The Journey
A daughter and granddaughter of pastors, Jacinta grew up in the A.M.E. Zion Church. Twenty years after the passing of her father, Jacinta and one of her uncles (also a minister) decided to visit churches where either her father or her grandfather served as pastor (see list below).
Jacinta wrote a poem ("Church Mothers") at the first church she and her uncle visited in Salisbury, NC, where her father was pastor when he was in college. She realized then that the best way to chronicle her visits was through writing poetry. After a couple of years, going the first Sunday of each month -- Communion Sunday -- of writing, Jacinta received a the Duke Energy Regional Artist Award from the Arts Council of Winston-Salem/Forsyth Co. to expand her travels. Whether traveling alone or with her uncle, Jacinta always had in hand her "faith" notebook and a camera. After church services she would speak to members, many who had been at the same church for more than 50 years, and ask about the changes they had seen, memories they had. Some of these lines appear in some of Jacinta's poems. |
Places visited:
(Many of the churches include a cemetery)
Mt. Sinai A.M.E. Zion Church, Advance, NC
Pee Dee Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Bennettsville, SC
Hood Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, Belmont, NC
O'Conners Grove A.M.E. Zion Church, Belmont, NC
Bethania A.M.E. Zion Church, Bethania, NC
Central R.M.U.E. Church, Charleston, SC
Hickory Grove A.M.E. Zion Church, Clemmons, NC
Cedar Grove A.M.E. Zion Church, Cleveland, NC
Independent Baptist Church, Corsicana, TX
Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church Cemetery, Decatur, GA
Glenn's Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, East Bend, NC
Long Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Gaston Co, NC
White Rock A.M.E. Zion Church, Granite Quarry, NC
St. Stephen A.M.E. Zion Church, Hamlet, NC
Marable Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, Kannapolis, NC
Brooks Cemetery, Kernersville, NC
Samaria Cemetery, Kerens, TX
Bynum's Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, Kings Mountain, NC
New Jersey A.M.E. Zion Church, Lexington, NC
Union Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, Linville, NC
Henry's Chapel Cemetery, McAdenville, NC
Morrows Chapel United Methodist Church, Mooresville, NC
Mt. Calvary CME Church, Mount Airy, NC
Rickard's Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, North Wilkesboro, NC
Stewards Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, Rural Hall, NC
Ardis Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, Salisbury, NC
Edwards Franklin House, Slave Cemetery, Surry, Co., NC
Bethesda A.M.E. Zion Church, Winnsboro, SC
Odd Fellows Cemetery, Winston-Salem, NC
Second African American Graveyard, Winston-Salem, NC
St. Philips Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, NC