16X20
This is a painting of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Windsor, NC as it looks sort of lonely in late Summer. By the late 1800's many of its parishioners would load their families, chickens, cows, etc. and migrate to Nags Head for the hot summer months where it was cooler than the unbearable windless heat that often settles here in the eastern swampy bottoms of Bertie County. Others would find relief along the Albemarle Sound as well. Consequently, church attendance at St. Thomas dwindled quite a bit during this time of year. In fact, Captain E.R. Outlaw, whom I wrote of in my previous painting, would always take his Confederate uniform with him to Nags Head in case he died there because it was his wish to be buried in it. He died in Bertie, and his headstone is in the lower right hand corner of this painting. Since Windsor is so close to the Outer Banks and the summer heat is still as grueling as it was over a hundred years ago, this tradition of heading to the coast on the weekends continues today - once again leaving many pews empty in this old church until after Labor Day.
Last Spring about a week before Memorial Day, our current minister, Rev. Joe Cooper, in a lighthearted jab at the congregation, suggested that we have a cover dish lunch the following Sunday to bid the Lord off before he left to go to Nags Head for the Summer.
