In the fall of 1872, the Black members of Cloud’s Creek Baptist Church, who were former slaves, petitioned to create a separate church.
The following year, the pastor and deacons assisted 18 churchgoers as they left Cloud's Creek and moved just a few miles down the road to found Piney Grove Baptist Church.
It marked a space in the majority-white county for Black worshippers to gather and worship, and a century and a half later, that space still remains.
A congregation of about 30 members gathered for a service on Aug. 20 at Piney Grove in Comer to commemorate the church's 151 years of ministry.
The anniversary, or homecoming, was a special occasion for Piney Grove, said Magdalene Collins Mobley, a longstanding member of the church and a poet.
“Homecoming has always been a part of our church history,” she said. “It’s something we look forward to every year, even though it's not as grand as it used to be. This place used to be packed, but now since the pandemic, it’s not as many people.”
The celebration began with a prayer before Senior Pastor Drakkar Kilpatrick led worship.
Kilpatrick, an Athens native, received his ministry license in 2014 and was appointed Piney Grove's pastor in 2016.
“This is the day that the Lord has made. We should rejoice and be glad,” Kilpatrick said during opening remarks. “Today, we are observing a day of homecoming. This is our homecoming service where those who call Piney Grove home are here, and we are so glad that all of you are here in the house of the Lord.”
Church members could be seen cheering, dancing and singing along with the choir and Kilpatrick's sermon throughout the service.
Later, the members exited the building and walked a few feet to a small building, where they gather for meals. The menu included home-cooked green beans, mac and cheese, fried chicken, potato salad, ham and cabbage.
The fellowship hall also serves as the children’s church, but up until 1955, that same building was formerly a one-room schoolhouse where the members received their education.
The oldest surviving member, Annie Lue Nowels, 98, attended the old school when she was just 6 years old — and never left.
“She was born and raised in Oglethorpe,” her daughter, Reba L. Williams, said on her behalf. “This is the only church she knew, and this is where she was baptized at and grew up at. She came to this place for school, and the church was next door, so she just continued to come.”
There have been numerous changes after 151 years. The church burned down in the early 1900s, and was reconstructed in 1913 across the street.
Williams, though, said improvements to the church have increased significantly over time.
“We’ve had a lot of work done to the church,” she said. “We had a ramp put in on the outside and inside. New speakers for everybody else to be able to listen and see us online. We had a (projector) screen put in so you can see the words and everything when (Kilpatrick) is preaching. We had new bathrooms put in, a new organ and a new pianist.”
However, the church's material improvements pale in comparison to the feelings and memories that it has given to the Black community in Oglethorpe County for more than a century.
“Because it’s been here so long and everybody’s set in their ways of coming, it just feels like a whole family,” Williams said. “It’s kind of hard to just go somewhere else when you know you’re needed here.”