Happy 60th

By Brett Younger                                               April 2013What do Liam Neeson, George Strait, Mr. T., Christine Baranski, and Highland Hills have in common? All are three score and going strong.  

Some forty-year-olds are frustrated. Some fifty-year-olds are disappointed. The best sixty-year-olds are grateful. The diamond anniversary is a good time to be thankful.   

Be thankful for the people who prepared this place long before most of us got here, and for everyone who makes this church a home. Be thankful that you belong to a church that opens its doors to wandering strangers, lost sheep, someone like you; a church that on its good days loves unconditionally, encourages people to think, and takes the questions seriously.

Be thankful that you belong to a church where the staff loves the congregation; a church that celebrates the richness of music, believes in reverent worship, and knows that God is bigger than we imagine.  

Be thankful that this church is here for those who desperately need this church; who find this congregation just before giving up; who haven’t arrived, but are still on a journey.  

Be thankful that in this church people have met the best friends they will ever have; that someone who felt completely alone got a phone call at just the right time; that people devastated by the death of someone they loved let this community slowly show them life again.

Be thankful that this church is here when we are hurting, when life is hard, when your job is suddenly on the line or your spouse mentions divorce or your doctor says it might be cancer.  

Be thankful for the good times: the undeserved gifts that come our way; the precious people who love us more than we deserve; the ones who make us better people just by being here; the times that we are better than we know how to be.   

Be thankful, for in gratitude we discover that God has been here all along.  The best thing Highland Hills has going for it, that for which we give the most thanks, is the presence of Grace, the presence of Love, and the presence of God.

God has been pulling this church along for sixty years. Though most of the time we fail to see it, we are never alone. A grace, a goodness bigger than we are, pulled us this far, and made this church unique.  

God is the one who brings us here. God makes this place and these people home. God is here when we help one another and when we help people we don’t even know. God is present in worship, holiness, and mystery, as we wrestle with God even as God embraces us. God is here when we decide to love, hope, and dream. God is here when we laugh and when we grieve, and when we realize that this church is more than the sum total of its members. God is with us. Give thanks.

God Walked Before Us Then: Memories from the Early Years

In order to capture first-hand the sense of excitement and adventure felt by the founders and charter members of Highland Hills, Cass DuCharme visited with Bert Elliott and asked her to share some of her favorite memories from the early years. As charter members, Bert and her husband, Marvin, were excited about helping start a new church in their neighborhood.

Bert recalls that everyone used their gifts to help get this new Baptist church established in the Shirley Hills neighborhood. Bert said, “Since my children were little at the time, I wanted to work with them, so I helped in the nursery behind the chapel and the beginners’ department.” Bert and Marvin had three children, Jim, Ann, and Kathy, who were eight, six, and one when the church was founded. All three children were later baptized at Highland Hills. The Elliotts’ church involvement went beyond teaching Sunday School. Bert recalled, “The first WMU, Sunbeams, and Boy Scout Troop of HHBC all met at our home on Hawthorne Road because we had a kitchen.”

Marvin Elliott used his skills as a businessman to join Frank Willingham and Bill Register in raising funds for the church building that would eventually grace the knoll on Briarcliff Road. Before the building was completed, the church met at the Baconsfield Park clubhouse and the Macon Little Theatre on Riverside Drive.

Some of Bert Elliott’s fondest memories from the early years at Highland Hills include traditions that are still part of our church today. “I helped start the Live Nativity, which was a lighted scene with children and youth playing the parts. I helped make costumes for the children,” said Bert. She also helped with the annual Easter Egg Hunt and enjoyed the beautiful Easter sunrise services in the amphitheater.

As Bert shared her memories and her love for Highland Hills, her words revealed that God had truly walked before this small group of founding families and charter members as they followed God’s call to begin a new work and ministry in this place.

How Much Do You Know about Highland Hills?

Take a walk down Highland Hills’ memory lane. As we celebrate sixty years of ministry together, we want to test your knowledge of the history of Highland Hills. Some of us have trouble remembering the events of our day, so bringing back memories from the past sixty years may be challenging, but these are facts and pieces of trivia worth remembering. If you are stumped by some of these questions, the answers are provided at the end of the article.


l.  What sometimes notorious Macon landmark building (formerly located on Riverside Drive) served as the first sanctuary for a Highland Hills Baptist Church worship service?

2.  Highland Hills’ first Easter sunrise service predated the construction of the buildings and featured a piano in the back of a pickup truck. In what year was the first Easter sunrise service held?

3.  Name the one Highland Hills founder still living and attending Highland Hills

4.  Who was the first couple to be married in the Highland Hills chapel?

5.  Which former pastors are currently members of Highland Hills?

6.  What was David Hailey’s favorite baseball team?


7.  What was the former name of the “Family Matters” newsletter?

8.  How many Ministers of Music have served at Highland Hills?

9.  What special holiday served as the backdrop for Jim Dant’s first Sunday at Highland Hills?

10.  What famous entertainer made an appearance at the 50’s Sock Hop for HHBC’s 50th Anniversary?

Answers: 1. The Macon Little Theatre Building 2. 1954 3. Mary Willingham 4. A.W. and Elsie Wade 5. Dr. Jim Bruner and Dr. James Dant 6. The Chicago Cubs 7. The Informer 8. Four 9. Father’s Day 10. Elvis Presley

God Will Walk with Us Always: What Highland Hills Means to Us

With sixty years of ministry and memories behind us, Highland Hills has become a community that worships together, laughs together, and prays together. When asked to share their thoughts about Highland Hills, our members spoke about family and love and serving others. Members who have been here since the days of our founding and members who have found us in recent years all agree that Highland Hills has become a loving family, walking together with God day by day.

“It’s family – where I love to worship – where my closest friends are. It’s where I find peace, joy, and hope – where I always feel at home.”
Mary Brown
HHBC member since 1979

“Highland Hills is the best church I could ever go to. It is a fun and good church.”
Harriette Ann Bowden
HHBC member since 2002

“Highland Hills means the love we have for each other and the children’s hugs and smiles.”        
Nancy Brown
HHBC member since 1953

 “HHBC means family and fellowship with other Christians as we seek to serve Jesus in whatever way He calls us to – in community, in the world, and within our selves.”     
Pam Kent
HHBC member since 1984

“I love Highland Hills and am so blessed to be a part of this family. My Sunday School class, WOM, choir, and congregation have welcomed me as one of their own. I stand in awe of all of our ministers who are so gifted and dedicated.”
 Betty Horton
HHBC member since 2010

“Highland Hills means family and trust.”
Noah Horton
HHBC member since 1999
“HHBC means friendship and good times and a great place to be.”
Will Newton
HHBC member since 2000

“I love it here and I hope I will always be a part of it. There are a lot of fun activities to participate in. It is such a great place to be. It’s fun!”      
Ella Trotter
HHBC member since 2002

“Highland Hills is where I met my best friend and I love all the people here. They are all so nice and sweet to me. I have been here since I was born and I love GA’s, Music, and Choir. I love Highland Hills!”
Ellie Browne
HHBC member since 2004

Celebration Sunday

Join us on Sunday, April 14 to celebrate HHBC’s 60th Anniversary. As we remember the faith and commitment of our founding families, we will celebrate all the years along our journey and look ahead with hope and joy to the future of Highland Hills.

The morning worship service will include several special guests, including, as our guest preacher, former pastor Dr. David Hailey. Dave and Susan’s son, David John, will provide our special music and former pastor, Jim Bruner, will lead our congregation as we share communion together.

The celebration will continue with “dinner on the grounds” following the morning worship service. The church will provide the meat and the dessert and church members, whose last names begin with A through L, are asked to bring salads. Those members whose names begin with M through Z are asked to bring sides (vegetables, etc.). The meal will be served in the Great Room with tables set up in the courtyard for the lunch and celebration activities.