Beech Tree News Network

Chapel Union Baptist Church, on Highway 79 North, is 120 years old. Pastor Dr. Darryl Dockery, well known for his musical talents, has been their pastor for a year. Dockery said, “Of course, I felt like the Lord had called us there, and I also felt like now was the time for me to go to my home church to continue God’s work – in the church that has such a long history of partnering with my family.”

The church was founded in 1904 with 32 members from Barnett’s Lick Baptist Church. The church met in the home of the founding pastor Robert Reason Dockery and his wife Susan Casey Dockery near Granger. Initially, the church was called Little Union Baptist Church. In 1907, Finis Willoughby and his wife Palestine donate two and a half acres of land in Dockery Town for the church to construct a one-room church house.

Then in 1919, the church purchased land in Flatwoods and changed the name of the fellowship to Chapel Union Baptist Church. The new facility’s construction was designed and supervised by the pastor Reverend L. V. Meador. The building was unique in that it had a balcony and a very high ceiling. Eventually, in 1962, the balcony was closed to create classrooms for the growing church.

Chapel Union Baptist Church has been the mother of two other congregations: Brooklyn Baptist Church in Butler County and Peniel Baptist Church in Louisville. Many of those forming Peniel Baptist Church were transplants to Louisville, having moved there for work. At one point, Reverend Carmon Dockery pastored Peniel Baptist Church.

Chapel Union has had 22 pastors, and six were from the Dockery family. The current pastor Darryl Dockery is the great-great-grandson of the founding Pastor Robert Dockery, great-grandson of Pastor Lon Dockery, and son of Reverend Carmon Dockery, who pastored the church for over 20 years.

Two other descendants of founding Pastor Robert Dockery also served the church: Reverend E. Doyle Dockery, a great-grandson of Robert Dockery, and Reverend Verdine Dockery, Robert Dockery’s nephew. Dr. Dockery reflected, “It seems natural and spiritual for me to follow my great-great-grandfather, my great-grandfather, my cousin, and my father as pastor.”

Current Pastor Dockery explained that his dad became the pastor of Chapel Union in 1968 when Darryl was just eight years old. So, Darryl’s youth was spent there. In this church, Darryl came to love music. His grandfather, Simon Dockery, was the song leader, introducing him to music, and Homer Dockery taught him to sing tenor. He said, “Arthur Ingram taught me to sing and love music, which became my career.” As a result, he has dedicated much of his life to making and teaching music.

Chapel Union Baptist Church is a growing church. Dockery pointed out that there is no other church between it and Caneyville, so people generally come from both Butler and Grayson Counties. Church services are held on Sunday morning with Sunday School at 10 a.m. and worship service at 11 a.m. The church and Dr. Darryl Dockery gladly welcome visitors.

By Paige McKinney & Patty Craig, Beech Tree News