Fans wrap up Tina Turner Heritage Days with Sunday service

BROWNSVILLE, Tenn.– Tina Turner fans joined the congregation of Woodlawn Missionary Baptist Church Sunday morning before heading home from Tina Turner Heritage Days.

They heard the message with a theme of overcoming hard times.

“The sermon was very moving and powerful. It was good, I feel good leaving here today,” fan Deshon Jones said.

Woodlawn’s history predates the days when Turner sang in the choir.

“Our church was founded in 1863 by Rev. Hardin Smith, who was a former slave. It’s just a privilege to stand on the shoulders of giants,” Pastor James Farmer Jr. said.

And of course, some of the congregation remembers those days of sharing a pew with Turner.

One high school classmate, who also sang in the choir with her, reflects on her favorite memory.

“My favorite memory of Tina was when she sang a solo part in the choir called ‘Do You Know Him?'” Turner’s former classmate Robbie Jared King said.

“It’s nice to know that this is the church where Tina started out as a child, and to hear Ms. Robbie Jared talk about the memories she has with Tina and the choir,” Gail Myers said.

Turner even has family buried in the cemetery across the street from Woodlawn.

According to the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, Alex Bullock, Turner’s paternal grandfather who was once a deacon at Woodlawn, is buried in the cemetery in an unmarked grave.

Fans say they look forward to next year’s Heritage Days.