Year In Review: Lifestyles
Sarah McRae, author of “Truths That Conform to Reality: A Book of Daily Devotionals” Photo by Samantha Lyles
January 27
Author distills half-century of devotional insight
Reading scripture is an important part of the spiritual life of many Christians, and while gleaning insights from personal study of the Bible can be rewarding, the pursuit can require an investment of time that many busy folks cannot spare. Author Sarah McRae has published a volume of lucid and practical daily devotionals that draw on her half-century of experience as a Bible study teacher, and her book, “Truths That Conform to Reality: A Book of Daily Devotionals,” is intended to share the benefits of her thorough and repeated readings with a wider audience.
“I taught adult Sunday School classes for fifty years, and I kept my notes and outlines on computer and in my files. So I decided that I’d like to share that with people because it’s my faith, and I like to share my faith,” says McRae. “When I got ready, I just dug out all my old notes and lessons and started writing.”
The result is a compendium of 365 themed devotionals aimed to inspire the reader toward contemplation, spiritual strength, and better understanding of the inspiring lessons contained within God’s word.
A Darlington County native, Sarah McRae was raised on a family farm in Dovesville by adoptive parents Pauline and Fuller Jackson. Though her father passed away when Sarah was just 7 years old, Mr. Jackson left the family with a solid home – a brick house where Sarah still lives today.
The church played a large role in Sarah’s life since childhood, and she has attended Black Creek Baptist Church since the age of 9. She began teaching youth Sunday School as a young woman, shortly after her 1955 marriage to John L. McRae of Cheraw, a man she credits with helping her faith find a voice.
“He really helped me grow to spiritual maturity,” says Sarah.
Teaching both children and adults was both challenging and rewarding, and Sarah says that while she enjoyed having fun in her classes, she maintained an awareness that lighthearted moments should be tempered by sincere study.
“I liked to have fun, but I was serious, too, because I think God’s business is serious,” she says. “I liked to tell stories to illustrate points, and I included a lot of those stories in my book.”
One such story touches on the events of Exodus, when the Israelites safely crossed the parted Red Sea and the angels in heaven celebrated as the pursuing Egyptians drowned in the returning waters. McRae talks about God chastising the angels and stressing that the Egyptians are his children, too, so their deaths should not be cause for joy. She draws a parallel between God’s love for all, and the need for Christians to accept and love all people, without regard to race or creed.
“That was my way to bring up the subject that God wants us to love everybody… sometimes I wasn’t very subtle,” McRae says, laughing.
Along with her Sunday School students (thanked by name in the book’s preface), McRae has always emphasized the importance of inclusive, open-hearted faith, and worked to remind her church family of the need to grow with the times, to welcome all into God’s house, and find roles for those willing to work for the church’s success – regardless of race or gender.
Her new book is available through Amazon.com. Copies will also be available at the News and Press office for $15. Cash or check only, please.
Feb 24
Florence-Darlington Tech and Darlington County Schools expand college credit program
Officials from the Darlington County School District (DCSD) and Florence-Darlington Technical College (FDTC) formally entered into a groundbreaking partnership on February 15, agreeing to offer dual-credit courses at the B.A. Gary Educational Complex, located in the Darlington County Adult Education and Darlington County Intervention School campus on Magnolia Street.
“This is really a historic event for us. The folks in Darlington County are great educational partners,” said Dr. Ben Dillard, FDTC president, adding that he and DCSD superintendent Dr. Eddie Ingram are very happy to open this pathway for students get a jump on their educational goals.
Presently, FDTC and DCSD offer a number of dual-credit courses to high school students, and several Darlington High seniors will graduate in 2016 with both their high school diploma and a two-year associate degree.
“It’s great that Tech is branching out into the community with these satellite sites, and it’s even better that it’s here on school district property so we’re able to kill two birds with one stone,” said DCSD Adult Education director Chuck Miller. “Our seniors will be able to take one course and have it count twice – as when their English IV class counts at Tech as their Entrance to English.”
Miller said the familiar and convenient location may also help remove some of the fear that prevents adult students and GED testers from pursuing college degrees.
Dr. Ingram noted that both he and his brother began their college education at two-year institutions, and lauded the partnership that will give DCSD grads an edge when mapping out their work and college plans.
“When kids have an opportunity to start their secondary careers with at least a year’s worth of college credit, it gives them a jump start on their life,” said Dr. Ingram. “For most of my career, we focused on getting kids a diploma, and then might shake their hand and say “good luck to you.” But now we’re more purposeful – we want them to have a plan, and we can only do that by working with business and industry to identify the skills that kids need going forward.”
Initially, the dual-credit program will offer two courses at the Darlington Center: entry-level psychology, and college readiness, with FDTC instructors teaching the courses. To learn more about the DCSD/FDTC dual-credit courses, visit their websites at: www.darlington.k12.sc.us and www.fdtc.edu. You may also call DCSD Adult Education at (843) 398-2856.
Darlington Walmart manager Kevin Lane says the new store and its 220 employees are “fired up” and ready to go.
Photo by Samantha Lyles
May 18
Walmart Grand Opening
Darlington celebrated the May 11 official grand opening of the new Walmart Supercenter with a high-energy, early morning gathering that drew hundreds of eager shoppers and spectators.
After the National Anthem, performed by the Darlington High School Marching Band and Choir, store manager Kevin Lane welcomed the crowd to their new Supercenter, store #7188, and voiced his hope that the Darlington Walmart would soon become the city’s favorite place to shop, one where every customer is met with a smile and a positive attitude from the store’s 222 associates.
“One thing you’ll find when you come in here is going to be friendly associates, so you don’t have to worry about that when you come into this facility,” said Lane. “That’s what we’re all about, doing the right thing every time for every customer.”
Lane made $1,000 grant presentations to several local organizations, including the Darlington County School District (whose Workforce Investment Act arm helped staff the store), and the Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault.
After remarks from Walmart supervisor Eddie Bostic and Darlington Mayor Gloria Hines, the crowd – evidently impatient to prowl the aisles for deals – surged through the doors, grabbed carts and dispersed through the store, forcing associates to rush to their stations and begin the first of (hopefully) many days of happy shopping at Darlington’s new retail center.
The over 120,000 square-foot facility features all the regular Walmart retail bells and whistles – everything from housewares to hunting gear to groceries – along with a pharmacy, vision care clinic, and (soon) an indoor restaurant.
Visit the new Walmart Supercenter, open 24-hours a day, at 251 Andover Place in Darlington.
Danica Patrick pipes deviled eggs under the watchful eye of local chef Dale Barth at South of Pearl.
Photo by Samantha Lyles
August 10
Danica Patrick cooks & chats in Darlington
NASCAR luminary Danica Patrick traded her driving suit for an apron last Tuesday, joining guest chef Dale Barth in the kitchen of Darlington venue South of Pearl. Patrick helped prepare a delicious meal for a media luncheon sponsored by the Darlington Raceway and NASCAR in advance of the Bojangles’ Southern 500 Labor Day weekend. The feast included pulled pork barbecue, baked beans, potato salad, fried oysters, deviled eggs, and blackberry cobbler.
Patrick offered thanks for the great luncheon turnout and observed that this kind of strong community support – and the legendary toughness of the Darlington Raceway – help make the Southern 500 a truly special event.
“It’s obvious why the track has been around for so long, and that’s also what makes the race itself so prestigious to do well at and win at,” said Patrick. “Because it is too tough to tame sometimes. It’s a difficult track and it’s probably the most physical track that we go to.
Later that afternoon, Patrick visited Darlington High School and helped volunteers from the Carolina Kids organization pack take-home food supplies for kids at risk of going hungry. Patrick then held court in the DHS cafeteria with Darlington Raceway president Kerry Tharp, taking questions from fans of all ages.
Inquiries ran the gamut from serious to silly, and Patrick gamely joked around with the crowd. She noted that her future Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer is “quite the character” who will keep team leader Tony Stewart busy in retirement next year. She also explained how it feels to pilot a high-powered NASCAR machine – and how frustrating it is when a fellow racer gets too aggressive and wrecks her car.
“Jerks,” Patrick grumbled, spurring laughter from the kids.
Patrick received cheers from DHS Marching Band members when she revealed that she played the recorder and flute in her high school band.
“Looking back, I probably would have rather played the drums, though. That would have been a really good outlet for my frustrations,” Patrick said, to even louder applause.
Asked by one student which NASCAR race was her favorite, Patrick replied that has yet to be determined, though she wouldn’t mind taking her first checkered flag at Darlington.
“There have been times that I both loved and hated Darlington,” said Patrick. “But my favorite (track) of all time will be the one I win at.”
December 7
Vintage Christmas lights return to Darlington
A group of Darlington citizens united last week with a common cause: to literally make the Christmas season brighter for their friends and neighbors by reconditioning aged holiday decorations. This positive effort had its roots in a prickly online conflict where several people sparred on Facebook about the city’s Christmas lights, but things took an upward turn when some posters agreed to gather at Darlington’s Harmon Baldwin Gym and work together to make things better.
“We’re taking the old lights off of some of the older street ornaments and replacing them with new LED lights so they can be put up around the city,” said volunteer Cathy Kemmerlin, who noted that she’s working with members of the decoration detail to form a Christmas light committee that will help organize decorations and address technical or aesthetic problems well before the 2017 holidays.
After a lot of new wiring, fresh LED light bulbs, and no small amount of elbow grease to clean away layers of grime from the white wire frames, the older decorations – shaped like Christmas trees and angels – were mounted on light posts downtown by Darlington Street Department crews for all residents and visitors to enjoy again.
