Pastor Hoyt Brown with arm raised in prayer; Pastor Aud Brown with head bowed;
small child in white Tipper Pressley; Pastor Buddy Pittman to the left –
New Martins Creek Baptist Church Baptizing 1970s held at the Maple Hole just across the Georgia line.
The comments left on my post about the Fire’s Creek baptizing photo earlier this week got me to thinking about my own baptizing.
I remember the happiness I felt that day. Being baptized was a very special event in my life. At the time I never gave any thought to it happening in a creek. I had never even heard of a baptistery then, but they are common in my area of Appalachia today.
One of my all time favorite photos was taken on the day I was baptized. While I really treasure the photo at the top of this post and I’m beyond thankful Granny snapped it with her camera, the one I really love is of the rest of my family.
The photo is of Pap, Granny, Paul, and Steve. Obviously I was there somewhere, maybe I was already in line for the march to the creek. Although I’m not included in the family photo, its always been one of my favorites. I love Pap’s old guitar case there in the weeds. He was often asked to provide the music for various church services including baptizings. Even when I was a little girl I could see clearly that Pap and Paul’s expressions matched and that Granny and Steve’s also matched. And that all of their faces were filled with love for me, not just on my special day, but forever.
I don’t recall what songs were sung the day of my baptizing but there’s a good chance one of them was “I Am Bound for the Promise Land.”
The song was sung at practically ever baptizing I’ve ever attended. The hymn was written by Samuel Stennett (1727-1795), who was a Baptist Minister in England. Stennett’s father and grandfather were also ministers. Stennett’s grandfather, Joseph Stennett, was also a hymn writer.
The hymn that we know today doesn’t sound exactly like the one that Stennett wrote. Over the years the hymn was changed into the catchy song most of us are most familiar with today.
In an article published on “The United Methodist Reporter,” Michael Hawn offers the following details about the history of the song Stennett penned over 200 years ago:
“John Rippon, an English Baptist pastor, published in 1787 an influential collection, A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors. Thirty-eight of Stennett’s hymns appeared in this popular collection. Among those was a hymn under the heading of “Heaven Anticipated” with the title of “The Promised Land” in eight four-line stanzas.
The hymn as it appeared in America looked and sounded much different. William Walker’s The Southern Harmony (1835) was the first to include “The Promised Land.” This was one of the most popular of the 19th-century, oblong-tune books with shaped notes.
The tune PROMISED LAND was paired with the text. The Southern Harmony attributes the tune to “Miss M. Durham” but we know nothing else about the composer. The tune has many of the characteristics the traditional folk melodies of the time.
Originally written in a minor mode, Rigdon M. McIntosh, a Southern musician, altered the tune to the major mode, and as was customary among American evangelicals in the 19th century added a refrain beginning with “I am bound for the promised land.” This version was published in 1895 in H. R. Christie’s Gospel Light and has become the standard version for many hymnals since that time.
From the start, the four stanzas focus on heaven. The singer stands on the banks of the Jordan River looking across to the “fair and happy land” of Canaan—a metaphoric mixture of images from the books of Exodus and Revelation. Our true “possessions” lie in Canaan (Heaven) and not on the earthly side of Jordan.
In stanza two we find that Canaan is a land of “wide extended plains” where “the eternal day” is always shining. In this land Jesus (“God the Son”) reigns. Furthermore, stanza three tells us that Canaan is a spiritually healthful place to live: “No chilling winds or poisonous breath can reach that healthful shore.” Therefore, “sickness and sorrow, pain and death” do not exist in Canaan.
In the final stanza, the singer obviously cannot wait to get there. Upon arrival in the Promised Land, we will “see [our] Father’s face, and in his bosom rest.” The refrain gives the hymn a sense of marching forward to eternal life.
Carlton R. Young, editor of The UM Hymnal, places this hymn within the context 19th-century American expansion: “The British poet composed these apocalyptic lines with an ear towards Exodus and Revelation in another setting. USA evangelicals and their song transformed the text into earthly and vital metaphors of the vision, vigor, enthusiasm, and optimism of frontier life moving on to the promised land of Kentucky or Missouri.”
The article makes me wonder what Stennett’s original version sounded like. I would wager Miss M. Durham’s and Mr. McIntosh’s changes are part of the reason it is still a popular song choice for churches in my area of Appalachia and beyond.
Paul and Pap’s version of “I Am Bound for the Promised Land” will certainly make you tap your toes! I hope you enjoyed it.
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Catching up on reading after cataract surgery. I was baptized in WV in a creek as a teenager and Shall We Gather at the River was the song, maybe others were also sung. This was the creek that we used for swimming in the summertime. This post brought back some good memories. Thinking of Miss Cindy and your family a lot. I pray often for you all.
Just finished reading stories about baptism’s which brought back a lot of memories. I was baptized in a creek on April 8,1956 near Fort Gay, WVa. It had snowed that morning, so the water was plenty cold! The song we sang was ‘Shall We Gather At The River’. Blessings and prayers to all of the Pressley family, especially Miss Cindy at this time.
“I am bound for the promised land” is a hymn from my childhood.
What a beautiful post, Tipper. I was baptized in a river, near my hometown in CA, when I was 17. I will never forget that day. There were a lot of onlookers out at the river, and a number of them were drunk, and mocking us. It made that decision to be baptized all the more poignant, knowing that when we follow Jesus, we will sometimes be persecuted for it.
I was baptised in the creek as a child too Tipper. Our tiny little church didn’t have a baptismal so our baptisings always took place at the creek. There was a nice little hole right across the road from where you turn off to go to Pisgah high coming from the backside of the river. It was behind someones house and they let us park there and use the hole. I don’t remember a whole lot about that day…I think I was 7 or 8 yrs old. The thing I remember most is that for whatever reason I opened my eyes when I was dunked under and I still have the most vivid memory of seeing the dirt and sand swirling all around me and of course the sputtering and spitting when I came up…and freezing half to death in that icy creek water haha. I know the meaning is the same no matter where your baptism takes place but I sure am glad I got a good old fashioned creek baptizing!
What great memories of baptisms of yours Tipper. I enjoyed reading so many comments of so many sharing their own memories of their baptisms. It brought back memories of my own too. Love hearing Pap and Paul sing together with the young man playing away behind them. Thank you for sharing and bring us back to our own day of baptisms.
Enjoyed the music and hymn story today. I sing old Baptist hymns all the time, probably too much.My absolute favorite is “Like a River Glorious (is God’s perfect peace . . .)” No modern praise chorus that could have been composed on the way to church can touch it, in one old man’s humble opinion.
This was just beautiful from the song to the precious pictures of your family and you getting baptized. I got saved and baptized in the fall of 1969 during a revival at my church. There were several of us. It’s just such a special time in your life and in the life of your family that is watching with such pride. Continued prayers for all of you and have a blessed Sunday everyone!
Thank you for sharing this. I love the pictures. I look forward to a song from Paul & Pap on Sunday morning. It is a blessing. Praying for all of you. God has Miss Cindy and all of you! Take care and God bless ❣️
How beautiful this Sunday morning to see photos of your baptism and to see & hear Paul, Pap, and other members of your family perform that wonderful hymn! It’s a treasure that you have these reminders of that cherished day, and a gift to your readers that you have shared them with us. Thank you so much, and praise God!
I was baptised in a pool (chlorine); I wished for a creek. I love both photographs–so sweet and both so telling of family love. Beautiful hymn, too.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful panorama! Such an encouragement today, along with the comments.
I enjoyed the photos. I kind of laughed because once I looked, you’re spot on about granny and Steve and Pap and Paul having the same expressions. I think Granny looks beautiful in that photo. Such a lady, fashionably dressed and coiffed with the pride on her lovely face (and Pap’s) that only comes in parenthood and knowing her baby is saved and baptized! I’d say it’s one of the finest days in a parent’s life!!!! The song was uplifting and what struck me was Pap’s “high run” singing “ Who will come and go with me…” It was impromptu yet perfect! He was a real professional musician. It’s no wonder the Wilson’s have talent!!!
I learned I Am Bound For The Promised Land a little different from the way your family sang it. In the first line where you sing “wishful eye”. instead of wishful I sing wistful. One letter different brings a whole new meaning to that line and maybe the whole song.
I’m not sure which word our church hymnal had. I don’t know where I learned it, maybe from Daddy. Daddy sang all the time. He sang the old songs. Grandma Ammons, Daddy’s mother, was a singer too. Perhaps he learned it from her. They weren’t performers per se, they just loved to sing. But I digress.
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines wistful as “full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy”. Isn’t that the same feeling you ascribe to the word “hiraeth”? When you talked about that word the other day I was thinking there was another word that describes that feeling. Wistful might just be it.
I grew up at Lauada NC. We had a lady in our area who sang. Her name was Ammons. I think her first name wasBeuna. Could this be your family? She had such a beautiful voice. We always looked forward to when she sang.
We went to Saw Mill Hill Free Will Baptist Church and Cold Springs Baptist Church.
My SS lesson today is about Moses leading the children of Israel to the promise land of Canaan and todays song is so appropriate for me. It probably was sung at my baptizing and I can assure you Shall We Gather At The River was also.
Yesterday meeting you Katie, and Corie made my day. You all feel like part of my family.
Have a wonderful blessed Sunday and enjoy spending time with your family
That was a sweet and peppy rendition. I loved it.
This post is off-topic, but I’ve wondered if you’ve ever posted about the origin of your name, Tipper. I’ve never heard that name before.
Gail-you can read about it here: https://blindpigandtheacorn.com/nicknames/ 🙂
Such a wonderful recollection of the best day of your life!
I was saved during a tent revival my Baptist Church had in the 70’s. I was 19 and had been going to church for some time and was actually one of the Sunday School workers. I can remember gripping the medal folding chair in front of me as I wrestled between the leading of the Holy Spirit and my carnal nature wondering as all young people do, what people would think of a church worker walking to the front. Thank the Lord the Holy Spirit won. I was lead to the Lord by a sweet lady, Mrs Johnson, in a church bus on the grounds. I was baptized the next Sunday. I don’t remember the songs that day but Bound For The Promised Land was a staple at our church.
Thank you for your story, the song, your blog and channel!
In my neck of the woods (Florida), for some there was baptizing in the bay. My tiny church didn’t have a baptismal font so we used one at a slightly bigger church. Children had a concrete block to stand on. When my sister was baptized, she floated! Everyone said how sweet she looked. “Shall We Gather at the River” was a common hymn for baptizing. I’m a Quaker nowadays, but I do appreciate the hymns I learned at that tiny church, along with Bible drills and scripture memorization. To this day I have a wealth of scripture in my head. My favorite hymn was and is “It Is Well With My Soul”. My husband and I have sung it at memorial services, including my mother’s, accompanied by my husband’s guitar.
Love it, in the past his song was often sung at my church. We still sing the old hymns but I haven’t heard this one in a long time. Somehow today’s so call gospel songs don’t have the same meaning for me. Like Allison said, I often go around singing parts of the old hymns to myself. I sound so bad, I won’t even sing out loud to myself and can’t even play a radio without getting static! Yesterday it was the song “Where Could I Go But To The Lord”. I live on my granddaddy’s old home place and often times think of him singing to the top of his voice each morning while taking care of his animals one of his two favorite songs, it would either be Angel Band or a Beautiful Life. Like Pap, my father in law was very seldom far away from his Gibson guitar and case. I love both pictures, especially the one of family. Outside of my relationship with God, nothing is more important on earth than family and friends. I continue to pray for Miss Cindy and her family.
Amen!!! One’s baptizing is a special event, a mark on the timeline of life as we grow in Christ. Thank you sharing.
Have a blessed Sunday!!!
There’s no sweeter music than this! Thank you for sharing an old and timeless favorite. I was baptized in the back waters of the Clinch River at age nine in Roane County Tennessee in 1962. our church always sang Shall We Gather At The River.
I always think about your brother Steve and if he has a musical talent only because we usually only ever see Paul with your father or Paul you and the girls. Every time I hear your family play anything musically I think it’s wonderful but this selection especially so. It’s really hard to have a favorite when it come to hymns and spiritual music for it all tells us something we need on our spiritual journey to our forever heavenly home. I think about this journey right now as you share of Miss Cindy and my husband as well. Some days are downright tough and some days are just beautiful, I am thinking we can never have one without the other. Thanks again for you share with us and know it touches me greatly!!!:):):)
I do not recall what was sung at my baptizing. As Rita writes, Shall We Gather at the River was a standard for beginning. Then there was a hand shaking song at the end. I do remember who was baptized at the same time though I have not seen them in many years.
Thanks for your service to each of the veterans. There has been a great sacrifice made for us to have had a nation for 247 years. And baptizings had a lot to do with it.
I would venture that the hand-shaking song was “Bless be the tie (that binds our hearts in
christian love . . . .”)
Gene, for all of my life until now, our church would always sing this song after having the Lord’s Supper. The preacher we have now will say a prayer which is ok I guess, but according to the scripture a song was sung.
I love Sunday’s because I know a song is coming on BP&A. Keep them coming!
Wonderful memories made more precious by passing time! So great to know that we are indeed, bound for the promised land.
Tipper,
I crying having just read your post on Baptism. It’s so sweet.
Being baptized is a very special time in our lives.
I received my copy of your cookbook and I love it. I love all the stories and the recipes. Y’all did an excellent job putting this cookbook together. Thank you so much for sharing your family and some very important occasions in your life. I remember when I first started watching your videos. They struck a very strong connection for me and your ways of living and I fell completely in love with them, I still am.
I pray that Ms. Cindy doesn’t have to suffer with her illness. God bless y’all.
Jeri Whittaker
5/28/2023
near Athens, Georgia
Beautiful! We were baptized in the river. I well recall. At the tiny independent Baptist church near my farm in Eaton Holler, we still baptize in the river, annual foot washin, and today is cemetery decoration day! I have an old deacon’s pew from the original church at my kitchen table from American chestnut cut in the holler, at the table my grandfather, born in 1903, made. I have several shape note hymnals from the old church. I recall attending there as a child, before we built the new church, wood heat in winter & hand fans, windows open by the hymnals. My aunt played piano, now her daughter has played for years at the new church. Those old hymns. I sing them loud to myself out in the garden. My favorites are Swing Low Sweet Chariot, It is Well With my Soul. & Precious Memories. I could go on to name so many others I love. I so love listening to your girls play and sing hymns, & especially listening to Pap & Paul singing together. Your Daddy was one of a kind & so are you Tipper Wilson Pressley! Blessings
remember those you served for our freedom, remember those who died,!!! God bless you friends of Appalachia, in Jesus name!!
in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit!!! God bless you friends of Appalachia God bless Tipper and her family!, God bless Ms Cindy with healing and health in Jesus name!!! thank you God, thank you Jesus Hallelujah!!
Interesting and it brought back memories of mine….not in a creek of course, but in the baptismal at Church. Gosh….so long ago, but I still remember. Still praying for Ms Cindy, Granny and the rest of you guys. God Bless