My new friend, Lynn Cavenaugh, of Decatur, was at my home the other day, when I wondered who I could interview for this column. It dawned on me to interview Lynn. One particular aspect of her life was extremely interesting to me, as her previous home was in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and her church was the Moravian church. I can’t resist sharing concerning this Protestant denomination.
In 1727, Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf, of Saxony, Germany, opened his large estate to give sanction to persecuted Christians who were part of a church formed in the 1400s. These were members of a sect formed by followers of Jan Huss, a Bohemian who was burned at the stake because of his revolt against the Catholic church long before Martin Luther. After a difficult time, they banded in unity and put in place a regimented schedule of people praying 24 hours a day, a prayer meeting which continued for over one hundred years!
They sent missionaries all over the world, some even trying to sell themselves as slaves to spread the gospel. On board a ship once in a hurricane, coming to America, young John Wesley was afraid but was impressed by the Moravians’ lack of fear as they prayed and sang hymns. He had a conversation with one of them in which he realized that he was not truly saved. He sought for and received an experience in which he said he was “strangely warmed and filled.” He was consequently instrumental in the start of the Great Awakening and is recognized as being the founder of the Methodist denomination. Also, William Carey, considered the father of Modern Missions, was also greatly influenced by the Moravians.
Now, back to my friend. Lynn’s mother, Anna Ruth Evans, and her niece, Helen, who was her same age, went to Baltimore, Maryland, to work in the airplane plant during WWII. After they handed in their applications and were accepted, they were handed over to two young men to teach them, both of whom were also from North Carolina. Anna Ruth pointed to one and said, “I’ll take him, and you take him.” The two couples were later married and lived in North Carolina for many years.
Sandria Lynn Myers Cavenaugh was born July 25, 1946, reared in Winston-Salem, attended schools there and graduated from R.J. Reynolds High School in 1964. Her parents both worked at Western Electric, a company that made parts for Nike missiles and later for telephones. While her father, Harvey Wilson Myers Jr., was a tool maker, her mother Anna Ruth dressed in skirts and wore heels every day to work on the assembly line!
Lynn worked at a department store for a short time before starting work at Southern Bell Telephone. She and Alton Cavenaugh met in Winston-Salem, and when he was transferred to Mississippi, she got a transfer with the phone company, as well. They were married in 1971. Alton drove a truck for Roadway for many years.
They lived in Meridian for a little while before buying a trailer and moving to Chunky. The Cavenaughs bought a 100-acre farm there, where, she said, “We had a garden, horses, cows, goats, pigs, chickens and a dog.”
They had two children. Heather Lynn was born in 1976, and Joseph Anthony followed in 1980. Heather is married to Rev. Bob Followell, and they live in Damascus, MS, west of DeKalb. Their children are Michael, 20, Makenlee, 16, and Marshall, 13. Joseph and Melanie Bush Cavenaugh have Joseph Tanner, 6, Anastyn Paige, 4, with another girl expected to be born in January. They live in Laurel.
Heather and Joseph both graduated from Newton County High School, in 1994 and 1998 respectively. Heather works in Accounts Payable at Rush in Meridian, while her husband works for Southern Care and does pastoral work. Joseph works at Ensign Drilling Company on an on-land oil rig, and his wife, Melanie, teaches eighth-grade math and coaches softball in Laurel.
While her children were in school, Lynn worked for the Meridian school system, first in the cafeteria, managing the Marion Park Elementary School cafeteria one year. She attended Meridian Community College for a time. Later, she worked at Peavy’s for three years, then at Newton County Schools for several years, as an assistant teacher and school bus driver. Lynn was a mental health technician at Central Mississippi Regional Center for three years, around the time of Katrina, and at Alliance Health Center she worked in the detox unit.
In 2006 Lynn moved back to North Carolina to take care of her parents. After they both passed away, she moved back to Mississippi in 2011 to be near her children and grandchildren. She lived with Heather for a while, helping take care of the house and the children. In 2013, she and her friend, Judy Linton, drove around Decatur, looking for a place Lynn could settle, as she had sold the place in Chunky. She found Decatur Village Apartments, which, she said was perfect for her. She confided, “I have the best apartment on the whole place. On the back side, facing the cows. Just enough room for me.” Her grandson Michael, who works at Tractor Supply, has been living with her there for about six months.
When I asked about her Christian upbringing, Lynn told of the Moravian church custom, that provided a catechism class for children about ten years old. “Then they ask if you want to be saved. I was baptized, but I knew in my heart I was not saved.” Later, when Lynn was about 13, she recalled, “My mother took me to a kids’ crusade at Reynolds Auditorium. That’s where I was saved. I could not ignore it any longer. The Holy Spirit had been dealing with me all that time.”
Her journey continued after they came here. Rev. Curtis Guess was pastor at Chunky Baptist Church. “He came to visit us one day. All this time I was not living like I should have been living. When Heather was about five months old, on Mother’s Day, we went to Chunky Baptist Church. My friend Pat Anderson and I were baptized together. I rededicated my life to God.” At this point, she became active in church activities and taught Sunday School.
Later, she was invited to a Bible study led by Bro. Phil Smith, which led to an involvement with the founding of a church they called the Refuge, which ministered to under-privileged people. She commented, “I learned more from Bro. Phil Smith than anyone else in my life.” After the church closed, Lynn attended Grace United Baptist Church but now attends Epic Life Ministries in Newton, pastored by Rev. Luke Way.
She shared with me there were times in her life God told her things to do or not to do, and she didn’t listen and obey. However, she said, “God was gracious.” When I asked, Lynn replied that her Christian goal is “just to keep doing what I feel the Lord wants me to do.” We all, as Christians, should have that same goal.
May we look for inspiration to young Count Zinzendorf, whose life had been changed by a painting of Jesus on the cross in an art museum, under which was a question: “This I have done for you. What are you doing for me?”
Live for Jesus! He’s Coming Soon!
You may contact me at lagnesrussell@gmail.com
