On Aug. 2, 2015 Genora Hamm Biggs, a 103-year-old woman who has been a member of the Union Grove Baptist Church since she was 11 years old received a letter on Aug. 2, 2015, which was signed by Pastor Tim Mattox, Deacon Glen Jackson and nine other church officials. It stated that she could not attend the church and
“any membership or associations that you have had with this church are now officially revoked.”Further, she may not attend the church “for any reason what so ever.”
You may wonder how it can be that a community which calls itself Christian does not want somebody to come to their service or mass. But in the United States many churches only like those people who are willing to contribute enough money to their association.
Unbelievable it is when somebody calls for the police when the lady turned up to pray. The responding officer did not arrest Biggs or take any other action, deeming the issue a civil matter. When the police refused to remove Biggs, Mattox decided to take matters in his own hands. This so called man of God stopped church service, dismissed the congregation and turned off the lights in the sanctuary, leaving the elderly woman sitting alone in the dark sanctuary.
In addition to banning Biggs, the church also banned her grandson Eliott Dye, a 30-year member of the church and ordained minister, and church member Kevin Hamm. Hamm stated,
“To disrespect a pillar and a mother of the church… How can we sit back and watch something like this go forward?”Genora Hamm Bigg is a retired schoolteacher and has taught many of the residents of Elberton. The news of her removal from the church upset many in the town including police chief Mark Welsh who called Biggs a “well-revered person” and stated,
“We’re not going over there and throwing a 103-year-old lady out of her church.” Church officials have refused to comment on the matter.
