Local reverend wins Southern Christian Writing Conference award
Special to the Enquirer
Longtime Hartselle resident Baptist minister and chaplain the Rev. A. Ray Lee has won a Southern Christian Writing Conference award.
Lee won the award during the 2021 event in Birmingham June 4-5. His winning entry was a blog post from The Ministry Continues, the blog of Effie’s Angel, LLC.
He said the blog post, “From Darkness into Light,” was inspired in part by his recently-published book “My Angel Slept with Me,” a memoir of his time as caregiver to his wife during her struggle with Lewy Body dementia.
Lee’s entry was one of five blog posts awarded prizes at the conference, receiving an honorable mention.
Lee is also the author of “There is a Time: Stories of Heartbreak and Hope,” collected vignettes from his 60 years of ministering to the bereaved and heartbroken at the time of their loved ones’ deaths.
His blog posts and information on his book titles can be found at araylee.com.
Lee, a long-time pastor of numerous local churches, and formerly of Peck Funeral Home, also served as interim director of missions at the Morgan County Baptist Association. With his late wife, Effie, he preached to international congregations during partnerships with a church in Sabadell, Spain.
He draws inspiration for his poignant and heartfelt writing from a lifetime of personal experiences with the people of Morgan County, who often populate his works.
The SCWC holds yearly conferences to inspire and instruct Christian writers and aspiring writers. This year marked the 30th annual conference.
Cheryl Wray, daughter of SCWC founders David and Joanne Sloan, is the conference coordinator.