Faith Temple, Taylors, SC

Cindy McCall is pictured.    Mrs. Cindy McCall, wife of Mr. Tony McCall (owner of McCall’s Painting), gave this testimony on Wed., Aug. 30, 2023, at Faith Temple, Taylors, SC. When I was little, about two years of age, — why, I do not know, — I had a tendency, well, let’s just say, I grabbed bobby pins and jabbed them into my ears. My mom was having my brother at the hospital, and it wasn’t good. The results were that my face had paralysis in it. [“The facial nerve starts in the brain and tracks through a narrow space located inside the ear,” sources say.] After a while, a church [Woodside Church of God] found out what was going on. I was young, and my family didn’t go to church. The church “took me in.” I still lived with my parents, but this church took me in [carried me to church], and they were really good to me.  Even though I wasn’t raised in the other family’s home, I felt like I was raised in the church with the people. The church took real good care of me. I gre...

  Mr. John Miller (pictured above) spoke at the Sat., Sept. 2, 2023, Brotherhood meeting at Faith Temple, Taylors, SC. John brought breakfast (eggs, sausage, grits, etc.) and a message.  “They didn’t have enough faith that Jesus could provide,” John said about the feeding of the 5,000 and Peter walking on water (Matt. 14). Jesus fed over 15,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish. “They didn’t have just a little sandwich.” Jesus then made his disciples sail to the other shore. He went to pray by himself on the mountain. Evening came. He was alone. The boat, in the sea’s middle, was tossed by waves and wind. Between 3:00-6:00 a.m., Jesus walked on the water to his disciples. “He decided to test them,” John said. The disciples saw him walking and cried, “It is a ghost!” Jesus said, “Be of good cheer!” Peter said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” “He was laser-focused,” John said. “But he started veering off course and began to sink. It wasn’t an immediat...

  Shown are Barbara Robertson Crain (left) and Jan Brown (right) Portraying a Samaritan woman on Sun., Aug. 27, 2023, Barbara Robertson Crain read a poem at Faith Temple, Taylors, SC. That poem, “The Woman at the Well” by Mrs. Jan Brown, appears in Jan’s book called “Mortar Matters.”  Jan and her husband, the Rev. Jerry Brown, have visited Faith Temple. They are my longtime friends and live in Bethlehem, Ga. My late wife, Carol, met Jan in 1965 when they were freshmen at Bob Jones University.  In “Mortar Matters,” Jan tells the stories of nine unnamed women who encountered Jesus. Her book title came from a day she was digging to plant flowers and found “rocks.” Her husband said those “rocks” were mortar dropped or cast aside by masons laying bricks for their house. The “mortar” in Jan’s book represents folk who remain unknown, yet they help hold together God’s kingdom, working alongside people who are more publicly known (the “bricks”).   “There, kneeling on the grou...

Article by Jerry L. Martin ...  Mr. Martin and Mrs. Campbell are pictured.   I had mentioned to some people prior to this meeting that I was going to attend a “canning” class during the ladies meeting. With my poor pronunciation, it came out like a “cannon” class. My audience asked me why would a church have a class about “cannons.” I’ll have to work on my Southern accent! On Saturday, July 22, 2023, the ladies of Faith Temple, Taylors, SC, met for a time of fellowship and learning. The fellowship was led by Mrs. Amanda Campbell, and the learning portion of the event was conducted by Amanda and her mother, Mrs. Lois Dean of Spartanburg. In attendance were Mrs. Frances Long (Sandra Martin’s mother), Sandra Martin (my wife), Ann Burrows and her sister Mrs. Donna Auwarter, Brittany Saunders, Linda Trammell, Sandy Brown, Fronda Bailey, Roseanne Phillips, and the lone male — me. (The other guys who said they’d come abandoned me!) Amanda Campbell presented...

  Jerry Martin and Danny Phillips. “We had two missionaries in Kentucky last week (Sunday-Friday, May 21-26, 2023),” Pastor Raymond D. Burrows said as he introduced “Brother Jerry Martin and Brother Danny Phillips” on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at Faith Temple, Taylors, SC. Jerry and Danny spoke about their volunteer reconstruction mission work in Appalachia, “a cultural region located in the central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern U.S.” The men worked with the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP).   “The Christian Appalachian Project is an interdenominational non-profit organization, based in Kentucky, U.S.,” internet sources say. “Their mission is ‘building hope, transforming lives, and sharing Christ's love through service in Appalachia.’ CAP was established in 1964.”  Jerry said the Appalachian area is probably the poorest part of the United States. “I’ve never seen it [poverty] in America like that. You have generations of p...

Mrs. Sandra Martin    “The piano is where I feel alive,” says Mrs. Sandra Martin, pianist for Faith Temple, Taylors, SC. She and her husband, Mr. Jerry Martin, live in Travelers Rest and have two adult children: Chelsea Glissman (married to Chris) and Adam. Sandra’s parents are the Rev. Venning Long and Mrs.  Frances Truett Long of Mayesville, SC.   Sandra and her younger sister, Mrs. Wanda Jordan, were born in Sumter. Mrs. Jordan also lives in Mayesville with her husband, Mr. Tommy Jordan.    “Both my parents were from large families: Mama’s family had 10 children; Daddy’s had 9,” Sandra says. “They are the last living members of their families. Daddy’s daddy was a Christian, owned a farm, and trained birddogs. Granddaddy lived in Andrews, SC, and when we would go down to visit him, he always had a whole candy bar for each of us girls.”    Sandra was born in 1955. Her father became a full-time Pentecostal Holiness minister when Sa...

Ms. Linda Trammell is pictured here.    I don’t talk very much about my son because it brings back too many memories I don’t like to deal with. His name was Randall Brian Trammell. His daddy’s name was Randall Kenneth Trammell. Kenneth said they go by your first name in the Army, so they called out his name “Randall Trammell.” He thought that was funny, because it rhymed.  We called our son “Randy.” And “Sweet Baby.” He was such a joy, so sweet, and a special baby from the day he was born. He was blond-headed with blue eyes. He was quiet and always so good. You could just tell him “No, no,” and he wouldn’t do whatever he was into. He loved to get in the kitchen and take out pots and pans and play with them, which all children like to do.  My mother-in-law, Ruby, and my father-in-law, J.W., and my sister-in-law, Vivian, all loved him and liked to keep him overnight. And I can see him now, at the table. He would sit there, eating corn-on-the-cob, and he would...

  Ms. Juanita Barnett is pictured here.    After Ms. Juanita Conner Barnett’s extended family received friends at Faith Temple, Taylors, SC — where Juanita, 77, was a member for almost 60 years — a crowd gathered there for her 4:00 p.m. funeral on Monday, July 10, 2023.   Before the service, Mrs. Sandra Martin played “Victory in Jesus” on the piano.    Pastor Raymond D. Burrows, Faith Temple’s pastor, welcomed the congregation. He said he stood by Juanita’s bedside after she had “slipped into unconsciousness” and read Psalm 23. He read again Psalm 23 and prayed. Mr. Joe Howard, playing guitar, and Mrs. Teresa Howard, his wife (and a niece of Juanita), sang “Some morning you’ll find me touring that city where the Son of God is the Light… .” Juanita had asked for Mr. Don Lollis, 80, to speak. A 25-year Faith Temple attendee, Don listed work Juanita did at the church: Sunday School superintendent, S. School teacher, children’s church leader, “send...

Mrs. Ann Burrows is pictured here. “This morning, on the way in [to church], someone crossed the center line and was headed toward me,” Mrs. Ann Burrows said on Sunday morning, May 28, 2023, as she opened the service. “They weren’t paying attention. They veered over… I was able to get out of the way. “If that had been you in the car, and if there wasn’t a way to whip the car over… in other words, I’m saying, if your life was snuffed out in an instance, what is your relationship with the Lord? Are you ready?…  “I am asking you to do a little introspection. You may have come to church ‘on the regular,’ you might be involved with stuff. You may know ‘the Way.’ You might even read your Bible; you might pray some. But my question to you is ‘What is your relationship with Jesus and have you prayed to him to do a work in your heart?’ Have you yielded yourself over to him?  “You may come from a Christian family… You may have sung ‘the songs’ for months if not years. Yo...

Although Memorial Day honors those who died while serving in the U.S. armed services, we are listing here military veterans who did not die while serving, as far as we know, but died later and their bodies were interred in Faith Temple Church’s cemetery, Taylors, S.C. This list was compiled in May 2021. If we have omitted anyone, please let the church know: Charles Lee Abercrombie, US Army, WWII, TEC 5; Ronald Meredith (“Ronnie”) Alexander, US Army, Vietnam; Charles Robert Anderson, US Army, 82 Airborne; Clarence H. Arms, US Army, WWII, PFC; Raymond Grady Atkins, US Army, WWII, PVT; Curtis Banks, US Army; Frank Barnette, US Army, WWII; John Edward Bishop, US Air Force, WWII: Raymond Lane Boothe, Sr., US Army, WWII, PFC; James Ray Burrell, US Army, Vietnam, SP 5; Joseph H. Burrell, US Air Force; William Troy Burrell, Jr., SC Capt., Btry B37 Old Arty, BN Korea; Paul Henry Butler, US Army, WWII, PVT; James Echols Charping, US Air Force, TSGT; Alton Kenneth Coleman, US Army...

  Mr. David and Mrs. Rebecca Cowan enjoyed Morgan Shelby Grace Cowan’s one-year-old birthday party at Fleming Hall (Faith Temple’s fellowship building), Taylors, SC, at 4:00 p.m., Sat., May 6, 2023. Morgan’s birthday was May 9. Morgan was nicknamed “Ruby” because of her red hair and a family trip to Ruby Falls before her birth. “Ruby was hoped-for and planned-for,” Rebecca says. “Jennifer Bittle, David’s sister, wanted us to have another baby. People were praying. The hardest thing for me was having to relearn how to do things again. She’s only slept through the night twice in her little life. It’s been interesting. I’m glad she’s here. She’s healthy. That’s a blessing.”  Ruby’s older sister, Sage, 11-and-a-half years old, and their grandmother, Ms. Teran Bagwell, enjoyed the birthday party, along with a crowd (mostly Faith Temple folk) who gathered around “The Church Baby.” “Sage was that way too,” Rebecca says, noting that Sage was the center of attention when...

  Pastor Raymond D. Burrows (left) and Mr. Fred Duck, 85-year-old mason, are pictured at Faith Temple Church, 5058 Sandy Flat Rd., Taylors, SC 29687, as work begins on Fleming Hall, the church's fellowship building.     Mr. Fred Duck began laying blocks in Feb. 2023 to construct an addition to Fleming Hall, the Faith Temple (FT) fellowship building. FT’s board and pastor approved the project.  “Brother Duck was repairing a brick structure at Mr. Bedell Willis’ mother’s home,” Pastor Raymond D. Burrows says. “And in thinking about doing a personal project, I stopped to see if he was interested in helping with my project. He agreed, and, over the past few months, he and I developed a solid friendship and respect for each other. In his words, he ‘loves doing the work’ and even agreed to work for the church at a reduced labor cost.” Mr. Duck, 85, an Army veteran, spoke at FT’s Brotherhood on Sat., Dec. 3. He and his wife, Mrs. Sylvine Duck, (married for 62...

                                       Mr. Gene Barnette is pictured here. (Article by Steve Crain)      Mr. Gene Barnette, 81, left this earthly existence on Sunday, the Jan. 20, 2023, “after several years of declining health.” His body lay in a closed casket at The Wood Mortuary in Greer, SC, on Wed., Jan. 25. Barbara and I stood in a long line to speak with Mrs. Sandra Alexander Barnette, his wife of 59 years, and his family. Gene and Sandra attended Praise Cathedral in Greer. A solid Christian, Carl Eugene “Gene” Barnette attended Faith Temple (FT) as a young man and played a cornet in the church band.  Eager to join the FT band in 1958, I used my dad’s trumpet and began taking seventh-grade band at Davenport Jr. High in Greer, SC. Before long, I began playing at church, sitting beside Gene Barn...

 The Celebration was held December 4, 2022, at Faith Temple.   (Photo 1) Mr. Bobby Mason and Mrs. Pamela Mason are pictured at their wedding on Dec. 9, 1972. (Photo 2) Pam and Bobby are pictured as they dance on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022, as Ms. Mary Sloan sings a song she wrote for them -- pictured at the Faith Temple Fellowship Hall, Taylors, SC. (Photo 3) Pam and Bobby are shown with their sons (along with their sons' wives) and grandchildren. (Photo 3) Pam and Bobby's pastor, the Rev. Donnie O'Shields and his wife, Dana, are pictured. (Photo 4) Shown are Bobby's mother (center) with his sister, Joyce, and his brother, Larry. Below are photos of Mrs. Pam Mason's family: (Photo 1) Pam is shown with her three sisters. Pam is the oldest and played the piano for "The Burrell Sisters" singing group. (Photo 2) The Burrell Sisters are shown as they grew older. (Photo 3) The sisters' beloved parents are pictured.   “This is a ‘once upon a time’ sto...