Mar 31, 2018 6 min read

SYCAMORE – Bates Fork Baptist Church has much to celebrate on Easter, including the kindness of a traveling painter many years ago.

A mural that dates to 1955 depicts an artist’s rendition of the Jordan River, where Christ is said to have been baptized. The piece is large and colorful, and catches the eye as soon as one walks through the doors of the old country church.

Gary Orndoff has been coming to Bates Fork, at 768 Browns Creek Road in Sycamore, for as long as he can remember. He finds himself frequently lost in that 63-year-old addition.

“I love it. Probably thousands of times, I’ve been sitting in that pew and I look up at that mural and how beautiful it is,” Orndoff said. “It’s just a beautiful picture. I’ve always thought it was. It’s just inspirational.”

His eye naturally travels down the river during sermons, following the twists and turns of the water.

“Quite a few people that visit our church comment on the mural,” Pastor Cristy Wise said, adding she gets many questions from guests about its origins.

A man named Fullerton is said to have painted the mural and stayed in his trailer on the grounds as he worked. Past members of the congregation have told Wise it took about a week to complete. There was no set charge, but the church provided a small honorarium in thanks. It’s the backdrop to the church’s baptistry.

Jesus talks about his baptism in the Gospel of Luke and that those who believe are to follow Christ’s example, Wise said. The river is named in the gospels of Matthew and Mark as the place where Jesus was baptized.

Easter and baptisms go hand in hand because it’s representative of death and resurrection, Wise said. It’s popular to offer baptisms near Easter as it is symbolic of one’s old self dying and the new self springing forth from the waters.

“We invite Christ into our life and it’s a newness, a freshness that begins through Christ,” Wise said. “That is what baptism represents. The water doesn’t save us. Christ saves us.”

Orndoff has some vague memories from the week the painting was being worked on. He was 8 years old at the time and everyone else who would know that history is gone.

One of his strongest memories was the day the baptismal mural was unveiled. A large curtain obscured the whole image as everyone was gathered in the pews. The curtain opened slowly to unveil the painting to the congregation.

Orndoff was baptized at Bates Fork and is probably one of the last church members baptized right after the mural was finished. It’s been the backdrop to many events, from baptisms to weddings, over the years.

The painting is on plaster and had begun to lightly crack in some places. Wise said she would be interested in having a local artist see if it could be touched up. She’s amazed someone could paint something so intricate in such a short amount of time.

“It certainly has been a great backdrop to our worship services. It just helps create a worship atmosphere,” Wise said of the mural.

There’s not much information about the history of the artist available.

Wise said she thought Fullerton used his talent to travel and feed himself, reaching out to small churches because they may not have had the means to afford pieces like this.

“Sixty-some years later and we’re here talking about a man that was willing to have a servant’s heart,” she said. “Willing to give, not asking for anything in return. Just ‘let me use my gifts.'”

A previous Observer-Reporter story about a Fullerton mural at Broad Street Baptist Church in Washington cited an internet search that turned up only meager results.

The most available information comes from three people posting on an ancestry.com message board seeking more history on the artist. One also called the muralist “Fullington,” saying he painted between 1940 and 1960 at Akron Baptist Temple, one of the largest Baptist congregations in the United States, and at Canton Baptist Temple, and that he died in 1963. A reply noted that John Alfred Fullerton came to Jacksonville, Fla., after falling on hard times. He painted a mural on a baptistery there in exchange for room and board in a house owned by the church, the Auditorium of Victory Baptist Church. He stored all of his painting supplies in the back of his station wagon.

Broad Street Baptist Church’s mural also is more robust than the depiction in Sycamore. Though they both include renditions of the Jordan River, the Washington church includes three-dimensional elements. Parts are painted on textured plaster. Water appears to flow directly from the painting, thanks to a hidden spout and scraps of broken waste glass, called cullet.

That mural was painted a few years earlier in 1952. A new congregation has recently moved into the church. Nondenominational Arise Christian Fellowship came together in March 2017 and began services in their new space March 4. The last Broad Street Baptist Church service was held Jan. 7. Since then, the space sat empty. The Rev. Tim Lindsay said his congregation began work at the end of February to prepare the space.

Bates Fork Baptist Church dates to 1842. Though they’re a smaller congregation, there’s a lot of warmth within its walls. Wise said many see their church as a safe haven because members “just love on people,” providing healing, restoration and a lack of judgment “for those of a hurting world to provide that peace and comfort that only Chirst can provide.”

“This is a family. We’re a family here,” Orndoff said. “This is all I’ve ever know, this church. I’m so glad my mom and dad brought me here.”