SLIDE SHOW: At 98 years, a life of prayer and preaching

By Frank Roberts

It's 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning at First Christian Church in Edenton, N.C., and the congregation is ready for some straightforward, direct-from-the-Bible preaching from the Rev. E.C. Alexander.

It doesn't strike them as odd that Alexander walks to the pulpit without a cane or a walker. Or that Alexander carries no notes, except maybe a few Bible quotes he typed out on his computer, so he can spend his whole sermon looking into the eyes of his parishioners.

But the scene might surprise visitors who don't know Alexander - because he's 98. He's been teaching and preaching at First Christian since 1929.

He's a well-prepared soldier of God whose ammunition is in the Good Book and in his almost 80 years of experience. He's not about to step aside any time soon.

He expects to continue preaching when he reaches the century mark and, he hopes, beyond.

"I'm pulling for that. I want to serve the rest of my time here."

His house of worship is almost bare-bones, reminiscent of an Old West frontier church, with wooden pews and a small but eager congregation singing old, old hymns a capella.

Alexander leads Sunday morning and Wednesday night services. Sunday night services are conducted by Assistant Pastor Steve Davenport, a long-distance trucker.

There is power in Alexander's sermons. His voice is clean and clear and doesn't crack.

It's not fire-and-brimstone style, but as he gets farther and farther into his speech, his voice increases in strength.

On a recent Sunday, church-goers began a hymn with an enthusiasm akin to weak tea, until Alexander urged them to, "Sing, sing. Come on, sing."

That's all it took. The voices lifted.

Spirits have been lifted in the little church since it was organized in 1924. That's also when Alexander, one of its youngest members, came forward to accept Christ as his Lord and Savior during revival services.

"No particular reason," he said. "It's just that the Lord was in my heart."

Becoming a preacher was never in his plans.

In 1929, when Alexander was 19, he was asked to become the Sunday School superintendent. Then, he became a deacon, then an elder. In 1947 he spent two hours in a meeting room with church members who tossed him Bible questions, game-show style, before they chose him to be First Christian Church's minister. He'd had no formal schooling for the job.

"Really, truly, I had no idea of becoming a preacher, but it's like the military service. I was drafted."

It was a part-time gig. Like most of his parishioners, Alexander worked full time at the Edenton Cotton Mill. He worked the night shift and lived in housing built by the company for mill workers. He sold and repaired Singer sewing machines by day.

Initially, he worked as First Christian's pastor for nothing unless you count chickens, vegetables and other farm products.

"We had all poor people, so I didn't charge for my ministry."

One time, "I was coming home late one night, carrying a bunch of chickens. A cop stopped me and accused me of stealing them. I said to him, I didn't steal them - that's my pay."

He left the mill in 1983; it shut down in 1995.

He's watched his congregation dwindle, like the cotton business that used to sustain the town. At one time, there were 300 church members, and services were standing room only.

These days, 40 is a good Sunday morning count. Most of the people moving to Edenton, now that the cotton mill's housing site has become prime real estate, attend one of the larger churches in town.

"I'm paid $200 a month," Alexander said, "and that's all I'll accept."

No matter, because his greatest pleasure is his daily Bible reading, two or three chapters each day. His time is divided between his home and his church, where he works out of a small office.

He has an after-church ritual. He and some friends gather at Chicken Kitchen, a little restaurant in Edenton, for some Southern fried chicken. Other days at 4 p.m., he meets friends at Burger King.

A vanity plate on his car reads: "Jesus Is First." He drives very seldom - he lives two blocks from the church in a home he built himself - but he did ace a recent driving test and, according to his driver's license, he's entitled to drive until he turns 100.

"I get along right good to be as old as I am and considering the condition I'm in."

His only physical complaint, if he were a complainer, might be his high cholesterol.

He is a 15-pills-a-day man, the result of that and his heart problems. "I had a lot of ups and downs, but the Lord sees me through. He talks to me," literally. "I hear a voice."

In October, after Alexander suffered a light stroke, his doctor gave him two choices: move into a nursing home or have someone stay with him. His wife, Eva, died in 1987, and his daughter and two grandchildren live in Williamsburg.

Two of his parishioners, 82-year-old Dorothy Harris and 84-year-old Wilbert Harris, volunteered to help. They go to the preacher's house around noon each day, sleep over and leave the next morning. They help him with his cooking, cleaning and laundry.

"I love him, I love this church and I love my Lord," said Wilbert Harris, who's been a First Christian member for more than 50 years.

"I feel at home here," said Dorothy, a member for 40 years, "and I like the fact that preacher stays close to the Bible."

Alexander is still going strong, performing sermons and marriage ceremonies.

He does not expect to retire. For him, First Christian is his "church filled with love."

Frank Roberts, froberts73@yahoo.com