[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 12, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E699-E700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN RECOGNITION OF THE 133RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE BRIGHT HOPEWELL 
                       MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. LARRY KISSELL

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 12, 2011

  Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a very 
special occasion--the 133rd anniversary of Bright Hopewell Missionary 
Baptist Church in Laurinburg, North Carolina. I would like to highlight 
some moments from the history of the church.
  Early in 1878, a small group of men and their families conceived the 
idea of having a church in their community. They met from one family 
home to another for a short period of time. They searched the 
surrounding community and found a place they desired for a church. The 
land was located on the north side of Dickson Street in Laurinburg, 
North Carolina, which was a part of Richmond County at this time. On 
May 1, 1878, the men and their Chairman-Deacon and Trustee Adam Johnson 
met with the land owner, Mr. William W. McLaurin. An agreement was made 
to purchase the land for $50. The parcel of land was 100 feet by 125 
feet. The agreement stated that the land was to be used for religious 
purposes, or it would revert to the McLaurin Family. Mr. Adam Johnson 
sold a bale of cotton to secure the money for the purchase of the 
parcel.
  The men pulled a house upon the lot and the first church was 
established in May 1878. The land was deeded to Adam Johnson, Trustee 
of the Laurinburg Colored Baptist Church from William McLaurin and was 
recorded in deed book DD at page 45. A second deed written on Nov. 30, 
1892 records the sale of a portion of land also on Dickson Street. The 
deeds indicated that Mr. and Mrs. L.A. Monroe sold the land to the 
trustees of the church. Their names appear on the deed as Adam Johnson, 
Hugh A. Gilchrist, Edmund Jones, and Riley Wall. The sale was made for 
$225. This land was secured for a parsonage. The church bought a frame 
house and moved it on this property and the parsonage was used for many 
years. The parsonage was torn down in 1964.
  In December of 1905, the church asked its Deacons to purchase the lot 
of land east and north of the church lot. The men purchased the land on 
December 21, 1905 from the same William W. McLaurin for $200. The lot 
purchased by this deed was 50 feet of frontage extending 175 feet 
north, 150 feet west, and 50 feet south to the existing church lot on 
Dickson Street. The church property now measured 150 feet of frontage 
by 175 feet in the form of a rectangle. This second deed was recorded 
on December 23, 1905, in Scotland County.
  Church Services were held the first and third Sundays of each month 
for a number of years. For baptisms, water had to be carried from a 
well in the church yard to a nearby outdoor pool. The outside frame for 
this pool could be seen behind the Dickson Street Church. Prior to the 
building of the outside pool, candidates for baptism were baptized in 
Roper's Mill Pond.
  In 1917, a house east of the church was used as a parsonage. The 
church, which was rebuilt in 1917, was a wood frame building facing 
south on Dickson Street.
  Prior to its remodeling, the frame building contained a belfry with a 
huge bell that could be heard from at least a mile away. The residents 
of Washington Park could distinctly hear the bell ring for Sunday 
School and eleven o'clock church services. They could also hear its 
toll when there was a death among its members. Two large sycamore trees 
were located on both sides of the front yard. The choir loft was 
located on the right side of the pulpit. During later years a pool was 
constructed under the floor behind the pulpit and an extension was 
added to the building on each side. Later, inside the back of the 
church bathrooms were added. A corner stone which was brick veneered 
many years ago was placed on the right front of the church to indicate 
the church was rebuilt in 1917. This cornerstone was installed in 1949 
when some repairs were made in the old church.
  From 1878 until 1900 the church was part of Richmond County. Scotland 
County was formed in 1899 and began functioning in late 1900. Around 
this time the members of the church also decided they wanted to use a 
name other than Laurinburg Colored Church. After 1900, and in the new 
Scotland County, they chose the name Bright Hopewell Baptist Church.
  In 1938-39 the wood frame church was remodeled inside. The outside of 
the church was bricked all around by some of the students of 
bricklaying classes and their teacher from Laurinburg Institute. Most 
of the students were members and friends of the church.
  Bright Hopewell became a stationed church in 1948-49. The parsonage 
became a meeting place for auxiliaries of the church. Plans were made 
and several hundred dollars were raised for the building of an 
education building. The parsonage was soon torn down to make room for 
an educational building.
  In 1978, the church moved to a new location. Bright Hopewell 
purchased over ten acres of property on March 20, 1978 for $69,000 from 
the Caldwell Estate. The property was located on North Main Street. A 
new church building on North Main Street was begun in June of 1983 on 
the purchased property. The new church was finished, entered, and 
dedicated on March 25, 1984. The old church on Dickson Street was 
offered for sale and sold for $60,000 plus $6,500 for the furniture. 
The payments on the Dickson Street Property began in 1984 and were 
extended over a period of years. A new educational annex began on the 
church on North Main Street in early 1986 and was completed in November 
1986. The education building annex was not dedicated until over a year 
later. The dedication program was delayed until 1988. In July 1999, the 
mortgage was paid in full. A Mortgage Burning Ceremony was held at The 
Highlands on Plant Road in Laurinburg. The new fellowship hall was 
completed in 2002. The fellowship hall is equipped with a commercial 
kitchen and is large enough to accommodate church and community 
functions.

[[Page E700]]

  Since 1878 the church has had more than twenty dynamic pastors and 
ministers and many trustees and deacons who have served well over the 
years.
  Inspirational choirs have sung praises for Bright Hopewell. Bright 
Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church has a glorious past of spirituality, 
perseverance, hard work, and determination. I have enjoyed each time I 
have worshiped at Bright Hopewell. It is by the Grace of God that it 
stands firm after all these years. With God's guidance the church looks 
forward to a brighter future.
  I congratulate Bright Hopewell Baptist Church on their 133rd 
anniversary and wish the pastor, the Reverend Garland E. Pierce, and 
the congregation the best in the years to come.

                          ____________________