A special service was held Feb. 26 to honor the memory of a pastor and his wife whose legacy continues to shape the religious life of the small community of Elgin, located a few miles northeast of Columbia via U.S. Highway 1.
The children and grandchildren of the late Claude and Sally Hightower led in a special worship service on Feb. 26.The children and grandchildren of the late Claude and Sally Hightower led a service of music and preaching at Harmony Baptist Church in Elgin, where two of the Hightowers’ children are active members.
The elder Hightowers, who served for almost seven years at nearby Spears Creek Baptist Church in Elgin, were the parents of 12 children. At the Feb. 26 service, their eight surviving children, along with four grandchildren, led in worship. The Hightowers’ son, Veldee Hightower, a former North American missionary, director of missions and pastor in North Dakota, brought the sermon, and daughter Lois Jacobs dedicated the service “to Claude and Sally and in honor of God.”
Family singers included Haskell Hightower, Mitchell Hightower, Elizabeth Wooten, Elmo Hightower, Lois Jacobs, Linda Hill, and Montez Burton. Ann Clardy, Cheryl Brewer and Norma Robinson – granddaughters of the Hightowers – also joined the siblings.
Hightower’s sermon was titled, “The Grandest Family of All,” based on Ephesians 3:14-21. “When I come to the Jordan River, I’ve got family on the other side,” he said. He described how his father was a poor dirt farmer who married at age 16. One day he went with his wife to a revival and was saved. He went to school, received a college degree, and then went on to receive two master’s degrees. He spent the rest of his life teaching school and preaching the gospel.