kneeling benches and cushions for the altar rail. When Hurricane Ivan took off the roof, Frances painted the roof singles blown off in the storm. These were sold to raise money for a Habitat for Humanity house in Haiti. “We sold about a thousand,” Mary said. “Frances loves this church.  

“We have very, very talented people,” Mary continued, showing me a painting by artist Lucy McGowin. “And we love our wake table. Do you know the history of the wake table? They’re Irish. It was pushed against the wall like this. But at the funeral, they pulled it out. The leaves open up, and you would sit around the table and drink to whoever’s on the table. I hope the body was always at least in a box.” Mary laughed.

According to its website, www.stthomasgreenville.org, St. Thomas Episcopal had its beginning in 1858 as an Episcopal mission led by Rev. James Jarratt to Lowndes and Butler Counties. Its original church building was completed in 1861. The church struggled through the War Between the States, becoming a self-sustaining parish in 1867—the year Rev. Jarratt died. His remains are actually buried beneath the stunning memorial window of today’s structure. Present Rector Rev. Linda Suzanne Borgen told me, “Every once in a while, the youth group talks me into going down there to let them look at the marker. They call it a ‘field trip.'”

As the story goes, Rev. Upton, priest at the time the new church was constructed in 1896, designed the church. “As we are aware, there was no architect. And they say he literally touched every brick. But how they came up with the idea of using flooring to make the doors was incredible,” Mary said. And I agree. These patinaed masterpieces, at least to me, display marvelous symbolism. Their fronts consist of tight-set vertical planks, while the reverse side planks are fastened horizontally. I wonder if the craftsman who made them ever considered how many “old rugged crosses” the doors embrace as each vertical plank is crossed by a horizontal plank, giving each door immeasurable durability. The doors bring a verse to mind: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
(John 10: 9 KJV)

As Mary and I meandered about, she pointed out other creative art, special memorials and unique architectural antiques throughout the sanctuary. It dawned on me that this church was, of sorts, a work of love filled with works of love, a place of worship filled with special memories and thanksgiving. Indeed, the creativity of St. Thomas families through the years is dispositive of the infinite creative nature of God. As Mary explained, “I did the fourth grade for a long time. When they came in for a tour, I tried to get them to understand how important families were long ago in churches. If they took pretty much everything out of this church, except the walls and the pews, everything was given by families. Like the Lily Window—Bob Crosby’s family. The dollar sign window was a gift from the Herbert family.” (At first glance, the first three letters in the Latin word for Christ, transliterated into English, look like a dollar sign.)

“The Rose Window was put in honor of Mr. Billy Blackwell, whose family was very active in the church. Our head deacon, he died at, like, 103. He sat at the very back row every Sunday right here and would count the number of people at service. And (the table) underneath the altar—the Dunklin family gave this. The organ is referred to as ‘Miss Mary’s organ’ because she played the organ. That organ pipe, right there (hanging on the wall) was made by one of our organists. He made it in memory of Pat Richard, who had been our organist for years. There’s so much in here that is just given out of love. And I think that is probably the most wonderful part of this little church,” Mary said.    

The Camillia City Tour of Homes takes place annually in October. Some historic Greenville churches may be included. For more information, contact the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce: 334-382-3251.

This Thanksgiving season, as you give thanks, remember: You are His work of love.