“I am the ninth generation of ministers in our family. My family’s preaching history goes back to 1689. The chaplain for George Washington and a colonel in charge of the regiment of Connecticut in the Revolutionary War was my ancestor. He died in battle, and George Washington cried at his funeral. We have a painting of him with George Washington. His son had a farm in Linford, CT. Benjamin Franklin traveled past it to visit friends in the area, but his horse turned into the farm. Benjamin Franklin called out, ‘My horse seems to know you sir.’ He replied, ‘Indeed he does, that horse was born here.’ He invited Benjamin Franklin to stay for the night and Franklin stopped each time he passed by.

I am the fourth Mary Caroline in my family. The first was a daughter of Reverend Eels, a missionary to the Choctaw in Louisiana. Rev. Eels lived with the tribe and spoke and preached in the Choctaw language. When the Choctaw were sent to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears, Rev. Eels packed his family into a covered wagon and went with the people he served. I have the little portable organ their family used to make music. 

The family returned to Louisiana, and Rev. Eels became the pastor of a church in Keachi, Louisiana. The Civil War began, and the Battle of Mansfield was close to Keachi. The church opened a hospital and took in soldiers from both sides. The Northern Army didn’t burn down the church or the town because the congregation cared for their wounded. The pulpit and church are still there. 

Everyone before me was Presbyterian, but I am Methodist. My small contribution to the family ministry line is Spanish is my second language. I went on mission trips and got involved with Hispanic communities near the churches I pastored in Mississippi. I found small ways of helping them manage difficult circumstances and led a Justice for Our Neighbors Clinic, a low-cost way for Hispanics to become citizens or start green cards. We tried to make our communities more welcoming. 

I’ve pastored at Rolling Fork United Methodist Church and the smaller Carrie United Methodist Church for four years. I enjoy preparing worship and giving the children’s message. I taught music at our school to get to know the kids better. This spring, we would perform the Cinderella musical with backup from the kindergarteners and first graders, but the tornado hit Rolling Fork on March 24 and changed everything. 

Rolling Fork was a pretty town of 2500 people. How can it be lovely, pastoral and springtime one minute, and houses and buildings torn apart and lives lost the next?

After the tornado passed, the church parsonage I lived in was damaged, but I walked through the debris and downed power lines to find an elderly church member who lived alone. There was a tree in her kitchen and her carport was a disaster. She was cut and bleeding, so I flagged down a truck to take us to the emergency room. The power was off at the hospital and the generators were failing. I knew the doctor and held the flashlight and took notes for him.

There have been so many losses from the tornado; one is people leaving Rolling Fork. Some of our members are moving to bigger places to be closer to their families, including some leaders everyone looks up to. 

The blessing has been that people from all over the country are coming to feed us and move piles of rubble. They are comforting us and showing us Christ any way they can. We get happy packages in the mail. One church gave us two croquet sets, and we’ll have fellowship time playing the game. This care makes our days a little brighter. 

One man is carving crosses from cedar trees that were blown over and giving one to every church in town. Our cross is in the sanctuary. The tornado damaged the Christian Life Center but spared the sanctuary and the stained glass windows. It left one scratch on Jesus’ arm. 

We had Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday services on the church steps because we didn’t have power. Easter was a good day to be together. It was hard watching the sun rise over the damage surrounding us, but it also gave us hope as we had communion with peacemaking in our hearts.

My Easter message was from Matthew’s passage, “The angel was on top of the rock and spoke to the woman saying ‘Jesus is not here. He has risen. Just like he said he would.’ Jesus kept his promises, and we rejoiced in that.

On June 4th, we will celebrate the 175th anniversary of this church. We changed some plans to have dinner on the grounds, but we are still here.” 

Pastor Mary