When Mount Anna Baptist Church dedicated its family life center in 1995, the Rev. Alfred Holmes had gently declined the congregation's request to name the facility after him.
Holmes had served the church for 29 years before his death at age 67 in 2007. He was simply a humble man who didn't want attention drawn to him in such a way, said Jeanette Yeldel, one of his five daughters. On Saturday, his wife, Gladys, family members and scores of church members gave the life center the name it deserved.
"I just love Mount Anna," Gladys said after a dedication ceremony. "Thank you for this today. It makes me feel so good."
Yeldel was joined at the event by her four sisters - Rebecca Mims, Annette Jeffcoat, Catherine Williams and Stephanie Long. They grew up as singers, and with other family members, form the A&G Holmes Choral. They performed several songs during the ceremony
"This is a such a special day and a tribute to our father," Yeldel said. "He was such a wonderful person who loved children, and there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for anybody, including the community."
The Rev. Jerry Corbett, Mount Anna's new pastor, said the ceremony was appropriate to recognize Holmes' work - "giving his life to serve this congregation ... It's a place of fellowship, where people are loved and can hear the good news of Jesus Christ."
During his tenure at the church, Holmes implemented a new Bible class, Vacation Bible School, an 8 a.m. worship service and a youth ministry. In his later years, Mount Anna member Barbara Hightower served as the church secretary.
"His approach to life was simple," she said. "He had such kindness and wanted people to treat others the same way they would want to be treated."
The speakers for the event included church deacon Abraham Sanders, the Rev. Paul Bush and the Rev. Limuer Myers. In a resolution at the time of Holmes' death, Sanders noted how his pastor "manifested the highest Christian and honorable character."
The dedication ceremony also provided humor to the occasion. Gladys Holmes cited the ups and downs of being a minister's wife. Holmes and Myers, his closest friend, once decided to drive to a conference in Dallas.
"They let me go along, and they talked all the way there and all the way back, and I didn't get to say a thing," Gladys said to laughter. "When we got home, they were back on the phone for another two hours. They were that kind of friends."
When Holmes' portrait was unveiled, Corbett praised a young artist who had completed the work in just two days. Corbett pointed out Holmes' warm smile in the portrait and how the artist "got the gap right, too,"
Senior writer Rob Novit is the Aiken Standard's education reporter and has been with the newspaper since September 2001. He is a native of Walterboro and majored in journalism at the University of Georgia.