PLAINS — In her first Sunday school lesson since Jimmy Carter’s death, the niece of the 39th president told their tight-knit congregation she has no doubt her uncle is in heaven and reunited with his beloved Rosalynn at last.
Parishioners filed into the deep-red pews of Maranatha Baptist Church for their first service since the former president died last weekend at the age of 100. Rosalynn Carter, his wife of 77 years, died in 2023.
The former first couple adored their modest house of worship and Jimmy Carter taught Sunday school classes for decades here until he was well into his 90s.
“Those of us who knew him knew how strong his faith was,” Kim Carter Fuller said of her uncle. “They are just having a party in heaven.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
As they grew old together and their public appearances became limited, the Carters tuned in each weekend to watch church services on YouTube from the comfort of their cozy den in their Plains home.
Though relatively small, its congregation numbering about 30 people, the modest church with distinct green carpet became a frequent stop for visitors from around the world who journeyed to the rural southwest Georgia town to meet the Carters and hear Sunday lessons.
Carter, who died Dec. 29 after nearly two years in home hospice, stopped teaching Sunday school in 2019 due to his age and health. The pandemic also kept the former first couple away.
His niece continues to teach Sunday school lessons.
“I know Uncle Jimmy’s up there,” Fuller said, joking that Rosalynn probably “bumped everybody out of the way to get to him.”
MORE: Photos of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter through the years
Credit: Shaddi Abusaid / shaddi.abusaid@ajc.com
Credit: Shaddi Abusaid / shaddi.abusaid@ajc.com
As sad as she is about Carter’s passing, Fuller told the congregation Sunday she ought to be joyful “because it was his time.”
“He was ready,” she said. “He was 100 years old and he lived a wonderful, wonderful life.”
There were a number of out-of-towners at Sunday’s service who traveled to Plains to pay their final respects and honor Carter’s life. That boosted attendance to about 45 people.
Among them was Leslie Ashman, a retiree living in Richmond, Virginia, who cast a ballot for Jimmy Carter her very first time voting.
Andrew Greer, a songwriter who resettled in Plains after moving from Nashville two years ago, said he first visited the town in 2007 and was immediately enamored.
“The Carters were heroes of mine and I couldn’t believe there was a living president who taught Sunday school in a small town,” said Greer, who writes folk, bluegrass and Christian music. “Plains was a cornerstone of their life.”
Credit: Ben Gray / bgray@ajc.com
Credit: Ben Gray / bgray@ajc.com
In her sermon, which she aptly titled “Nobody gets out alive,” Maranatha Pastor Ashley Guthas on Sunday praised Jimmy Carter’s strength, his faith and all that he accomplished in his century of life.
“Jimmy followed Jesus,” Guthas told her congregation. “He hungered for heaven on earth and he got to work.”
Sunday was much quieter in Plains than on Saturday, when hundreds of mourners descended on the tiny town to pay their respects to the peanut farmer-turned-president. The nearly weeklong funeral procession carrying Carter’s remains set out from nearby Americus and passed through Plains before heading to Atlanta.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
After Thursday’s state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral, Carter’s body will return to Plains, where the former president’s hometown church will hold a private memorial service before he is buried next to his wife.
In addition to teaching Sunday school classes, Jimmy Carter was known to help with odd jobs, including mowing the grass. He crafted a wooden cross that stands in the sanctuary. He also made wooden trays used to collect offerings during services and a children’s table that still sits in the church’s preschool room.
Maranatha was the site of two candlelight vigils last week: one held the day after Carter’s death and a second held Saturday after the motorcade carrying the former president’s flag-draped casket departed Plains.
Among those who lighted candles Saturday was Reed Elliotte, a 14-year-old presidential historian from Corbin, Kentucky.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Elliotte, who has appeared on national television for his knowledge of White House trivia, wiped his eyes as he left the church on Saturday.
Carter, the eighth grader said, is by far his favorite president.
“He’s been such an influence to me and so many other people,” said Elliotte, who has traveled to Plains numerous times to meet the former president’s family and friends. He sang at the church’s Christmas performance and made the trip down for more Sunday services than his mother could count.
“It doesn’t feel like a celebrity loss. It feels like a personal loss,” he said. “I’m really going to miss him, but I’m glad he’s back with Rosalynn.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Guthas, the church’s pastor, never got the chance to meet the former president. She became pastor last June, but said the Carters’ influence can be felt throughout their town.
“If it wasn’t for Jimmy and Rosalynn and their advocacy for women in church leadership, I would not be here,” Guthas said before the start of Sunday’s service.
She said she admired the Carters, what they did for people across the world and their ability to “see the sacred worth of others.”
Their legacy of “waging peace” and serving everyone, Guthas said, “is something we will continue to nourish in all of our hearts.”
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