July 30.
This was a really busy day for a day off! On Sunday we got up early to go to Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains to attend President Jimmy Carter’s Sunday School class. We had to leave by about 7:25 to get there by 7:40 and get our place in line. We learned during orientation that the people in the very first row had arrived at 4:30 a.m. to begin their wait. Our entire group received number 36 and stood off to the side. The doors open at 8:00 a.m. and orientation starts at 9:00. Four hundred fifty people are allowed in the building according to the fire marshall’s regulations and that is all who get in on any given Sunday. Though it wasn’t the case very often in the past, with President Carter reaching age 92, there are now frequently Sundays when people are turned away.
At 8:00 a.m. the line began filtering in, were checked by Secret Service, and got seated by the ushers. As we were sitting there before orientation, I thought how it must be both a blessing and a curse to have a former president teaching Sunday School. Becky, sitting next to me, showed me the attendance record in the bulletin where last Sunday’s attendance was 25 members and 473 guests. About all the questions I idly asked Becky while we sat there were answered during orientation.
Miss Jan did the orientation. First she sent us all to the restroom so we would be back in our seats for orientation. She said that President and Mrs. Carter joined the church the first Sunday President Reagan was sworn in. It was a pretty new church then, and President Carter asked how they could best help. Miss Jan said she would like some really pretty offering plates. So President Carter went home and made some offering plates. He made the cross which hangs up in front from persimmon wood. He also made some other furniture for the church which we didn’t get to see.
The church takes its unique mission very seriously. They know that they have a unique opportunity to reach people who wouldn’t normally go to church. They have heard back from people who have never been to church and from people who haven’t been to church in thirty years, but decided to come to President Carter’s Sunday School class. They believe their mission is to plant the seed of God’s love.
Miss Jan is a retired teacher, something that most of us guessed from her ability to handle the crowd and give instructions. She told us what we were allowed to do and what we were not, and when we were allowed to take pictures and when the cameras and phones had to be put away. She said we were not to stand when President Carter came in the room, nor were we to clap. That’s because you don’t clap or stand when your Sunday School teacher comes in the room. We practiced saying where we were from. He likes to find out what states and countries people are from that day. But she said if your state has already been mentioned, then you don’t mention it. And then we practiced with the first section. She told us not to go too fast, because he sometimes likes to talk about his experience in your state or country. She also said he would ask if there were any ministers or missionaries present, but if you raised your hand then, you had to be prepared to say the opening prayer.
President Carter was actually a good teacher! He had clearly studied the lesson, which that day was from the book of Ezekiel when the people of Israel were in exile. He tied it in to the importance of water and how Jesus is the living water. And he also talked about times he has visited Israel. Just like Miss Jan said, he liked to run an interactive class. She said he would never embarrass you, but would say, “I’m looking for something else” if that was not the answer he was looking for.
The Sunday School class went by quite quickly. Miss Jan had told us during orientation that when the music started for church (the prelude) that was our signal to get back to our seats and be quiet. She also explained how we were going to do pictures afterwards and what the procedures and rules were for the picture taking with President and Mrs. Carter. She is the enforcer, with Secret Service back up.
She also told us about an episode while she was teaching and had Secret Service back up because Amy Carter was in her class. She said there was one boy that she just couldn’t get to behave. (That was a rare occurrence) She asked the Secret Service agent to put his hands on the boy’s desk, look him in the eye, and say, “We aren’t going to have any more trouble!” Then, she said, just pull your jacket back a ways. “Miss Jan, you know I can’t do that!” he said. “I’m not going to tell,” she replied. “And if you won’t do that, we’ll take the whole class out for ice cream after school.” The boy, now about 50 years old, supposedly came back and told her that she and the Secret Service saved his life. She was a hoot.
The church service was also relatively short. About 18 or 20 people got up to sing during the choir anthem. They sang a hymn and did a pretty good job of it.
After church, people with small children got their pictures taken with the Carters first, then groups, and then everyone else. Miss Jan told us it would take about 15 minutes to get everyone through. She wasn’t sure if Mrs. Carter would stay since she had a family reunion that day, but she did. Her birthday is coming up and there is a big celebration in town for that, too, later in August.
Some of us stayed in Plains to do sight-seeing for a couple of hours and the rest of us headed back to Americus.
After lunch I spent some time in Bittersweet Coffee Shop and Book Store and then we went to Linda Fuller’s house for a picnic dinner. She is remarried to a man named Paul Degelmann. We wondered what it would be like for him with memories of Millard Fuller so prominent everywhere in Americus. I don’t think his experience is uncommon, though Millard is probably more widely known and adored.
At the reception yesterday, I heard Linda say she had to get home to cook and get ready for today! But she also had help from some of her friends. They have a beautiful property. Paul also owns a property on another part of the same lake, but they live in the house that Millard and Linda built. It was a very nice evening. We were supposed to go in two shifts on the boat ride, but as we returned we saw some of our companions on another boat. Linda was aghast when she saw who they were with. And it was very upsetting to several who had gotten on the other boat. They were with a drunk man who was full of racist thoughts that he freely shared. They also felt sorry for his dogs, one of whom had cut his tongue biting on a beer can. So some of us did not have a happy ending to the day.
Like I said, it was a very full day for a day off!