Our Church in the Dale

I love Old Center Church in the dale
It’s a sacred place I remember so well
Look one way the steep mountain rises high
Look the other way Paint Rock river flowing by.

It was founded by a confederate soldier way back in time
He preached the word and people walked the line
They had no modern conveniences as we have today
They didn’t need that to know how to pray.

Families that prayed together usually stayed together
People prayed for divine guidance to lead them right
They prayed for the lost, the sick,
the stranger in the night
They prayed for the Church, the pastor,
the nation to be a light.

Since the church was founded,
may years have come and gone
People worked and toiled, trusting God
to be the cornerstone.
They read and studied the word as
they laid the foundation
Trusting in years to come, many would find salvation.

Many have been brought to the saving
knowledge of the truth,
Lived for God and brought forth much precious fruit.
We are not to love just in word and in tongue,
but in deed and in truth
By so doing we will to the world give proof.

Back through the years many parents
have done gone home
Hoping they had instilled in each child faith
that would carry them on.
Yet many have wandered far from the fold
Out in the bleak mountains, hungry and cold.

Sometimes the good shepherd picks up a wee lamb
Carries it gently and safely to the other side
Giving the parents a chance to consider and
Give up a world of sin and foolish pride.

After all these years Center Church sti II thrives
All though it has it’s dry seasons, we know why.
If Gods children will humbly come confessing
We will once again experience showers of blessings.

Written by Sis. Georgie Jones

2006