Tucked away among Canton’s winding roads is a country church named after a single tree that survived centuries. Much like its namesake, Lone Pine United Methodist Church has survived many iterations. This year, it has transformed once again, thanks to the generosity and hard work of its community.
Renovations are underway with a wheelchair ramp for its elderly members. Reverend Cary Rickman endeavored to make entering the church easier for those who have loved it the longest. “Our contractor built this ramp out here,” says Rickman. “It is state of the art. That is one of the major things in the church that we’re very proud of.”
The foundation of the church had begun to give by the time Rickman arrived in 2011. Bees had also taken up residence in the far wall. Says Rickman, “This church was deeded in 1867, and that’s quite a while back. So, I go, sometimes, where angels fear to tread.”
Righting the foundation and getting rid of the bees was a monumental task conducted with the help of a contractor from Pelahatchie’s Dry Creek Contractors.
“I came 8 years ago, and there were five people,” Rickman remembers. “And I thought, ‘Is there any way that we can reinvent the wheel of a church?’”
To help restore this church in the wildwood, Rickman employed Patrick Wofford of Dry Creek Carpentry, Inc. Wofford removed the windows in the back room, adjacent to the sanctuary, and restored each one to its original condition. Wofford put new cabinets in place and installed a new kitchen area in the back room.
The exterior siding of the church building was also replaced.
“A lot of that wood was original to the church,” Wofford explains.
A painter was contracted to touch up the building after the new siding was installed.
Old wood paneling and cabinetry was replaced by cypress, birch-type plywood and maple.
“The beautiful sanding of these floors and that wood grain has caught a lot of attention from the outsiders, and it’s really amazing,” says Rickman. Walking into the sanctuary today, it’s as if the very bones of Lone Pine have been revived through meticulous renovation and attention to detail.
Since Rickman’s arrival, the church’s interior isn’t the only element transformed. Their congregation has tripled. This is a rural environment, Rickman points out, and that doesn’t negate its needing a warm caring church. He describes a church as beyond brick and mortar. In his opinion, the people make this church. Old members hold family reunions here, like the large Woods Family Reunion.
Anita Hussey is one of the newer members who has fallen in love with Lone Pine.
“I’m 78 – this is what I was hungry for,” Hussey explains. “It’s a small, country church. This church, this minister, is what I was hungry for, and God brought me here. I’m centering on myself, and I see it in so many other people too, and we’re not known about, but that’s okay.”
Hussey says the church reminds her of Tennessee Ernie Ford’s Church in the Wildwood. Rickman has matched that historic aesthetic with a traditional approach to worship. The push to put the church on the National Registry of Historic Places is a work in progress, and more challenges remain.
“We are right now going through the trauma of needing new pews, because the pews are beginning to fall apart,” says Rickman.
Lone Pine has plans to change out their red look to a navy-blue padding on the pews. Rickman also hopes to transform part of the back room into a prayer room that can also double as a children’s room when needed. A stained glass window will be added to the eventual prayer room. Says Rickman, “There are still a few more things to come.”
Another significant change is the sign out front, courtesy of the Southeastern Sign Company. It too will need replacing soon, as the church continues to evolve. Lone Pine’s Sunday services has moved to 9:30 a.m. on the first, third, and occasional fifth Sundays of every month to better help its members make the service.
As Lone Pine’s transformative period continues, its growth is catching with its significant place in history. The church was once a seminary for women, far ahead of its time. Its presence was recorded eloquently in the Christian Advocate in 1899. “A more quiet and appropriate place to build a house to the Lord has never appeared to me,” wrote the presiding elder of the District, T.B. Holloman.
“It’s just a wonderful place to be,” agrees Hussey. “I look forward to Sunday and I go home smiling.”
