CREEDS — Little Piney Grove Baptist Church last month celebrated its new ownership of land behind the historic church along Princess Anne Road in rural Virginia Beach.
Two parcels totaling about two acres had been used by the church for many years but weren’t owned by it until recently. During an interview, Fred Gallop, a church trustee and its treasurer, said ownership of the land gives Little Piney Grove leeway for future growth. The church’s property line had been about 10 feet or so from its building.
Members of the historic church — its founding dates back to a gathering in prayer in 1856 — stood together outside for remarks and to pray over the land on Sunday, Jan. 21, followed by the ceremonial cutting of a ribbon by congregants of all ages. The ceremony celebrated the work of the church to date – and the possibilities ahead.
“We can’t just utilize this land,” said Deacon Dennis Hoggard during remarks in which he echoed the words of the Rev. Rashad Cartwright, Little Piney Grove’s senior pastor. “We need to own this land.”
“I’m just so grateful we have church members who taught us that, whatever you do, do it in the name of God,” Deaconess Ruth Bell said during remarks.
Before the ribbon was cut, Cartwright remembered the members of the church who have helped to build it over the years and worked toward ownership of the land – those who walked the land and prayed over it.
“We will be great stewards of where we’re standing,” he said.
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