I read that the good folks

of the Russell Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church recently dedicated

their sanctuary. Evidently, it was a rather large affair.

A history of the church was

read, a procession of ministers was led into the sanctuary, a county commissioner

made a few remarks, a man from the Newnan Ministerial Association spoke

a few words, a choir sang, numerous guests were present, and AME Bishop

Frank Cummings delivered the keynote message. What made this dedication

different from the countless others that occur with great regularity is

that the Russell Temple AME sanctuary was built in 1962!

My guess, and it is only a

guess, is that, following the construction of the new sanctuary 41 years

ago, the church was busy with concerns of the ministry. Probably, a dedication

was thought about and talked about, but, with all that surrounds the construction

of a new facility, plans slipped to the back burner and were forgotten.

In any event, I think it's wonderful that the congregation of Russell

Temple set aside a special day and celebrated, even if it was four decades

later. It just goes to show that it's almost never too late to do the

next right thing!

George Thompson was in his

late 70s when I met him in 1974. A retired coal miner, Mr. Thompson could

neither read nor write for most of his life. When he was 45 years old,

he became a Christian. At some point, Mr. Thompson tired of always having

to depend on someone to read the scriptures to him. So, with great determination,

he began, in his late 40s, to learn to read. By the time I met him, he

was reading the King James Version of the Bible through at least once

a year, was teaching a Sunday School class, and knew the Bible better

than anybody in the church, including the pastor! It wasn't too late

to do the next right thing and learn to read.

A certain woman in our church

was married at the age of 19. Three years later, she had two children

and, the year after that, she returned to college. Two years later, she

graduated from nursing school with an associate's degree in nursing.

Fifteen years later, after working as a registered nurse in a variety

of settings, she decided to go