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In an article entitled "Loving thy neighbor:
Rev. Asa Dorsey," Catherin Gedney, special reporter to the News-Telegraph
chronicled his life of service and love. Her words are noted in
italics.
"Like the hub of a wheel," the article
reads, "the Rev. Asa Dorsey has been a central figure in the lives
of countless White County residents for the better part of his 68-year
ministry. To date, the Rev. Dorsey has overseen more than 1,700
funerals and a comparable number of weddings and baptisms. And though
this 85-year-old man has retired from an active ministry, he still
preaches an occasional sermon or hastens to the sides of people
during times of sorrow."
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Trilla Pruitt provides the narrative for most of
the article. It is her words below, with excepts from the Rev. Paul Flynn,
current pastor at Union Grove Holiness Church, and long time friend of
the family.
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He's had a lot of influence on a lot of people.
He is always there for people. They could call him in the middle
of the night and he'd get up and go there. He's spent a lot of time
celebrating with them, weeping with them and soothing them when
they needed it. There's a lot of links when you have touched a lot
of people's lives and been there for their children and their grandchildren.
When I was a teenager in the early '60s,
the main thing that he loved to do was going visiting people in
need. He really felt a lot of compassion and caring for people and
what they gave back was magic. I would often go with him and it
intrigued me as a teenager. I had grown into this caring and sharing
that went on and it was amazing.
Born in White County, the seventh, of
nine children on Sent. 22, 1915, the Rev. Dorsey received his calling
to the ministry on a cold winter night, the article continues.
It was a moonlit night and he could not sleep
so he went for a walk in the woods. Walking to a place in the woods,
he knelt down and started praying. In his spirit he was anxious
and he was asking God what was going on there. God dealt with him
that night and he felt like he needed to start preaching.
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Three years later, when he was 20, he married 18-year-old
Annie Kate Palmer. They had nine children and had a 62 year marriage that
everyone agrees was one of mutual love and honor.
He preached at summertime camp meetings and revivals
throughout Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and North
and South Carolina. He and Watson Sorrow had a tent and they traveled
into several states, going as far away as Michigan.
In addition, he pastured at several churches in
White and Hall counties, and built the brick church that now is at Union
Grove (Holiness Church).
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He started the Cleveland Holiness Church
in the Asbestos community, and, for a time in the 1960s, he pastored
at Gainesville Holiness Church.
Throughout his ministry, Rev. Dorsey earned
a reputation as a spellbinding preacher who could accurately quote
scripture from memory and weave it into life-changing sermons.
"He's just so anointed by the Lord." says
the Rev. Paul Flynn, current pastor at Union Grove Holiness Church.
"He can preach a sermon like You ain't never heard and he doesn't
even have to open his Bible. He can quote it from memory. He can
take an hour and make it seem I like 15 minutes whereas I take 15
minutes and make it seem like an hour."
In fact, it was Rev. Dorsey's pulpit pull
that eventually led to the start of Cleveland Zion Interdenominational
Church about 25 years ago.
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At the time, he wasn't pasturing anywhere, and
some people urged him to start a bible study group. He agreed and planned
to have the meeting at a private home. By the end of the week, word was
out there were so many people coming, they had to find another place.
They had the meeting at a Methodist church on Highway 115.
They had 120 people on the first Sunday. They met
there for six months and then moved up the road and built the white church
there.
Although ministry was central to Rev. Dorsey's
life, he also owned a succession of White County businesses. He and his
brother owned a grocery store. Rev. Dorsey also had a sawmill, a poultry
company and a feed mill - Fonda Milling Co., which existed in the county
until about four years ago when it burned.
Like many men of his generation, Rev. Dorsey
learned his skills through hands-on experience. He left school after the
fourth grade in order to help on the farm. Despite his absence from school.
Rev. Dorsey did not stop his education. Curious and hungry for knowledge,
he read hundreds of books.
He's always amazed me with his intelligence and
ability to remember. He knows how to do algebra in his head. When we were
in high school he could figure stuff in his head faster than we could.
When I became educated, I realized how well read he is. After I was grown
and away from home, we talked him into taking the GED years later and
he passed it no problem.
In fact, Rev. Dorsey at one time worked for state
of Georgia and handily passed state merit exam.
"He's an outstanding man that's used by God greatly,"
Flynn says." he has influenced a lot of lives. It'd be great to be one-fourth
of the preacher he is."
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