If you are reading along with Heritage, Hope, Home blog that is marking our 85 years of ministries, missions, and members at Hayes Barton Baptist Church, you would have read “In Her Own Words” yesterday, on our anniversary Sunday. “In Her Own Words” are the words of Helen Cashwell; they comprise a letter she wrote to the church for posting in the blog. They include a powerful prayer for our church:
I pray that God will continue to bless this wonderful Church and that it will always be a beacon that lights the way for people to gain their salvation because here is where they learn of the love our Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Because Helen Cashwell wrote such a beautiful letter to Hayes Barton Baptist Church, a letter she describes the writing of as a trip down “Memory Lane,” she wondered if we would have much to talk about when we met. I told her I wanted the “back story” of the Cashwells “for the record” if for nothing else. So we talked…
Many here likely know that T.L. Cashwell initially did not feel “the call” to Hayes Barton Baptist Church when a search committee called on him. As the saying goes, though, timing is everything, and the passage of six months led to a different response when the committee came back to and asked T.L. again. As a result of the changed answer, the Cashwells arrived at Hayes Barton Baptist Church in 1964.
There had been three churches pastored by T.L. Cashwell prior to Hayes Barton Baptist Church. One in Kings Mountain, one in Lenoir, and one in Albemarle. Prior to these churches, there were years of study, including at Mars Hill College where T.L. met Helen. Four and a half years of dating, including some long distance courtship with Helen in Richmond, Virginia, and T.L. in Louisville, Kentucky, ultimately resulted in marriage. Their married life began in Lousville as T.L. completed his doctorate and Helen worked in the library at Southern Seminary.
Helen was no stranger to Louisville as she grew up there. She was born in Liberty, Missouri, and her father was a minister who for a time pastored a church in Louisville. T.L.’s lineage also included ministers as his grandfather and father were both ministers although, interestingly, T.L. initially studied to be a surgeon.
When the Cashwells came to Hayes Barton Baptist Church, Helen recalls they “came to a hole in the ground.” The rebuilding of the church after the 1962 fire was well underway, so far along that only the carved baptistery doors and chandeliers reflected requests T.L. was able to make.
The next 21 years were “wonderful years,” according to Helen. “We loved every one of our congregations, but we were here longer and our children, Tommy and Susan, grew up here.” They stayed here, too, after T.L. retired in 1985.
Because I had recently given an Offertory Prayer during Worship, we talked about the sanctuary and my surprise that, from the pulpit’s perspective, the church looked and felt more intimate than I expected. “The sanctuary allows us to be enveloped by the love all around us,” says Helen. “It allows us to worship with one mind, one heart, melded together and that makes for a warm and loving feeling in the sanctuary.”
With a long perspective, Helen talks of the church’s heritage. “We were here during a growing time. And what is interesting is that the church has stayed the same yet is different. We were and continue to be a church of culture and spirituality which is a wonderful combination. At the same time, we see young and younger people here.”
The hope of Hayes Barton Baptist Church is that it will be the “beacon” Helen mentions in her prayer. “People need to feel that they can be a part of the church, be comfortable here, and be able to take a worthy Christian journey,” says Helen.
And the home Hayes Barton Baptist Church is for Helen is one she cherishes for all it represents about the different stages of her life: first as the wife of the pastor; then the wife of the retired pastor; and now the widow of a most beloved pastor. “T.L. is comfortable and at peace. I know that,” says Helen. “I’m having good years. Old years,” she laughs, “but good years.”
We finished our conversation by talking about the Bible. There are “so many” favorite verses that selecting one was impossible, but mentions of Psalm 46:10 and John 14 were made with some reflection. “There is something about reading the Bible in your ebbing years,” says Helen.
There is something about talking to people like Helen Cashwell, too. When you finish, you feel like you have been enveloped by the love she has for Hayes Barton Baptist Church and its people. The search committee that went back to T.L. six months after his “no” needs to be remembered and thanked for being persistent. Timing is everything, after all.
