Sister Baker Went To Heaven

Mamie Marie Barham Baker

May 21, 1921 - August 14, 2012

She entered Heaven's gates at 1:30 am this morning. 

 She was born Mamie Marie Barham in Comanche, OK.  She went by Marie or Sister Baker but to 7 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren she was "Ma".

  She was 4th daughter of John Jackson Barham and Nancy Pearl Emily Dunn Barham.  She had four sisters and two brothers.  On a Sunday morning in October of 1938 she married her beloved husband, Harold Jeff Baker.  They got married right after Sunday School class then went to the regular Sunday morning service.  They had three children, two daughters and a son.

Her husband preceeded her in death on April 20, 1998.  Her daughter Haroline Baker preceded her in death on October 2, 1940.  She was also preceded in death by her parents, sisters, Oleta, Johnnie, Ruth, Faye and her brother, Z.T. Barham.  She is survived by her brother, Donald Barham of Oregon.  She is survived by her daughter and son, 7 grandchildren, 12 grandchildren, many cousins, nephews, nieces and in-laws. 

Most importantly she is survived by the many children that she led to Christ through her ministry.  She was a pastor's wife.  A job she cherished.  She helped her husband through evangelism.  They held many revivals together.  She was a Sunday school teacher, children's church leader, a Missionette leader, a Women's Ministries leader, a song leader and church camp leader.  The most fun a child could have was attending Vacation Bible School with my grandparents.  They loved children and they loved it when a child accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

"This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine"

Brother and Sister Baker

Valentine's Banquet

First Assembly of God Church, Prague, OK

Yes, she will be missed but she was so ready to go home.  I wrote this post about her a couple of years ago.

She only knew two homes, Oklahoma and now Heaven.  Some might think they are the same, oh but they are not.

Goodbye Ma.  I'll talk to you soon.

Happy Grandma's Day.

Love,

Territory Mom

The House That Built Whitney - New Hope Baptist Church and The Drinkard Singers

New Hope Baptist Church, Newark, NJ from Chron.com

On the site of New Hope Baptist Church, Newark is this scripture:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD,

 thoughts of peace, and not of evil,
to give you an expected end

Jeremiah 29:11

As you know Whitney Houston began her musical career at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark and this Saturday her family and friends will say goodbye to her in the same church.

New Hope began as a mission in the home of Addie and Maggie Vine and elected its first pastor, Rev. Jesse Williams in 1903.  

Sometime between 1920 and 1930, John Drinkard, Jr. and his wife Susan moved their family from Georgia to New Jersey.  John was Native American and Susan was part Dutch and part African American.  The name "Drinkard" means the running of water.  One of their children was Nitcholas A. Drinkard, "Nitch" and he married Delia McCaskill and together they had eight children.  Nitch wanted his children to be gospel singers and in the late 1930's four of the children began singing at New Hope as the Drinkard Four.  The group consisted of Emily Drinkard (later known as Cissy Houston), brothers, Nick and Larry and sister, Anne.   Older sister Lee, managed the group.  Lee, later became the mother of singers, Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick.  As the group expanded to include sister, Marie and Judy Clay (Lee's adopted daughter) they became known as the Drinkard Singers.

They became the first gospel group to sing with Mahelia Jackson when they performed together at the National Baptist Convention in the early 1950's. In 1957 they became the first gospel group to sign with RCA.  Over the next few years the group made changes and became known as the Sweet Inspirations.  They sang with the Warwick sisters, Elvis and Aretha Franklin and it all started at New Hope. There should be a movie about them.

You can listen to the group on youtube.com or go here.  I promise you will be lifted up.

Now when I was searching videos about New Hope I found one that included our own Oklahoma child, Gwen Guthrie.  I first wrote about Ms. Guthrie, here.  She was born in Okemah and shares a birthday with Woody Guthrie, July 14th.  I have to send you to youtube again at this link so you can listen to Ms. Guthrie singing "How Great Thou Art" at New Hope.  She is the one at the podium with the choir being led by Whitney's aunt, Anne Drinkard Moss (red robe).  This video is before 1999 because Ms. Guthrie died in 1999 at the tender age of 48.

Wouldn't you just love to go to New Hope and listen to all the beautiful music? 

During news reports I've seen New Hope's pastor and I thought to myself, "what a compassionate man" and so I had to learn more about him.

The current pastor, Rev. Joe A. Carter is only the sixth pastor in the church's history.  In 1980, Pastor Carter told his father, Rev. Henry B. Carter, Sr. that he had the desire to preach the gospel and so on March 16, 1980 at the tender age of nine, Joe A. Carter gave his first sermon in Oklahoma City, OK.  It was from Gensis 1:1; entitled "The Magic of God".

You can find out more about Pastor Carter from New Hope's website.

As Christians we know Whitney is in a better place and you know she'll get to sing all the solos in her new Angel Choir.

Goodbye, Whitney,

 . . . you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.

1 Chronicles 28:20

Love,

Territory Mom

The Drinkard Singers 

Allmusic.com-Drinkard Singers

Anne Drinkard Moss

Let's Take The Vega

Photo:  AutoInfoNews

During our summers in Velma with my grandparents it would sometimes get a little boring.  It was always so hot.  My uncle drove a green Vega I think it was a 1973.  It did not look like the above photo.  Anyway it was a cool car at least to little girls.  

One day after my grandma had colored her hair (black, black) we were outside sitting on the porch and my grandma was crunching on some ice when we saw the big cloud of smoke in the air.  We walked around looking at the big cloud of smoke trying to figure out where it was coming from.  Well, my grandma was, not us.  She said, "let's take the Vega and find out where the fire is".  Now, if you are from a small town and there is smoke in the air everyone, I mean everyone jumps in the car to go and find the fire and you don't even have your hair done like my grandma.

So, we all jumped in the Vega and my grandma raced up and down the roads to find the fire.  We drove and we drove.  If you know anything about Stephens County then you know that you can drive miles and miles and not see anything.  The roads go on forever and only lead to a cattle pasture, an oil well or a cemetery.

We couldn't find the fire so we eventually got back home.  My grandma fixed her hair and we got ready for church.  Another revival, they went on for weeks.  I think it was because the only place that had air conditioning was the church.  So everyone arrived at church sweaty and quickly cooled off. 

It was one of the best days ever.

Happy Grandma's Day.

Love,

Territory Mom 

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She Just Wants To Go Home

Bake & Ma - my grandparents cir 1964

My grandma is tired and she wants to go home.  She has been very lonely since my grandpa died 12 years ago.  He was her rock.  She's been having a difficult time lately.  She got mad last week and told my sister she was moving to Comanche, which is her childhood home.  A couple hours later she was moving to back to Velma, which is where my grandparents made their home for several years.

When my grandpa was alive she was a vibrant woman, happy all the time.  She also loved being a preacher's wife.  It was her career.  After my grandpa died she lost him and her career.  I was thinking that she changed the day he died but really it was before that.  It was the day we heard Bake's cancer was not treatable.  My stepdad and I took her and Bake to the doctor.  When we were in the doctor's office he told Bake that he had lost 25 lbs in just a few days.  Ma dropped to her knees sobbing.  I couldn't hold her up and I couldn't console her.  Then the doctor tells us that the cancer has spread and is too far gone for treatment.  Bake told him to take him out back and shoot him.  She kept it together until he died.  She was brave for him.

The first time I heard Blake Shelton sing Home I thought of my grandma.  She just wants to go home so she can be with my grandpa.

She used to sing "I've Got A Mansion" in church.  She has a raspy voice and she would raise her arms when she would sing the chorus.  I wish you could hear her sing:

Don't think me poor, deserted or lonely

I'm not discouraged, I'm heaven bound

I'm but a pilgrim in search of the city

I want a mansion, a harp and a crown

I've got a mansion just over the hilltop

In that bright land where we'll never grow old

And some day yonder we will never more wander

But walk on streets that are purest gold.

Although she is a very healthy woman for her age it won't be long before she goes home.  Believe me she will skip on those streets that are purest gold.

Happy Grandma's Day.

Love,

Territory Mom

Oklahoma To Me . . . 8th Verse

Oklahoma to me . . .

is shouting "hallelujah" in church

Love,

Territory Mom

Jim Caviezel will be at Victory Church

In case you haven't heard the actor, Jim Caviezel will be at Victory Church this Sunday, March 8th. He is the actor who portrayed Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ."

Service times are 9:00 am,10:30 a.m. and noon and 6 p.m. Sunday. The cost is free.

Also the church will have a free screening of "The Passion of the Christ” at 7 p.m. Friday (tonight) Victory Church's pastor is Mark Crow and it is located at 4300 N. MacArthur, OKC. Information: 405-787-4200 or www.victorychurch.tv Check out Carla Hinton's article: http://newsok.com/article/3350129/ http://www.victoryokc.org/?p=5949 Have a great weekend. Love, Territory Mom

Summers in Stephens County- Part One

When I was a kid I spent part of my summer vacation in Stephens County where my grandparents lived. It was great fun and some of my fondest childhood memories. My grandpa was a preacher and they lived in the church parsonage next to the church. The church was brick with a cool basement and we could go in and out of the church to cool down from the summer heat. They were always in a revival so we were in church almost every night. After church we would go to the local drive-in for a soft ice cream. The Sonic hadn't made to this part of Oklahoma yet. Sitting outside on the car eating ice cream as the neon lights came on was great fun. You know how it looks when the Oklahoma sun is setting and neon just pops on? When we would get back to the parsonage we would to take a bath with Camey (the smell still reminds of that time) then we could stay up, watch the local news and Johnny Carson. My grandparents loved Johnny Carson. After Johnny we all prayed together usually trying not to laugh while my grandpa prayed. We would fall asleep in a big feather bed to sound of the oil rig plumbing, oh yeah there was an oil rig behind the church it is Stephens County. I can still hear it. More later.

How did you spend summer vacation when you were a kid?

Territory Mom