ROCKY SPRINGS – About 90 people went &#8220home” Sunday to a church that has welcomed parishioners since before it was built in 1837. The first congregation gathered in 1803.

Rocky Springs United Methodist Church was the setting for the celebration, a homecoming to bring out past members of the more than 160-year-old church, longtime member Jessie Regan said.

Regan began attending services at the historic church in 1957, but the history goes back much further for him.

&#8220My family has been connected to it for years,” he said. &#8220They used to come back for homecomings, too.”

With a rich history surrounding its sacred grounds, the church sits at the center of the &#8220ghost town” of Rocky Springs, now a state park and campsite. The once bustling town was abandoned in 1930, leaving the church building and graveyard behind it as the only evidence the town existed. Even though the community moved away, some continued to attend services at the church. The building and constantly evolving congregation have endured the test of time, from two yellow fever epidemics, an outbreak of the boll weevil and natural disasters.

Sunday’s service proved that the little church, nestled on a hill and framed by mossy trees, has a spirit that is very much alive today.

&#8220It’s just a peaceful, quiet place,” said Cathlene Greer, who has attended church there since 1954 and four years during her childhood. &#8220There’s a quaintness about the people who live around here – they’re so friendly.”

Although it’s been described as a well-kept secret, Greer believes the church is a place many people have come to know throughout its history because of its location on the Natchez Trace. But it’s only a special group that carries on its history.

It was only one year that the Rev. Ed Hightower spent at the church. But, he said, it was a significant time for him. Hightower, who acted as minister of the church in 1944 and 1945 while on the Hermanville circuit, returned to give the sermon at Sunday’s homecoming.

&#8220It was then and still is the oldest church I’ve served throughout all of my ministry,” he said.

Hightower, 84, said his congregation 63 years ago was not much different than the 15 who gather each Sunday.

&#8220It was a small congregation, but very faithful,” he said. &#8220It’s great to be able to come back and remember some of the old experiences we had.”

Bobby Polk, who became minister of Rocky Springs UMC around spring 2005, said his first homecoming with the church members – both old and new – makes him realize the significance of the history that the church upholds.

&#8220It takes me back in my mind to the early 1970s when I would walk the grounds and go into the church. I would linger around like many people do and talk to tourists,” he said. &#8220Now, as a minister and now that I’ve learned more about the history, I am thrilled to tell the people about the history (of the church).”