Drive By Strip Malling

I was out driving about today in search of a consignment store selling a twin sized bed that would be to the liking of the almost four year old. I was over on the west side of Charlotte where I had seen a place selling used Little Tykes beds and toys a year or two ago over near Growing Scholars Homeschooling store. I decided to drive past one of my favorite buildings in the world... It was gone. They are building a strip mall in its spot. I've decided to remember this wonderful place and the people who filled its walls by telling some stories about it.

In the summer of 1986, my mother, my pregnant sister, and her husband came down to North Carolina with nothing but a Ryder Truck full of clothing and furniture and two cars. We had nothing - mom did not even have any prospects for a job, we had no place to go. We were basically starting over after what was basically the end of my parents' marriage. My other sister and her future husband joined us later. But on that HOT summer day in 1986, we pulled into the parking lot of what was then called Long Creek Baptist Church. It was during vacation Bible school and these really kind people at this church told us we could stay the night in their parking lot. They let us wash up the next day and fed us. By the end of that day, we had a place to live, my mother soon had a job and these wonderful church members helped my mother relentlessly over the next few years to get back on her feet. We attended this church for years after that. My mother and I both loved the people of this church and Brother Bud (Alvin "Bud" Spencer 1923-2008) who was its pastor at the time. They weren't perfect people, but they were loving and caring people.

One of my sisters had her baby shower there. One of my other sisters was married there in 1989 and Brother Bud performed her wedding ceremony. I was her maid of honor - that was when I was 11 years old. I was also baptized there as a child. I had so many good friends there as a child.

Mom and I stopped attending there for a long time, but it always held a special place in my heart and when I began driving, I started visiting there again. Now it was called Unity Baptist.

I was engaged to be married and wanted it to be there. The people there were great - some different faces... Some the same... The pastor now was Bill Nieporte. Bill is a great guy all around and so is his wife. His message of grace rang very true in my ear and still does. I really enjoyed attending this church as a young adult. Bill was kind enough to not be offended when I asked if Brother Bud could come back and officiate my wedding.

I remember on the night of our wedding rehearsal, Brother Bud just walked through the church and looked at every sign. He touched the plaque that commemorated the donation made by Emerson Burge in memory of his wife Becky (one of my mom's best friends) who had died of cancer. Emerson used to give me an 'allowance' on Sundays because he knew my mom couldn't afford it. He and Becky used to take mom and I to lunch every Sunday at McDonald's Cafeteria in West Charlotte. I remember one of the black waitresses trying to convince me when I was little that he was Emerson's daughter. They played it up so much that I almost believed them! Bud walked down the halls and talked to Josh and I about our upcoming marriage in a classroom that I had sat in years earlier for VBS and now was considering teaching in for children's Sunday school. He also stood in the sanctuary and stared at the stained glass behind the baptismal. I remembered when it had been installed soon after we became members of the church. I believe his wife and some of the other ladies had either paid for it or made it.

My husband and I became members of Unity shortly after the wedding. One year later, I was having a baby shower for my own impending arrival in the same fellowship hall where my sisters and I had celebrated babies and marriages in years past. After I had to go back to work a year after my son was born, Bill and Jeanna were there for me again to open up their home so I could have a sitter I could trust. And my first one was a handful at that age - so they were very gracious to have him in their home.

I was involved in the children's ministry, women's ministry and both were very special to me. We stopped attending and started attending a church closer to our house when Asher was almost 2 years old. But I still loved that church and the people there.

Since mom and I moved so much when I was growing up, I never developed a big attachment to a school or a house. But the church building on the corner of Mt. Holly-Huntersville Road and WT Harris (it used to be Vance Rd.) held a lot of very fond memories. I think the church still exists in some incarnation. But that beautiful church building is long gone and that is such a shame. All for a strip mall... Not a surprising fate, because it is such a growing area, but a big shame nonetheless.

I feel so sad that this building is gone. It's like I've just found out that an old friend that shared my life for so long is gone and I didn't get to say goodbye.