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Pauline F. "Polly" Atwill listened closely to the King’s voice and served him well in those she met.
"Truly, I say to you, inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these brothers, you have done it to me."
Atwill heard her call clearly proclaimed from the pulpit of St. Andrews United Methodist Church, of which she was a charter member, for several decades until the King finally welcomed her to his mansion July 11, 2006, with the proclamation, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."
Bringing joy to others through service was the hallmark of the 80-year-old Atwill’s life that would reach beyond the doors St. Andrews to the greater Orangeburg community through the initiation of the Cooperative Church Ministries of Orangeburg.
A plaque was presented to Atwill’s family in recognition of her service and dedication to the ministry as CCMO celebrated its 20th anniversary Sunday evening at Holy Trinity Catholic Church.
"She loved doing things for others," son Steve Atwill said, despite his mom being a full-time mother of four children. Her husband of 55 years, Dr. J. Harvey Atwill Jr., was an Orangeburg radiologist who preceded her in death by six years.
For Steve, what you saw is what you got with Polly.
"She was a great mom ... and the finest person I have ever known," he said. "If you ask any of the children, each was special in his or her own way. She always had time for us."
Steve Atwill said even with the loss of one of her sons tragically to suicide, Polly would take it upon herself to take this pain and suffering and minister to others experiencing the same.
"It became a service to her," he said. "She turned something that could have been bitter and helped others."
The plaque was presented to her daughter (Beth Lee) Hewitt of Orangeburg and son Steve while other family and CCMO friends and family were also in attendance.
"Miss Atwill was a kind of person that would go a mile out of her way to help people," CCMO Board of Directors Chairman Roy Mikels said, in reflection of the 50 years or more that he knew her. "That was her makeup. She just had to do it."
Mikels recalled how Atwill would visit his wife, Dorothy, regularly when she was at a Bamberg nursing home to spend a little time with her.
Dorothy was not the only person she would visit.
"Anybody from St. Andrews United Methodist Church who was ill or convalescent, she would visit those people," he said. "Her life was devoted to helping others."
Mikels recalled how Atwill would invite area churches to St. Andrews for a cornbread soup and luncheon in 1986 to hash out the project.
After some time, a committee was set up and within two years CCMO was born.
Even though she was never officially a part of CCMO, Atwill and family would contribute generously to the ministry for many years, Mikels said.
A native of Tuskegee, Ala., Atwill graduated from Dreher High School and would later receive her B.A. degree from the University of South Carolina, where she was a member and president of Chi Omega Sorority and also a member of Alpha Kappa Gamma Honorary Sorority.
Upon graduation, Atwill attended the Parsons School of Design in New York City before returning to South Carolina and more specifically to Orangeburg.
As a charter member of St. Andrews, Atwill served as president of United Methodist Women, was a Sunday School teacher for more than 25 years and a member of several committees.
In addition to touching lives, Atwill had fingers nimble with a paintbrush.
An accomplished artist, Atwill was recognized for her excellence in painting on many occasions, including "Best of The Show" in competition.
Her paintings were selected for the cover of the Tourist Guide, Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce in 1987 and 1988.
She was a private art teacher and also served as the president of the Orangeburg League of Arts and past director of the S.C. Watercolor Society.
Atwill served the Orangeburg community in numerous ways -- past president of the Junior Service League, organizing committee for the hospital canteen, organizer for Compassionate Friends of Orangeburg, volunteer pianist for the Orangeburg Day Care Center and art teacher to handicapped individuals.
In addition to Atwill, CCMO recognized the original 12-member churches for their participation.
Though all the original church members have either passed or moved away, representatives from the various churches received a plaque and certificate of appreciation for their respective support of the organization.
The original churches included: First Presbyterian Church, Holy Trinity Catholic Church, New Life Chrisian Church, New Mount Zion Baptist Church, Northgate Baptist Church, Northside Baptist Church, Orangeburg Lutheran Church, Rivelon Baptist Church, St. Andrews UMC, St. Luke Presbyterian Church, St. Paul UMC and Trinity UMC.
From the initial 12, about 30 churches are a part of the organization today.
Brother Jeremiah O’Leary, a member of the Catholic Church religious order Xaverian Brothers, was affiliated with CCMO from its opening until 2002.
O’Leary came back to Orangeburg for the 20th anniversary celebration.
"It was enlivening," O’Leary said, when asked to describe his experience working with CCMO for 14 years. "One of the biggest things was working with so many people of strong faith. They had a deep faith in carrying out the message of what Jesus asked us to do what He did."
Now 20 years later, O’Leary is full of thanks for the success of the outreach.
"Thank God for what all that has been done for the past 20 years and no matter what challenges that CCMO has had to overcome, the board and all the volunteers were always up to the challenge because of their deep faith," O’Leary said.
O’Leary encouraged volunteers to continue to meet the challenges facing the Orangeburg community.
"CCMO will continue to rise to the challenge because of their deep faith."
T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.