Fulton Pentecostal Church of God in Christ

Growing up, my postal address was Fulton, California, but we lived out in the country rather than next to the post office, couple of country stores, a gas station and houses that made up the town proper. Oh, and there was a church.

I lived in that house for about two fifths of my life and went by that church hundreds and hundreds of times. And never went inside. Many of the times we passed the church we were on the way to our church (for years at Santa Rosa First Presbyterian Church and for years at Wikiup/Santa Rosa Evangelical Free Church). This made the Fulton Pentecostal Church of God in Christ a priority for Mindy and me in our church tours.

As it turned out, this was a special but difficult day in the life of the church. Their pastor for the last 26 years, James Franklin Marchbanks, passed away May 4th, and this past week the official memorial services were held. Therefore, much of this service was a continuation of those remembrances.

Mindy had misremembered the time of the service, looking for it on the sign outside the church. She thought the worship service time was 10:00 am, but when we arrived we saw that the sign actually said Sunday School was at 10:00 am and the worship service was at 11:30 am. Mindy went inside to make sure, and was told the service time was actually noon.

So we went home and came back a bit before the service began. At a quarter to twelve there were plenty of seats in the pews to choose from, though there were some folks already there, including seniors and mothers with small children. (The little girl in the pew of front of us was occupied with her action figures: among then a Star Wars storm trooper and Batman's Bane, both capable of flight. Many of the kids in the service were occupied with their parent's phones). When the service began at noon, most seats were filled and as the service went on more people came and crammed themselves in or stood in the back of the room or on the side.

There were no screens for songs and no hymnals or song sheets. The singing was mostly done with a call and response but at times I didn't catch the words. But we could always clap. A variety of people led music through the service; a keyboard, three guitars, singers, drums and tambourines in the congregation accompanied the songs.

A young woman read Psalm 133 about the brothers living together in unity, though she didn't identify the Scripture. (Mindy said there was a program for the service that probably identified the Scripture but there weren't many copies. I never saw one.)

In tribute to Pastor Marchbanks there were also two songs accompanied by dance (although I don't think it was called dance, it was called "spiritual movement" or something like that); both women who performed did so gracefully and in a true spirit of worship, with one of them wearing a choir robe.

A time was provided to share memories about Pastor Marchbanks, but people were encouraged to speak for only a couple of minutes and respect the time of others. A number of people spoke of Pastor Marchbanks and his wife, First Lady Deborah, as having welcomed them as family into their lives.

A woman came forward and introduced herself as Felicia. She spoke of Pastor Marchbanks assisting with the track and cross country teams while she attended Comstock Junior High School and Piner High School.

Sidebar - Our chosen theme for this month is rural and small town churches, but a subtheme has emerged: the first week this month, we met a friend of mine from Comstock and Piner in Nevada City where his son-in-law is pastor of a church. Last week we met a Comstock/Piner friend of mine in Ukiah and went to church. To keep up the trend, I posted a facebook request for a Piner friend to go to church with us this week, but no one responded. And then Felicia, who went to Comstock and Piner with me, spoke in front of the church. And we had a chance to chat after church. Sidebar done.

Felicia went on to say that she was a part of the local Native American community that had been welcomed into this primarily African American church. Not only did Pastor Marchbanks facilitate ministry in the Native American community, a Hispanic pastor came forward to talk about the church's ministry to his community. Through an interpreter he gave praise to the departed Pastor Marchbanks and the Lord. First Lady Deborah shared that years ago they noticed that they had Spanish speaking visitors that came for the music ministry of the church, but couldn't learn from the Word that was spoken. So they brought in someone to lead Spanish language services that continue at the church to this day.

After a number of people had a chance to share, the choir came up for a final number. Then a visiting speaker, Brother Tillis shared a short message about the encouragement he received from Pastor Marchbanks.

There's something strange about attending a memorial of someone you didn't know. I felt regret for all those years I bypassed this church and a chance to get to know this man admired by many for his godliness. On the other hand, heaven will be full of joyful meetings with people I heard about, but never go to know on earth.

Statistics: 

Service Length: 1 hour 32 minutes

Sermon Length: 10 minutes

Visitor Treatment: We were welcomed at the door and greeted by several people after we sat down. No greeting time in the service, and no method for recording visitors. There was a meal afterward that all were casually invited to.

Our Rough Count: 60

Probable Ushers' Count: 100

Snacks: meal in the kitchen, but we didn't look in

Songs: My Soul Loves Jesus

            Glory, Glory, Hallelujah since I Lay my Burdens Down

            Ain't Nobody Loves me like Jesus

            Jesus Said it

            (dance) I Can't Live without You

            (solo) What a Mighty God we Serve

            (dance) I'm Overwhelmed by You

             another song

            (choir) He Lives

Miles to place: 1.5 

Total California Miles: 7,903

-- Dean

First Baptist Church, Nevada City

A Piner High School connection led us to visit Nevada City First Baptist Church for our first stop in Rural/Small Town Churches Month. When I asked for church visiting suggestions on Facebook, my old friend Dave suggested we visit his son-in-law's church. ("It's a small world" said a woman we chatted with in the church, "But I wouldn't want to paint it.")

We arrived in town a while before the service time, so we wandered around. There are a number of historical landmarks and buildings dating back to the days of the Gold Rush (and earlier -- the area was once a Maidu village.) Most places were still closed  -- except several coffee places -- but we saw a museum, the county buildings, and the library's used book sale, along with New Age bookstores and a marijuana dispensary. The town is charming but perhaps has a dark side (like Charming, a reference for Sons of Anarchy fans). Next door to the First Baptist Church is a place called "Divine Spark" that serves the homeless (or "houseless", the organization's preferred nomenclature). A large crowd was waiting at the building for grocery bags, clothing, shoes, food for pets, and breakfast. First Baptist also serves the "houseless" of the community with lunch on Mondays and Wednesdays.

We met Dave and his wife Debi outside the church just before the service. The building had been built by a Congregational congregation and was simple but elegant. One of the deacons asked Dave if he'd consider serving as an usher. After we sat down, the same deacon asked Dave if he might be able to serve communion that day because an usher hadn't shown yet (but the other usher made it in time).

After the welcome, the congregation sang happy birthday to Betty, who was later described to us as a sweet, godly woman. This was the first church we visited in a very long time that didn't have a screen in front and the first in a many weeks that used a hymnal (copyright 1989 by an imprint of  Hope Publishing which was founded by Mindy's great grandfather). I'm afraid I tend to sing a little too loud when it's hymns (and a Gaither chorus) from my younger days. Two women led the singing accompanied by a husband and wife team playing piano and a standup bass.

There was a short but lively greeting time. Among the announcements was one for adult Sunday School that had just started, studying the book of Revelation (led by Pastor Roland, who has published a book on the End Times). Their schedule for Sunday School is three months on and one month off. Also, a midweek study on healing is beginning this week. (We had lunch after church with Pastor Roland, and he said that since healing and deliverance were central to the ministry of Jesus, he would like have both become a part of the ministry of First Baptist.)

Communion was served prior to the sermon, though apparently the usual church practice was to serve it after the sermon the first Sunday of the month. Pastor Roland said that they were "tradition breakers" but that it was okay, since there's no prescribed order of service in Scripture.

The sermon was on the first two verses of Romans 12, the urging of the Apostle Paul to sacrifice our bodies in worship and transform our transform our minds into conformity to God's will. It was stated that every day we must present ourselves and everything we have to the Lord's service. Pastor Roland argued that we must transform our minds to no longer conform to the patterns of the world. The example of caterpillars and butterflies was given, suggesting we should perhaps cocoon ourselves in away from the world enclosed with Biblical truth so this transformation can be completed.

The service ended with two more songs, the final one serving as a benediction. Afterward, a number of people went upstairs for coffee and snacks. We were glad to see an electric chair lift on the steep staircase (Mindy had been wondering how some of the elderly members of the congregation were able to get to the upstairs fellowship room, which was also the location for the adult Sunday school class. Betty, whose birthday it was, used the chair to glide up the stairway).

As I mentioned, we went with Pastor Roland and his wife, Andrea, as well as our friends Dave and Debi, to lunch. But we were delayed. Some people who had missed breakfast at Divine Spark came by, and so Pastor Roland offered them food. He went back into the church to find the leftovers from coffee time.

I talked with Dave about the church. He and Debi are able to attend the church they've attended for years in Grass Valley along with this church. He understandably wants to be with his daughter (whom Mindy considers "one of the sweetest people in the world"), his son-in-law and any grandchildren that will make their way in the world. He said he appreciates the family atmosphere in the church. That is something that a megachurch in a large city has great difficulty replicating.

Statistics:

Service Length: 1 hour 8 minutes

Sermon Length: 29 minutes

Visitor Treatment: Two gentlemen stood at the entrance to greet and give bulletins. We were welcomed and asked if we were visiting. Just inside, a man introduced himself as a deacon and asked if we were visiting (he also hugged us). As we waited for the worship service to begin, several people introduced themselves and asked if we were visiting for the first time. During the worship service, there was a lively greeting time, and several others introduced themselves.

Our Rough Count: 40

Probable Ushers' Count: 50

Snacks: coffee, lemonade, water, fruit, pastries and donuts in an upstairs fellowship room after the worship service

Songs: All for Jesus

            Jesus is Lord of All

           There is a Redeemer

           I Surrender All

           Make me a Servant

Miles to place: 164 miles

Total California Miles: 7,794

-- Dean