O Little Town…the wondrous gift

Year after year, I make my pilgrimage to the one place in North Carolina I feel most at home, and every time — she opens her arms and welcomes me. It’s time for the Tucker Grove camp meeting. A time for repentance, revival, music, and family — oh, by the way, good food.

I have never heard of camp meetings. I am, however, very familiar with tent meetings. Growing up in New York, I would listen to tent meetings from time to time. I remember seeing the tents set up on the side of the road, maybe in a vacant lot of some sort, secured with white barrels and heavy-duty rope and makeshift sign advertising- “Revival tonight!” Get right with God.

I never attended, nor was I ever curious about “getting right with God.” It seemed to me at that time; only adults get right with God. I had nothing to get right. I was a kid, and for me, a revival was a place I needed to stay away from, and I did. It was not until I relocated to North Carolina when I discovered a camp meeting. I was well into my forties, so I guess I must have been ready.

Tucker Grove was my very first camp meeting. I had no idea what to expect; I was excited. This camp meeting should be fun. After all these years, I keep returning to what Tucker Grove trustee Jerry Nixion refers to as “holy grounds.” This place is fantastic. It is spiritual — my sacred place, holy grounds.

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