by Glenda Williams, BNc Correspondent
HARTFORD, Ala (BNc) — An early morning fire destroyed the Hartford Church of Christ building Sunday morning, January 15, 2012. Jim Simmons, local preacher for the church, stated he received a call around 3:00 a.m. that the building was on fire. Although the cause of the fire is under investigation by the state fire marshal, some think it started from an electrical shortage. The small congregation of approximately 15 members is meeting in a nearby trailer until a new building is erected.
Hartford is a small city, located in lower Alabama, populated with 2,624 people. The church building is located at 801 Commerce Street. For more information contact Jim Simmons at 334-886-3202 or Terry Whaley at 334-701-9690.
As a teenage girl, I prayed to marry a preacher. I knew no one who was desiring to be a preacher but each night I knelt by my bed and prayed, “Lord, if I am capable of being a preacher’s wife I would like to marry a preacher. If not, just let me marry a Christian.” God answered that prayer for me. Our local preacher, Jerry Humphries, preached in two gospel meetings that summer and invited a young man from Alabama Christian College (now Faulkner University) to preach in his absence. He brought his girlfriend with him so that took him out of the running. But when I learned they were coming back in a week or so, I asked if they didn’t have some fine young man they could bring down and let me meet. The girl thought for a minute, snapped her fingers and said, “Old Doug.” Old Doug and I have been married 53 years and have two children and two grandchildren. All our children are faithful members of the church. God is so good. I love Him so.