Remembering . . . Memorial Day at Christ Rock Church

Posted 5/30/15

Special to The Dorchester Banner/R. J. Wongus Herbert Elliott: James Keene, Ronald Woolford, Thurlee Perry, Leo Molock, Carlton Bryan, Richard Washington, Sharon Egerson and Roger Pinder visited 16 …

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Remembering . . . Memorial Day at Christ Rock Church

Posted
MD-remembering memorial 2-2x-052615 Special to The Dorchester Banner/R. J. Wongus
Herbert Elliott: James Keene, Ronald Woolford, Thurlee Perry, Leo Molock, Carlton Bryan, Richard Washington, Sharon Egerson and Roger Pinder visited 16 cemeteries and placed Flags at Cornerville, Oldfield, Wallace Temple, Zoar Methodist, Waugh, Bethel, Rock, Thompson, Petersburg, East New Market, Cordtown, Aireys, Fork Neck, Crossroads, Vienna and Bucktown.
“It’s a beautiful morning, I think I’ll go outside a while and smile.” This ‘oh so’ familiar song was in my Spirit this morning. It brought a smile to my face as I sang the words, just as it has so many times throughout my adult life. I began my day with prayer for guidance on how best to proceed with preserving another part of the Christ Rock’s Heritage, and at the same time, creating a legacy for the Charles W. Wongus Sr. family. I began my three mile walk of meditation and prayer from my residence to Christ Rock. As I approached the end of Bayly Road, beside the restored Christ Rock School (Stanley Institute), I heard a couple of horns blowing. I was unable to recognize the two vehicles as they passed by me. I noticed they and four other vehicles turned into the currently being restored Christ Rock Church Cemetery. MD-remembering memorial 2x-052615 I immediately began to reflect on childhood memories of Memorial Day activities at the church. I would watch the many cars coming and going throughout the day. Community members from near and far would be visiting their loved ones who had passed on. They would bring flowers, wreaths, and/or live plants. Bill Kiah and Alford Foster were at separate times, president of the Cemetery Committee. They would be there to greet the people and collect donations. There were chairs outside the church for the many family and friends to sit, converse, and catch up on old times. I decided to cross the road at the school, to go see who was in all of those cars. Is it family members who got together to pay their love and respect? Is it a group meeting on the church restoration project? No, it was the members of the Corporal Herman Hughes American Legion Post No. 87, Inc. As I came onto the grounds, out of the dark SUV that greeted me with a toot of the horn came my cousin, Sharon Woolford Egerson. We embraced; I asked what was going on. As the other members disbursed from their vehicles with flags in hand she said, “We are doing our duty! We do this every year! We go to cemeteries and place flags at our Veterans’ graves.” “We have several groups to go out to different sites. We also go to Cordtown, Aireys, Fork Neck and Oldfield, just to name a few,” stated Carlton Bryan. “We have a lot of work to do on Memorial Day. Not many people know what we do,” he added. They took time out to pose for a photo, and then went back to their vehicles, and on to the next site. THANK YOU VETERANS! For continuing to Serve and helping us to Remember Memorial Day! Editor’s note: R.J. Wongus-Morgan resides and writes from Cambridge. She is an author, minister, and historian. She can be reached at: seekrjwongus@yahoo.com; facebook-Pastor R.J. 443-225-9665
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