WHITMIRE — Nearing the completion of a roughly four-year journey, the members of Seekwell Baptist Church are set to hold worship for the first time in their new sanctuary this Sunday.
The new facility is located directly across the street from its predecessor along Brazelman’s Bridge Road, outside of the Town of Whitmire.
Fannie Shelton, a 57-year member of Seekwell, said she is excited for the move but also a little nostalgic for the Sanctuary in which so many important life events occurred, including her marriage to husband, Boisy.
Talk of building a new sanctuary had begun decades earlier but Shelton cited a case of procrastination in actually getting the process started.
Over the years the old sanctuary was re-bricked, re-roofed, re-carpeted and underwent an HVAC replacement.
“You can only fix a flat tire so many times,” Shelton said of the decision to rebuild from scratch.
Although also excited, Ronald Clark Sr., chairman of Seekwell’s board of trustees, said: “I’ll be glad when everything’s over with and everything functions right.”
Clark said it’s been a challenge overseeing the construction process, a new experience for him, but overall it was a good learning opportunity.
The new facility, which sits on just under eight acres, features a state-of-the-art sound system and handicap accessibility as well as ample classroom space and, sometime in the near future, high-speed internet.
Seekwell will retain ownership of the former sanctuary which will presently be used for various functions including church plays and social gatherings.
However, the kinetic energy of Seekwell’s membership has led them to make big plans for the extra space with future possibilities including programs for the elderly and children and perhaps even having it serve as a refuge for displaced people in the event of a disaster.
It’s their desire to not only serve the Whitmire community and Newberry County but also neighboring Laurens and Union counties as well.
Seekwell’s relatively new pastor, Union native William Rice, has been on the job for a few months now and said he would really like to see the church grow and become a cornerstone of the community providing for both spiritual and physical needs.
“My desire is to follow Christ’s example to enrich, to encourage, to care for, to educate and to stir up the gift as we allow our faith to grow towards the brilliance of God’s holy light,” Rice said. “As a body of believers we have a responsibility to seek the Kingdom of God and enrich the church, family and community though love and compassion.”
According to Shelton this Seekwell represents the fourth church of that name in the Whitmire community — the first of which she described as a “lean to” well over 100 years old located along the Tyger River.