Hazel James Moore is a minister of a small church in a very small Beaufort County town. But under her leadership as an ordained minister of 30 years, carrying on a more than 50-year family tradition, St. Cindy’s Holiness Church has an impact on community members and those who attend the church.

The church was started in the early 1960s when Moore’s grandmother, Cindy Clark Moore, began to host services for family members in her home. Over the years, the church expanded and went through several transformations until finally becoming the cinder block building that it is today.

“(Cindy) worked in tobacco, and she used the money she made to get a tent and she used that for a while,” Hazel James Moore said. “Then she went to a wood-framed building and then to a cement, cinder block church like now. She did it all through the money she made.”

Moore said Cindy, who ministered the church until she was in her early 100s, was an esteemed elder in the community and ministered to several generations of Blounts Creek residents and those from the surrounding area. After her health started to deteriorate, Cindy Moore continued preaching from her wheelchair, and even if her last years of life, she was appointed to head services at Ridgewood Manor.

She also instilled in her children and grandchildren a love for God and living right, which ultimately, led Hazel James Moore to obtain her license for ministry and become an ordained minister in 1980, she said. She learned under her grandmother and followed in her footsteps, something that means a great deal to her, Hazel James Moore said.

“It’s wonderful,” Hazel James Moore said. “Grandmama was a legend in her day. She always taught us about serving God and living for the Lord, and she instilled that into us about living right. It feels good to follow in her footsteps. She was a soul winner, and she wanted to witness to as many people as possible. It means the world to me to carry on that legacy.”

Today, the church continues to host services every Sunday, as well as Bible study Tuesdays, Hazel James Moore said. With a congregation of around 20, the church focuses on teaching the word of God, winning souls to Christ and witness to community members. It sponsors several missions, feeding people weekly and for Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as helping pay light bills and rent for those who are in need.

“We’ve been really good to people,” Hazel James Moore said. “It’s not just people in our circle. We branch out and help people. We branch out and help people in need in the community. Anyway we can help we do it.”

Moore said her daughter, Terrani, is also very active in the church today. Terrani Moore, who is also ordained, aids her mother in continuing the legacy that is St. Cindy’s Holiness Church.

St. Cindy’s Holiness Church is located at 1852 Tripp Rd. in Blounts Creek.