CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN

 

    REVEREND ESTHER HILL GRAHAM

 

                              "Stop Straddling the Fence"

 

 

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As Told By: Reverend Esther Hill Graham Editor

The following life story became more than a story; it took on a life of its own with an opening prayer, a sermon, an account of a lived life, and a closing song. My mother was Mary Christine Hill, and I was born in Sheffield, AL, in 1932. My father was named Wallace. My grandmother’s name was Elizabeth Hill, and my grandfather was Lover Hill. I was married to Charlie Graham, now deceased, for over fifteen years. I attended Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Leighton, AL, which had a cemetery behind it. As a youth, I participated in the Sunbeam Band (comparable to the CPYF) and attended Bible study and Prayer Services. I attended Leighton Training School in Leighton, AL. I picked up wood chips and wood the night before to have heat and get ready for school the following day. I graduated from Council High School, which was located on Clinton Street in Huntsville, AL.

 

Growing up in the country, certain customs and behaviors in the Black community did not change. One thing in particular that was passed down from generation to generation was the tradition of being a guest in someone’s home and accepting food. I don’t care how hungry you were; if the people asked you to eat, you’d better say, “No, ma’am, I ain’t hungry.

 

As a child, once you reached a certain age, you were not allowed to sit in the pews at the back of the church. You had to come to the front seat, called the “Moaning Bench.” (The front pew in the church where an unsaved person sat and petitioned the Lord for salvation through prayer.) When you were sure that the Lord had heard your prayer and saved you, there had to be a testimony that you had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. You couldn’t just walk up and give the Preacher a handshake. Some say they had a vision of something spectacular when the Lord saved them. When I was saved, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. You can’t just reach out and hold it in your hand; you must feel it in your heart.

 

Reverend Graham said that her life consisted of church work. My sister, brother, and I lived close to my cousins, and I was always the spokesperson. I would never mock a preacher or anyone proclaiming God. I didn’t want any part of it; I didn’t believe in it. I could feel the presence of God’s anointing; I felt like it was stamped in me. I felt God had planned my life. Once God puts His stamp on you, you can’t go back and retrace it; it’s finished.

 

I was called to preach in 1979 and preached my first sermon in 1981. I was ordained in 1982. My first sermon was preached at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, TN, where Stephen Temple once stood before it moved to 3rd Street. My first sermon was “Stop Straddling the Fence” (I King 18). The Lord woke me up one night and revealed the sermon to me. I sang in the choir and served as the director at Mt. Canaan, located on Ocoee in Chattanooga, TN. I don’t need a piano because God has put one down in me. I have pastored four churches and organized one, Grace Chapel CP, originally Grace Chapel 2nd Cumberland. I attended classes at the Denomination Center in Huntsville, AL, and at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, where I received a Certificate in Theology. Reverend Graham was asked, “What do you want people to know about Esther Hill Graham? “I ain’t no sugar-coated preacher; I have to preach to the people, and He will touch them; I don’t add or take away. I am a child of the Most High King, and I want to make it in. I want people to know that I am still preaching and teaching. I have preached all over the place, carried on revival in Louisville, KY, and moved out of town and back in town.” Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.” There is so much the Lord has done for me. I can’t pay the Lord, but I can say, “Thank You, Sir.”