Spring 2000 Lecture Series
“Faith of Our Fathers: That Old Time Religion in Northwest Georgia”

One of the most important and least explored facets of history in Northwest Georgia has been religion. Fortunately, scholars have begun to address this gap in our understanding of the past. EVHS was pleased and proud to help sponsor “Faith of Our Fathers: That Old Time Religion in Northwest Georgia,” a program of public lectures that brought four examples of this new scholarship to the people of Northwest Georgia in the Spring of 2000.

Dr. Wayne Flynt speaking at Kennesaw State University.

The first program featured Dr. Wayne Flynt, Baptist Minister and Distinguished University Professor at Auburn University. Dr. Flynt’s “Baptizing Souls and Culture: Southern Religion and Georgia Baptists” was presented on the Kennesaw State University campus in Kennesaw. Dr. Flynt is the author or co-author of ten books dealing with southern politics, poverty, and religion. His Poor But Proud: Alabama’s Poor Whites won the Lillian Smith Prize for non-fiction in 1990. Flynt’s most recent book, Alabama Baptists: Southern Baptists in the Heart of Dixie, tells the story of “a church’s love-hate relationship with the culture surrounding it.”

Dr. Kathleen Minnix, Sam Jones scholar, with Dr. David Parker, Bill Arp scholar.

The second event, featuring Dr. Kathleen Minnix, was held at Roselawn Museum in Cartersville, home of evangelist, Sam Jones. Dr. Minnix is Jones’s leading biographer. Her Laughter in the Amen Corner: The Life of Evangelist Sam Jones is the definitive biography of the nationally renowned evangelist. Minnix’s lecture, “Sam Jones, the Irreverent Reverend,” drew a crowd of over seventy-five guests, and was followed by a reception and tour of Roselawn led by Howell Jones, great-grandson of the evangelist, and Steven Ellis, Director of Roselawn.

Georgia author, Mary Hood autographed a copy of The New Georgia Guide for the EVHS Library.

Mary Hood, the grand-daughter of a Methodist minister and prize-winning author of How Far She Went and And Venus is Blue, spoke on Kennesaw’s campus to an audience of almost one hundred guests. Her discussion on how religion has figured in the Georgia folk of her stories was full of personal insight and humor. A reception and book signing followed her talk. Ms. Hood was kind enough to autograph a copy of The New Georgia Guide for the EVHS Library. Her essay “Tropic of Conscience” appears in the Guide as the section for Northwest Georgia.

Dr. Catherine Badura, speaking on Corra Harris at the Carriage House at Roselawn Museum.

The final lecture of the series featured Dr. Catherine Badura speaking on “Revisiting the Legacy of Corra White Harris: Religion, Church, and the Circuit Rider’s Wife.” Corra Harris was a prominent and prolific novelist and essayist from Bartow County, whose work reflected her religious beliefs and her association with the Methodist Church through her husband, Lundy Harris, a Methodist minister and educator. Dr. Badura, Assistant Professor of History at Valdosta State University, is the leading scholar on Harris’s work. Held at the Carriage House at Roselawn Museum, the lecture was followed by a reception and a drive to Pine Log for a tour of Harris’s former home “In the Valley,” currently being restored by Marietta philanthropist, Jodie Hill.