President Carter Sunday School Lesson

In October of 2011 I had the chance to go to Georgia to see family that lived outside of Columbus, Ga. Since Plains is about a hour away I took the advantage of this once in a lifetime chance to see a Former President of the United States.

I arrived at President Carters church at 9am. Once you enter the parking lot there was someone asking if I was a member or visitor. I told him I was a visitor. Since I was a visitor I couldnt park my car right away. The car in front of me and my car had to be gone around by a bomb sniffing dog. After I was told I could park they told me that since I was a visitor I had to use the main doors so the Secret Service could do their check to make sure I was safe to enter the church. Once inside the church a member of the church ushered me to my seat second row center. There was a very nice lady I believe her name was Jan. She was asking different questions about President Carter, telling different things about him and going over the rules of what to do. She also said President Carter will ask which state or country you are from and will also ask if there are any pastors in the church that would like to lead in a opening prayer. When I was there, they had two pastors from different churches there. As I was sitting there I looked over and saw Sam Donaldson from ABC News sitting in the area that the Carters sit at. After the service Mr. Donaldson was nice enough to stay after and do pictures with the people that attend church that Sunday. During the main service a piano player name David Osborne was there for President Carter's birthday the day before. He played a few songs before he had to leave. The Sunday School lesson last about fifty mins. President Carter leaves about ten minutes before the worship service starts. The 10 mins gives people time to use the bathroom, put money in a box if they want to purchase a dvd or cd of the Sunday School lesson he was teaching on the day of your visit. President Carter left about 10 mins before the worship service ended. Depending on the time of year you go, it is hard to say how long you will wait to get your picture taken. When I was there the service ended a little after noon and I was done having my picture taken with President Carter and Sam Donaldson by 12:15.

When President Carter enters the church you dont stand up or applaud . Jan told us that we dont have to stand because he isnt a current President. The only ones that stand are the ones that have their military outfits on.

President Carter wont sign anything you may have and you also are not allowed to give the Carters anything

When you get you picture taken if the Carters have time you are not allowed to stand between them, you have to stand on the side of them

You have to have your camera ready to go when you get your picture taken. Have your camera turned on and ready to go.

Your not suppose to have a long talk with the Carters. Just a short and sweet "great Sunday school lesson and it was great to meet you"

Get to the church right when the building opens at 8:30 or 9:00. By getting there that early you have a better chance of sitting in the main part of the church to see President Carter face to face and not have the chance of sitting on a folding chair or in the over flow room having to watch him on a tv. And also by getting there early you wont have a long wait with the bomb sniffing dogs and the Secret Service.

Here I am with Sam Donaldson. He was nice enough to sign the church program for the Sunday I was there.