HOPEWELL
ASSOCIATE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN (ARP) CHURCH & CEMETERY-MAURY COUNTY TENNESSEE
Seeing this
site brings back a lot of pleasant memories to me. Among the original members
and perhaps the leader in the establishment of that church was a man named
Matthews. My grandfather was reared in the home of his grandfather also named
Matthews. I think they were brothers although my g-g-g-grandfather Matthews was
a member of the Christian Church. I remember that we visited in the homes of
some of the Matthews connected with Hopewell and, as was the custom out in the
country, I have been to a number of "Revivals" that were conducted
there. Young people in the community usually went to "big meetings" in
all the churches in the community regardless of their religious beliefs. One of
my girlfriends was a member of the Bigbyville Methodist Church and I often went
with her to the Epworth league meetings on Sunday nights. At that time Bethel
Church of Christ only met once a day on Sunday. The Methodist Church
building in Bigbyville was bought from the Church of Christ that met there for a
number of years. When instrumental music began to be introduced into worship
among churches of Christ, a division occurred in that particular church, and it
was decided that they would just dissolve. My grandfather Smith and his family
including my mother had worshiped there. They then began worshiping at Bethel
Church of Christ in Southport. By Jack Dugger, b. 1918. d. Jan 2010. He wrote
this on 5 May 2005 and kept writing until well into 2009.