A Community Potluck: Part 1

A visit to Hopkins Grove United Methodist Church in the Union Township north of Polk City is one rich in history and community

Without question, meeting and befriending new people and communities is one of the greatest joys in my adventure as a musician. As much as I enjoy sharing my stories and perspectives, there are endless tales and insights to be learned from audience members.

Back in late winter, I happened to be driving by Hopkins Grove United Methodist Church, just north of Polk City in central Iowa. A classic country church, it immediately reminded me of the Diamond Community Church I attended as a child in rural Kansas. Intrigued, I pulled over to take a closer look. As luck would have it, there was a car parked to the side on this random weekday afternoon.

It was a chilly day, so my exterior tour was brief. I knocked on the front door, found it unlocked, and stepped in from the cold. Hoping to announce myself without startling anyone, I called out “hello” a few times in a louder-than-usual talking voice. I found myself in a beautiful congregation hall, its classic wooden pews illuminated by intricate stained glass were a majestic yet welcoming sight.

A magnificent room to say the least. The more I perform, the more I enjoy discovering unique locations. Venues have so many stories of their own to tell and are a critical conduit in facilitating connection between audience and artist. Often, when I’m driving the countryside, I see many older churches, downtown buildings or schoolhouses and admire their beauty whether simple or ornate. I think about their stories and wonder what it might be like to play a show inside.

I considered sitting in the congregation hall with its comforting silence and warmth, but thought it better to continue my quest of connecting with the driver of the car out front. I made my way to the finished basement, equipped with a kitchen, tables and a wonderful gathering space where my “hellos” were eventually answered by Mary Swalla Holmes.

I introduced myself and said I just happened to be driving by and was fascinated by the church so thought I’d come in and say hey. Mary was quite open to my curiosity and informed me that Hopkins Grove did indeed have an amazing history to share. She and her husband, Steve, are long-time members of Hopkins Grove. They lead many of the administrative efforts necessary for a well-functioning community and just live down the road.

I shared my card with her. She said she’d chat over the idea with Reverend Dr. Craig Ferguson, the congregation’s pastor, and perhaps something might work out. True to her word, I received an email from Mary within the week, connecting me with Dr. Craig. The pastor and I made arrangements to meet up at Slow Down Coffee on Sixth Avenue in Des Moines’ groovy Highland Park neighborhood to learn a little more about each other.

We connected on a few levels in that conversation. A fellow music lover, Craig is also a big believer in humanity, despite our many faults. At some point, our conversation turned to the topic of “forgiveness.” He referenced some scripture that I’ll paraphrase with my personal takeaway that forgiveness is freedom. I think I quipped back with Kristofferson’s “freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose” but, more importantly, it was a powerful insight that prepared me to absorb the news later that day that my older sister had unexpectedly passed away.

My childhood relationship with my sister was quite challenging. When I was young, I had no idea of the personal trauma she had suffered before my parents adopted her in 1975 at the age of 6, only months before I was born. As an adult, I had forgiven her long ago for any atrocities between us. Craig’s friendly words that morning reminded me of these healed wounds and were a soothing balm when I got the call from Mom later that afternoon. Others in our family also had challenging interrelationships with Tonja along the way, and the idea that forgiveness is freedom was a driving force behind my approach in her eulogy, celebrating her life and writing a song (Lady Unicorn) in her honor.

Craig agreed that a community potluck at Hopkins Grove Church could be a nice setting for some Americana roots music. So, I made it back to Hopkins Grove last Sunday with my guitar and some speakers to play their Community Potluck: Food, Fellowship and Fun event. All were welcome to join.

Folks came from all around. There was an incredible spread of food (to which I added the rhubarb bars that my daughter, Lilly, kindly whipped up for the event using rhubarb I cut from our garden), a large tent for shade, a bounce house for the kids, an open door to the church and countless conversations. All in all, a wonderful community gathering.

I set up at the end of the food line and played a mix of originals and covers, including gospel favorite “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”, then crushed a huge plate of food, chatted with some new folks and took a tour of the church. The visit even included a golden hour graveyard walk led by Steve Holmes.

A guy named Chris told me I sounded like Robert Earl Keen (I’ve heard this before and am definitely a fan of the comparison). Chris likes original, independent music, and we discussed our mutual respect for the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Steve Earle and others. Some in attendance let me know that they, like me, are big John Prine fans. I had played a couple of his songs that day, starting the set with “Paradise” because that sure felt like the right word on that gorgeous late spring evening, surrounded with all the goodness of an idyllic Americana setting.

On the tour with Steve, I discovered so many historical angles to explore. First, Hopkins Grove is named after Josiah Hopkins, an abolitionist preacher. It was a stop on the Underground Railroad and many original community members played an active role in the Civil War. After several young men were killed in the war, the community of mostly pacifists were not happy with brother Josiah for convincing them to fight, eventually moving the church away from his land (where the congregation first met in 1851) and erecting the current primary structure in 1866.

I also learned that a Mrs. Mary Albright Helms, attended the church from 1881 until 1974 and was “tireless in her support’’ for the community according to a plaque inside the church. I peppered Steve with an incessant line of questioning, especially with the new connection to my surname. He said there was an area nearby generally referred to as “Albright Corner” by the locals and he thought I might find some Albright graves in the other cemetery down the road.

We talked about the gorgeous stained-glass windows and the process the congregation recently went through to make them really shine. It was an arduous one, but you can sure feel the light in there from community’s effort to give back to their building. They are not exactly sure where the windows were made, but believe they are of Southern origin because of their fleur-de-lis symbolism. The stunning windows have been a signature element of the church since the early 1900s when Biddie Snyder left a handsome sum for their obtainment and installation.

Towards the end of our tour, Steve recommended I reach out to Roxana Currie. She was responsible for obtaining the historical marker for the site down the road, has written several books about local history, and is a volunteer and historian with the Big Creek Historical Museum.

I left the Hopkins Grove UMC with just enough time to check out the original Hopkins Grove Cemetery down the road. It was at the end of a somewhat circuitous gravel road that culminated into the cemetery where I did indeed find some graves for the Albright clan. After taking some pics, I hopped back in my car to drive home and gave my folks a call to share some details of my day’s discovery with the Albright connection.

There’s much more to the Hopkins Grove history and I’ll dive deeper into its connection with the Underground Railroad, insights I gathered from Roxana and this meaningful history in my next column in the

Iowa Writers Collaborative Roundup

for the midweek Flipside edition.

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You can stream my original music on all platforms and learn more about me at www.chipalbrightmusic.com. My next show is Sunday, June 8th in the Des Moines Biergarten in Water Works Park from 2-4pm. It’s free and you can bike to it pretty easily so make it an outing and come say hey!

Also, here is the Zoom link for this month’s Office Lounge for paid subscribers to the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. It’s a lively conversation held on the last Friday of the month at noon and hosted by Robert Leonard.