As we walked among the ancient tombstones at Christ Church on St. Simons Island, we marveled at the age of many of them. We saw the church building behind the graves. The exterior of the beautiful little church was covered with white clapboards and had a grey shingled roof. A steeple was attached to one side, about center of the of the sanctuary wall. It rose from the ground up and the base served as the foyer into the church. The shingled spire rose several feet above the roofline and had a tall cross on top. Beautiful stained-glass windows portrayed the history of Christianity and Christ Church.
Over 20,000 visitors explore the church and cemetery annually. Tours are given through the church, but no one appeared to be there giving them at that time. I so badly wanted to see inside of the church that General James Oglethorpe, with the leadership of Charles and John Wesley, had founded. A wide red-brick sidewalk, with gas lanterns on its sides, led up to the steepled entrance.
As we approached, a church member named Bess walked out to greet us. She said, “Welcome. You’re a little early. Where is the rest of the group?” We were confused. She explained that she was there to give a tour through the church to a busload of senior adults, and we explained that we were not with the group. She graciously asked if we would like to see inside, while she waited on the others to arrive. I realized that she was an answer to my prayer. Our meeting was a divine appointment!
The Gothic Revival style inside was much more beautiful and moving than the exterior. The open ceiling with its exposed joists all matched the walnut-colored walls. The colorful stained-glass windows, set in the dark wood which completely filled the interior, popped with brilliant colors. Some of the pictures were of Jesus, Simon Peter and the Wesley brothers. As we eased up and down the aisle, I noticed plaques attached to the ends of certain pews. They contained the names of presidents who had sat there in worship. There was Calvin Cooledge, in 1928; Jimmy Carter, but no date; and George H.W. Bush in 1991. Woodrow Wilson had also been, but no one knows where he sat. My name won’t be on a pew, but I was so blessed to simply visit Christ Church!
Later that afternoon, we toured another great landmark on St. Simons: the lighthouse and museum. A two-story, red-brick lightkeeper house sits at the bottom of the white lighthouse. The 104-feet tall, cone shaped brick-and-iron tower was built in 1872. The original lighthouse, built in 1810, was destroyed by Confederate troops in 1862 so Union warships could not use it. The original lighthouse was built by James Gould, who then became the lightkeeper for the first 27 years. I am currently reading about Mr. Gould in, “The Lighthouse;” the first book in a trilogy by Eugena Price. She is buried at Christ Church. Jean and I climbed the 129-step circular staircase, where we looked out across the breathtaking views of St. Simons Island and across the water at neighboring Jekyll Island.
The next day we visited Driftwood Beach, on Jekyll. This eerily beautiful sand beach is full of giant live oak driftwood trees and roots. They have been pushed over by the ocean tide but remain on the beach. From Driftwood Beach we looked across at St. Simons Lighthouse, where we had stood the day before looking across at Jekyll Island. God has indeed blessed that area with His creation, as well as some of mankind’s work too.
Bill King can be reached at bkpreach@yahoo.com.
