Commentary: Gulfside Assembly shines as church treasure
1/29/2003 News media contact: Linda Green · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn
NOTE: Photographs are available with this commentary.
A UMNS Commentary By Brenda Wilkinson*
Students
and recruiters crowd the main assembly hall at Gulfside Assembly in
Waveland, Miss., for a higher education recruiting fair. The
multicultural conference, retreat and training center has become a haven
for United Methodists and other church and civic groups seeking a place
for renewal, relaxation and study. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. Photo
number 03-30, Accompanies UMNS #036
No Long Caption Available for this Story
Generations
of black Methodists have been welcomed at Gulfside Assembly in
Waveland, Miss., a multicultural conference, retreat and training
center. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. Photo number 03-29, Accompanies
UMNS #036
No Long Caption Available for this Story
Marian
Martin is executive director of Gulfside Assembly, a multicultural
conference, retreat and training center in Waveland, Miss. A UMNS photo
by Mike DuBose. Photo number 03-28, Accompanies UMNS #036
No Long Caption Available for this Story
Children
play basketball against the backdrop of the Gulf of Mexico at Gulfside
Assembly in Waveland, Miss. A multicultural conference, retreat and
training center, Gulfside provided a meeting place for African-American
church leaders in the South. . A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. Photo number
03-27, Accompanies UMNS #036
No Long Caption Available for this Story
As a staff writer of the United Methodist Church's
mission agency and the author of young adult resources, I first visited
Gulfside Assembly in Waveland, Miss., to participate in a retreat for
teen-agers. That initial trip, made during the 1980s, would be the
beginning of an ongoing relationship and devotion to Gulfside and its
mission.
Not only I was struck with awe by the beauty and
tranquility of the land that overlooks the Mississippi Sound, but I was
profoundly moved to learn of the assembly's historical significance to
the African-American community and the church.
As a native of
the South who came of age during the pre-civil rights period, much of
what I have written for young people covers that time. I thought I knew
the South inside out, but I discovered something new upon visiting
Gulfside United Methodist Assembly. It is a little-known historical fact
that blacks purchased more than 600 acres of beachfront property in
Mississippi during the era of segregation. And that it continued to
exist, I found astounding! I set out to learn more about this treasure
of the church.
A multicultural conference, retreat and
training center, "Gulfside is rich in traditions of culture, history and
environment," according to its promotional material. Native Americans
are believed to have first occupied the region as early as the 1700s.
The grounds have not been searched to ascertain this, but archeologists
believe the site was important to pre- and post-Columbian tribes because
of its high elevation and proximity to the Sound and Grand Bayou. The
area's rich history continued with its linkage to 20th century African
Americans, who purchased and began developing the assembly grounds in
1923.
Gulfside's genesis occurred in the former segregated
Central Jurisdiction of the old Methodist Church. Bishop Robert E.
Jones, the first black general superintendent of the Methodist Church,
bought the property after realizing that African-American church leaders
needed a place for assembly, which they did not have in the South. Over
the years, the assembly grew to become not only a place of official
church gatherings but also a center of education, camp settings and
more.
The unending commitment of Jones, other black church
members of his generation, and those who followed helped Gulfside
survive years of struggle, marked by ongoing threats of racial terrorism
as well as financial hardships. Documentation exists of cross burnings,
questionable fires, lack of extension of local services and endless
financial burdens. Records state that leaders collected pennies, courted
philanthropists, and sold much of the original acreage in order for
Gulfside to survive.
The formation of the United Methodist Church
in 1968 brought the integration of church and public facilities.
Subsequently, Gulfside, like many historically black institutions,
suffered loss of patronage. The isolated though beautiful setting had
difficulty competing with more easily accessible and better-equipped
facilities that became available to black people. History has since
taught us the folly of shortsightedness through the closure of many
historically black institutions. Sadly, those who had previously relied
solely upon Gulfside's services gave little thought to its abandonment
at the time.
As attendance at Gulfside declined, Hurricane
Camille exacerbated the situation in 1969, destroying 26 buildings. Talk
of selling the site and distributing the funds among the then 12
Methodist historically black colleges surfaced, but this conversation
was put to rest by Bishop Mack Stokes of Mississippi, along with black
church leaders, who had the foresight to know the value of the land and
the significance of maintaining visible evidence of contributions of
black Methodists to the church. They recognized that Gulfside would be a
place that future generations could look to with pride.
Today,
this "Mecca on the Gulf," as some call it, stands in testimony of what
has been accomplished through the faith and mission efforts of a few
Christians - and of how far we have come as a denomination through the
ongoing work of individuals of all backgrounds.
Proudly serving
as a place of hospitality for groups of 20 or more, and welcoming an
average of 5,000 individuals annually from across the United States and
abroad, Gulfside is helping strengthen church and community life. It is
open throughout the year and is used by a variety of groups, including
local churches, units of boards and agencies of churches, university
personnel, government staff and more. Family reunions, banquets, picnics
and weddings are also held there.
Gulfside sponsors leadership
development training, which has included summer day camp for children
and Advent events and college tours for young adults. Community outreach
services, providing temporary shelter for the homeless and women and
children in crisis, have also been extended at this welcoming place for
people of all races, cultures and religions.
One of only three
sites (Tougaloo College and United Methodist-related Rust College being
the other two) in Mississippi that served as meeting places for blacks
during the civil rights movement, Gulfside has been designated an
historical site by the United Methodist Church and the state of
Mississippi. It has become a haven for Methodists and other church and
civic groups seeking a place for renewal, relaxation and study.
In
an effort to further preserve and expand what could be called a
national treasure, Gulfside has launched a 10-year, $17 million capital
campaign, with the theme "Moving Forward." Assembly trustees have
committed prayerfully to the financial success of this campaign, which
they hope the entire church will support. Gulfside is an Advance Special
of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries and can be supported
through "Gulfside Assembly, Waveland," No. 761337-2, or "Gulfside
Assembly, Capital, Waveland," No. 760235-6.
One of the assembly's
goals is to provide programs that bridge the gap between people of many
cultures, languages and traditions in a modern atmosphere of learning
and living. Having a trained staff and updating and expanding the
existing structure and grounds are essential to achieving these goals.
Gulfside's
long-range vision calls for becoming debt-free and self-supporting;
restoring and bringing all existing buildings and property up to
standard; developing senior housing (permanent and assisted living);
establishing a Head Start program and a writers' colony; developing a
center for archives and history on the development of the black church;
hosting internships; and being a center of nurture and renewal for
activities of missionaries and long-term supporters of United Methodist
mission work. Phase one of the project, a new chapel, is under way, and
$2 million in gifts and pledges for new construction, refurbishment and
renovation have been raised thus far.
As an African American and
United Methodist, I strongly believe that in rising to the challenge of
restoring and expanding Gulfside, we honor the efforts of our
foreparents who started this great mission work. What they kept alive
through collection of their pennies, we are obliged to support with our
dollars and service.
We owe it to the children and young adults
who thrive in enrichment programs provided at Gulfside. We owe it to
older adults of the church who continue to find it a place where their
services can be used and where they might one day seek assistance
living. We also owe it to the increasing number of victims who find
sanctuary at Gulfside in a time of increasing need among the poor.
Finally, we owe it to ourselves, in order to carry out one of our greatest challenges as Christians, which is to serve.
# # #
*Wilkinson
is author of The Civil Rights Movement: An Illustrated History and is a
staff writer for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries in New
York.
Commentaries provided by United Methodist News Service do
not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of UMNS or the United
Methodist Church.
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