I spent my fourth Sunday morning in the presence of Jimmy Carter, as he taught the congregation at the Plains Maranatha Baptist church a weekly lesson from the Bible, on September 23, 2007. Since I knew that the town was crowded from the Peanut Festival and P.O.W. gathering in the area, I pushed Mom and Bob to rise and shine early and speed into Plains in order for us to get in line and get good seats in the church. After we loaded the car and ate a somewhat leisurely breakfast (although Mom might tell you differently), we were on our way at about 7:10am.
Denise and Aaron decided not to try to get Adam up early, so they didn’t show up to the church for a couple of hours after we did. Ashleigh had slept in their room at the Days Inn in Americus, so she came along with them as well. I had a nice time in line chatting with some folks from a society supporting Jimmy Carter – one that Carter and his family are both active with. Some of them were from our neck of the woods in Ohio and Kentucky. We were admitted to the church by about 8:30 am. The Secret Service, as always, were on their toes, inspecting our cameras and ‘wanding’ us for weapons. We ended up in the center section of the church, fourth row. Everyone who attended that day was fairly lucky as there were no tour buses in attendance, so everyone got into the sanctuary. Miss Jan, as per usual, guided us through the ins and outs of our visit to Maranatha.
The sun was coming up as we arrived. Mom read a romance novel and Bob read a Mopar mag.
Note our place in line for the small church
Since Denise, Aaron, Ashleigh, and Adam didn’t arrive until close to 9:30, they were initially seated in the overspill room. This area is set up with a close-circut video of the proceedings. I grabbed Ashleigh and squeezed her into our pew. Denise and Aaron decided that the overspill room might actually be best for them since they had Adam. But fortunately, there was a nursery available, so he stayed in there and played. Their time in the overspill room worked out fairly well for them though, as President Carter always greets those in the room before he enters the sanctuary. And since there were very few in there, they were able to have a bit of personal interaction with him. After Carter came in to speak to the congregation, those in the overspill room were able to move out into the sanctuary into the few available seats, hence the photo below of Denise passing behind President Carter. They wound up in the left side of the church a little over mid-way back.
President Carter, pleasant as always
Denise breaches security and approaches the former-President’s back. She was wrestled and thrown to the ground by Secret Service. (Okay, I’m making all of this up)
Carter initially greeted the room as he always does and asked where everyone is from. This is the time when it is appropriate to take pictures of the former President. During his greeting, he announced his plans to visit the Sudan on one of his many peace missions.
The teaching for the day was from the book of Genesis and centered around the separation of Ishmael and his mother Hagar from the family of Abraham. Carter is always sharp as a whip in his recitation and understanding of scripture and, more importantly, he does an excellent job of relating the lesson to our modern day lives. This lesson was no exception, and still extrememly relevant as he explained how Muslims trace their heritage back to Abraham – just the same as Jews and Christians do, which went a long way to explain the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
As has become my perspective during more recent visits to Maranatha, I become so enthralled with Carter’s powerful and interesting lesson that I scarcely remember that he is a former President – and that we are participating in something historical, the only Sunday School class taught by a former President of the United States.
Naturally we stayed for church and then followed up our morning at Maranatha by having our photos taken with Jimmy and Rosalynn. Once again, I was not happy with my shot. Lois Rockwell – the lady in charge of the Rockwell video and tape ministry – took the photo of Ashleigh and me and took about six feet of sky while cutting our legs off. Blast! But I guess beggars can’t be choosers. This was my fourth photo-op with President Carter. The Carters brought along a bucket of boiled peanuts and after our photo was taken, President Carter invited us to grab some on the way out.
The Chandlers meet the Carters
The Ockermans meet the Carters
The Carters request a meeting with the F*rrells
Afterwards, we all stopped at the Plains welcome center and changed our clothes and had a quick coldcut lunch while battling the incessant gnats. The Ockermans headed out and made their way toward Disney World, while Mom, Bob, Ash, and I hung around in Plains for about an hour. I grabbed a photo at the hospital where Carter was born, saw the Billy Carter Service Station now currently under restoration, and browsed the traditional antique and souvenir shops on Main Street. After five visits, the place is starting to feel like my second home.
Billy Carter’s Service Station under reconstruction
Ashleigh and me, denizens of Plains
And oh yes, I had some great peanut butter ice-cream.
Continued in Kissimmee, home of Disney World, my other home away from home…
Brad-
You may be interested to know that my old boss, Paul Tipps, served as an adviser on Carter’s ’80 presidential campaign and still stays in contact with him. He loved the pictures.
Aaron
October 15th, 2007
Aaron, check with Ed Tangeman, I think that was one of his former bosses.
Dad
October 15th, 2007