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COWPENS, S.C. (BP) — A fire raged through the buildings of Cowpens First Baptist Church on Saturday. More than a dozen local fire stations responded, but ultimately the sanctuary and the attached education building were declared a complete loss.

The fire, which started Saturday afternoon, was noticed by a church employee who notified authorities. By the time firefighters arrived, the blaze had engulfed the church buildings. The fire department was unable to save the sanctuary and education building because of concerns over structural integrity, but successfully prevented the fire from spreading to other parts of the campus, salvaging the church’s family life center.

Dozens of church members and residents from the community, along with interim pastor Kermit Morris, stood down the street and watched helplessly as the once pristine worship center became a pile of charred rubble.

“This is a devastating loss for our church,” Morris said. “It’s heartbreaking to see the building going up in flames. My first thought was, ‘this is so sad,’ but my immediate second thought was, ‘where are we meeting tomorrow?’ I knew it was critical for us to gather as a family on Sunday.”

The church, founded in 1878 and located in the Spartanburg area of upstate South Carolina, held services Sunday at a local high school. They plan to meet at the Broome High School Fine Arts Center again this week before returning to the church campus Jan. 10 for services in the family life center.

“We’ve had so many pastors and churches reach out offering to help and to pray for the church,” Morris said. “Area churches are providing chairs, a sound system and other needs as we shift to meeting in the family life center.”

This is not the first time the sanctuary at FBC Cowpens has suffered a fire. In Dec. 1987, while renovations were taking place, a fire caused major damage. Though not a complete loss, the sanctuary interior was severely damaged. The building reopened in 1989. Further renovations to the sanctuary were completed in 2016.

Now, all that is left are memories.

“We stood on the sidewalk for 5 hours and watched it burn,” Morris said. “I told them, ‘That’s not the church. That’s a bunch of buildings. The church is meeting tomorrow.’ We will always have the memories, but we are starting fresh and moving forward. God has big plans for us and we will move forward with those plans.”

Morris said a team will reenter the buildings as soon as

possible to recover anything salvageable before they are demolished. After the first of the year, the church plans to begin working with construction and architecture companies on rebuilding.

COWPENS — A family-owned business that serves coffee and 32 rotating flavors of ice cream has opened in downtown Cowpens.

Cowpens Coffee & Creamery officially opened June 1 next to Dead On Gun Works on the east edge of Spartanburg County.

“Our mission is to create a space where people feel comfortable, feel happy and have a place to go to create memories without having to drive too far,” said co-owner Joyce Infante.

Infante said she wants the shop to be a place that children and adults in the Cowpens community can enjoy. She plans to host events, trivia nights or book readings by local artists.

The store has an outdoor patio where leashed pets are allowed with lights, speakers, tables with umbrellas, adirondack chairs and games.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Scott Stauffer, co-owner of Cowpens Coffee & Creamery. “Working with family is rewarding, so it just brings you closer.”

The owners are originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. Before opening their shop, Stauffer and Infante lived in an RV for more than three years. They used work and travel by marketing campgrounds and doing guest services guides. The company they worked for sent them to Gaffney, and they stayed at the KOA for a few years.

Stauffer and Infante also did marketing for Pine Ridge Campground in Roebuck. They said that they’ve been to 49 states and decided to live in the Upstate because of the sincerity of the people living in the area.

Cowpens Coffee & Creamery offers a variety of hot and iced drinks. Co-owner and barista Jenny Stauffer said they will continue to expand the options on the coffee menu. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Today you’re holding the latest example of our commitment to delivering local news to Greenville and Spartanburg.

This is the first edition of a new monthly newspaper that we’re publishing in addition to daily coverage we provide at www.postandcourier.com/greenville and www.postandcourier.com/spartanburg. You’ll also find the monthly edition available on our site as an E-Paper, a digital replica of the print version. We’ll publish the edition on the third Thursday of every month.

We’re excited to provide this service. You may recall that The Post and Courier announced in 2020 that we would fill a void as newspapers were closing in South Carolina or drastically reducing coverage. We launched an ambitious expansion across the state. We’ve opened news operations in Greenville and Spartanburg, Rock Hill, Columbia, Myrtle Beach, the Pee Dee, Hilton Head and North Augusta.

Sam R. Hall, a veteran editor who recently moved to Greenville as Upstate and Regional Editor for The Post and Courier, is in charge of coverage in your area. You can reach Sam at shall@postandcourier.com, 864-887-2314 or at our office at 20 Augusta St. in the West End of downtown Greenville.

“The Post and Courier has a tremendous reputation for local journalism, and I’m happy to be a part of this ever-expanding effort,” Hall said. “The commitment to Greenville, Spartanburg and the entire Upstate is evident as we roll out this new product and continue to invest in these communities.”

We hope you’ll support our efforts to continue providing news to you and your communities. Please subscribe at www.postandcourier.com/greenville/subscribe/ or www.postandcourier.com/spartanburg/subscribe/ to support local news in your area.

Cushman & Wakefield | Grant Street Associates Inc. announced Feb. 8 M@C Discount, a Pittsburgh-based online bidding platform, has leased 100,000 square feet at 630 Edgefield Road in Cowpens.

The building will serve as the business’s first facility outside of Pittsburgh, where it operates five locations and employs over 150 people. Each facility is used to house merchandise from retailers such as Amazon, Kohl’s and Lowe’s, which is sold on M@C’s online platform. Once the auction is over, winning bidders are instructed to pick up the items at a location near them.

“The Cowpens facility enables M@C Discount to serve the communities of both Spartanburg and Gaffney and represents a strategic entrance into South Carolina — a region where we hope to establish a presence by opening two or three new facilities in 2022,” said M@C co-founder Shawn Allen. “Our goal is to have a convenient location for all bidders and we are thrilled that now South Carolina consumers can start saving hundreds of dollars using the M@C Discount App.”

Photo By Michael Mascari | Dr. "Jay" Boyd instructs students from the Chaplain's Basic Officer Leadership Course...

All good things must come to an end. Dr. John “Jay” Boyd, United States Army Chaplain Center and School (USACHCS) Historian, made the most if his last day on the job. Boyd led a Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course (CHBOLC) class on a staff ride at the Cowpens National Battlefield near Cowpens, S.C. “I am trying not to get emotional, but I went out the way I wanted to,” Boyd said “As a military historian, the way I wanted to spend my final day was to be out in the field, on a staff ride, on a Historic Battlefield, with troops.” Boyd began his military career as an Enlisted Soldier but commissioned into the Infantry. Having a Masters in History, Boyd had his first opportunity to ply his first love as a Military History Detachment Commander following a Bosnia Deployment. He served nearly 30 years as a Soldier in multiple components of the US Army, retiring at the rank of Colonel. Boyd, armed with many years of experience, a love for history and a Doctorate parlayed these tools into a position with the 81st Division, then known as the 81st Regional Readiness Command in Birmingham, Ala., before the Command relocated back to Fort Jackson, S.C. He left to become the US Army Reserve Command (USARC) Historian in 2014 before making one last move in to take over as the USACHCS Historian in 2016. Despite leading many staff rides in his career, Boyd says he hasn’t seen it all. “What never ceases to amaze me is that there is always something new to learn. There’s always something a student brings to the fore. One student discussed the overconfidence of leaders, which dovetails to an article I recently read about overconfidence and how it can sometimes suppress ideas from junior leaders. It can result in executing a plan flawlessly that turns out not to be the best plan. That was brought out today.” That student, 2nd Lt. Channing Blake, played the role of Banastre Tartleton, famed British General defeated in the Battle. Blake, a Chaplain Candidate for the 98th Training Division, learned several lessons from her study. “It’s really important to seek counsel, to seek advice,” Blake said. “Take the time to receive it when you have the time before you dive in, especially when you are the one bringing the battle. If you are on the receiving end, when the battle’s being brought to you, that may be different. Had Tarleton taken the time to properly plan, and taken advice from his officers, the trajectory of the battle might have been different.” Boyd led the students through the battlefield with the assistance of Allen Skinner, 81st RD Historian, as he often does, teaching leadership and tactics training. Students prepare for the event by studying famous battles, with each one taking a specific role or topic to present to the class. They take the role of leaders or staff to discuss logistics, strategies, intelligence, planning and other facets of operations. For a Chaplain Candidate, the lessons extend to what they will face in the field, to include morale, tending to wounded Soldiers and P.O.W.s and death. Boyd said these and other lessons will enable leaders to make better decisions that might result in victory on the battle field and lives saved. He said it was a great way to finish his career. He appreciated the enthusiasm of the students and said he was glad to be able to work with his friend and colleague for the finale. The feeling was mutual. “It’s always great to work with Dr. Boyd,” Skinner said. “We’ve worked together as colleagues for a while, almost four years, and we work well together. We can accomplish a lot more than we can separately. I will definitely miss him. He’s a great colleague, a great person, and it will be very hard to replace him.”

SPARTANBURG CO., S.C. (WSPA) – A sign in front of a Cowpens church is getting a lot of attention on social media. Its message reads: “Pray for our president.”

This comes after the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump last week.

7 News spoke with the pastor of the church about why he put this particular message on display.

While driving along I-85, on their way to their holiday destinations, many folks will pass a big, glowing sign in Cowpens.

And among the many wishes of a Merry Christmas that appear on that sign, another message is shared.

“Pray for our president,” Pastor of Mountain View Baptist Church, Steven Griffith, said.

The message was added to the sign’s rotation of graphics last week after President Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives, and it’s gotten a lot of reactions from the community.

“We didn’t do it to get a reaction,” Griffith said.

Pastor Griffith told 7 News the decision to post those words on the church’s sign was a no-brainer for him, and he received nothing but support from his congregation.

“If the churches of America do not speak out, who will?”

But there are folks who don’t agree with the church’s sign. One man, who didn’t want to be on camera, told 7 News he is in the process of being ordained and said the sign is not something he would have displayed at his own church, saying he believes it’s divisive and doesn’t believe it’s a church’s job to endorse a politician.

“What could be wrong with that? How could that hurt America?” Griffith asked.

The editor of popular evangelical magazine “Christianity Today” recently posted an article, saying he believes Trump should be removed from office.

Griffith told 7 News he’s aware of those not in favor of President Trump, or of his church’s sign, but he said it doesn’t bother him.

“We’re willing to take it. We’re not worried about it,” he said. “We support the things that we feel are positive for this nation.”

Griffith told 7 News he believes prayers for the president are always needed–regardless of who’s in office–and said it’s his Christian duty to do so.

“I’d say that if it were Barrack Obama,” he said. “If they’re continually harassing him, it still doesn’t matter. We’re commanded in scripture to pray for those in authority.”

Pastor Griffith told 7 News he plans to keep the message up and running throughout the holiday season and possibly longer.