Churches encompass communities

Most small towns have one.

Small and white, simple and plain. But beautiful at the same time.

Throughout history, these structures have served as the cornerstone of the community, the place where residents gather to eat soup or chili, to congratulate each other on weddings and births, anniversaries and birthdays.

Mostly, though, residents of these small Franklin County communities gathered to worship, to pray, to sing songs out of worn out hymnals.

Today, many of these faith-filled structures still stand. Some remain originals, while others have been renovated — painted, remodeled, added onto — or torn down entirely and replaced by more modern buildings.

Members of these churches still gather every Sunday morning, still pray together, still eat together, still carry on together — often in a small white church on the edge of town.