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Sunday morning greeting
The Rev. Dr. Reginald Thackston greets boaters who have come to worship at “boat church” along the banks of Lake Marion at Wyboo Creek.
Photo by Mic Smith
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Outdoor worship
“The agreement is that I’m going to be there every Sunday, and if anyone shows up, I’m going to lead them in worship,” Thackston says.
Photo by Mic Smith
They call this “boat church.”
From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend, the faithful arrive in a variety of watercraft each Sunday morning along the banks of Lake Marion at Wyboo Creek to hear the word of the Lord, continuing a summer ritual that dates back nearly half a century.
The formal name for this congregation is the Edwin Boyle Santee Summer Ministry, in honor of the man who first provided this grassy point as a Christian gathering place. But not much about boat church is formal, and that’s part of the reason for its popularity.
The Rev. Dr. Reginald Thackston, or Regi, as he’s known to many here, is another reason why crowds turn out. Even before the interdenominational service starts, the semiretired minister is easy to spot, since he’s the only one wearing a tie. “I have to set myself apart in some way other than wearing a T-shirt that says, ‘I’m the preacher.’”
He walks alongside the seawall, stopping at each boat that’s tied up, greeting folks on board. They are welcome to come ashore to sit in the foldout chairs, and many of the kids will rush onto the lawn for lollipops during the children’s lesson, but most adults will listen to the amplified service from the comfort of their boat cushions.
Those anchored within a quarter mile can tune into 90.1 FM on the radio to make sure they hear the message and electric piano. Those who live nearby may walk, bike or golf cart over. Those who drive here are in the minority.
Sharing in God’s beauty
During the school year, Genie Hodge stays busy as a principal at Laurence Manning Academy in Manning. During summer, she stays on the lake every weekend and is a boat-church regular. This Sunday, she and her husband pontooned with neighbors.
She usually finds several of her students and their families here, though there are also vacationers from farther away in the mix. “It’s just so inspirational to see people here from so many denominations,” says Hodge, who also appreciates the natural setting. “You see God’s beauty here.”
Year-round resident Zanne Morris likes to bring guests to boat church along with her family. This weekend’s crew of eight adults, five children and two dogs required a second boat and included her friend Debi Mooney, an extended visitor. Mooney hails from Michigan, a state with an abundance of lakes but, as far as she knows, nothing like boat church. “I love this,” she says.
Her host likes the fact that the service is just a 10-minute boat ride from her home, though she would go further to listen to Thackston. “I would follow him all over.”
On a recent Sunday, 57 boats bobbed on the water’s edge bearing 283 souls—a light turnout compared to the big holiday weekends. After the July 4 service, Thackston announced on the ministry’s Facebook page, “We had 629 people and 100 boats!”
Reaching people on vacation
The ministry’s roots are organic, having started in the late 1960s with a small group of families who came together for front-porch worship. “It was always anyone who could come was welcome,” says Sandy Noonan, 71. Her parents hosted the first official gathering at their lake house several lots down. She still recalls picking up pine cones beforehand.
As the group attracted people from other parts of the lake, more and more came by water. The service eventually migrated to Boyle’s Point, where Noonan now brings her growing family. “I have four children and 16 grandchildren, and when we come, we’ll fill up the lawn,” she laughs.
For a while, the ministry was affiliated with Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Sumter, but boat church has since evolved into a self-supported effort, run by a nine-member board from different Christian denominations.
When the board asked Thackston to lead boat church in 1998, the request felt familiar. He had just retired from a lengthy career serving United Methodist churches in several South Carolina locations—Hemingway, Conway, Marion, Charleston and Columbia. Yet, he started out across the state line in Gainesville, Georgia, where he led a service at a Lake Lanier picnic shelter during his summers as an Emory University seminary student in the late 1950s.
“My first pulpit was a charcoal grill with the Sunday comics spread on it,” he says. On Lake Marion, he saw a similar opportunity to engage people who might otherwise miss worship during vacation.
Quick and simple, rain or shine
Knowing his audience, he keeps the 9:30 a.m. service at Boyle’s Point to a breezy 35 minutes. “I preach from 15 to 17 minutes. If it’s over 17 minutes, I quit,” says Thackston. It’s a discipline he developed during his days doing a televised church service in Columbia.
“Regi delivers what I call a Reader’s Digest sermon,” says Joe Davis Jr., who lives near Boyle’s Point and serves on the ministry’s board. Not only is the sermon short, it’s easy to understand, Davis says.
Fellow board member Archie Stukes says he would attend boat church year-round if he could. He’s a fan of Thackston’s, as well as the casual dress and the outdoor location. “I’m closer to the Lord here than I am in a building,” says Stukes, a farmer.
But the leaders of boat church want to make it clear that they are not trying to grow at the expense of other churches. “We are trying to supplement what they do,” Davis says.
They also strive to support mission work. Volunteers take up offerings in plastic milk jugs by jon boat each week. After expenses, the remainder goes to charitable causes. Favorites include Crosswell Home for Children in Sumter and Salkehatchie Service, a Methodist ministry of young volunteers founded by the Rev. John Wesley Culp, who led boat church many years ago.
Crowds fluctuate with weather and nautical conditions, but boat church is a rain-or-shine thing. “As long as it’s not lightning, we don’t have a problem,” says pianist Elaine Budden.
The only time Thackston has canceled during the past 18 years was when Hurricane Gaston pushed inland in 2004. This year, tropical weather threatened to wash out Memorial Day weekend’s Sunday service, but Thackston still drove over from his home in Sumter and wound up delivering an emergency, plastic-wrapped sermon while someone held an umbrella over him. Six boats and 94 people turned out, though some, including his wife, wound up staying in cars and listening on the radio.
“The agreement is that I’m going to be there every Sunday,” he says, “and if anyone shows up, I’m going to lead them in worship.”
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Get There
Services for the Edwin Boyle Santee Ministry take place from 9:30 to 10:05 a.m. each Sunday during summer (Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend) at Boyle’s Point on Lake Marion at Wyboo Creek. For those arriving by car, the address is 1092 Lemon Ave., Manning. For updates and the order of worship, visit the Edwin Boyle Santee Ministry Facebook page.