Community Connections Yadkin Valley

06/03/2026

All are invited and welcome to attend our Free Community Picnic on Monday, June 8 at 6:30 PM.
We will gather for food and fellowship at New Beginnings UMC of Jonesville. Hope to see you there!

Questions? Please email us at [email protected]

01/20/2026

Just released: Our fifth film in the series Echoes of Waymakers: Giving Voice to Black History in the Yadkin Valley - “Oak Grove School: Desegregation”.

In 1964, Black students from Oak Grove School were integrated into the all-white Elkin City School system.

Steve Hayes and Melvin Wilson, two of those students, share their firsthand accounts of this historic moment.

Special thanks to Erin Proctor Johnson for interviewing, filming, producing, and editing!

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

01/15/2026

You are invited to join us for our annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Community Worship Service -

Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 3:00 PM

St. Home Missionary Baptist Church
340 Oak Grove Road
Elkin, NC

We are honored to debut the fifth and final film in our series Echoes of Waymakers: Giving Voice to Black History in the Yadkin Valley - "Oak Grove School: Integration."

All are welcome to join us for this meaningful celebration of Dr. King's legacy and our shared community history.

This worship service is sponsored and led by CommUNITY Connections of Yadkin Valley, a group of local clergy who are seeking to dismantle racism one relationship at a time.

“But let justice roll down like water
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos 5:24

09/23/2025

Just released! “Oak Grove School” Our 4th film in the series “Echoes of Waymakers: Giving Voice to Black History in the Yadkin Valley”.

In the 1930s-1940s Oak Grove School was established as a “separate but equal” school for Black students in Elkin, NC.

Learn its history through first person accounts from some of the students who attended Oak Grove School:
Paulette Gregory, Roxie Hudson, Melvin Morrison and Melvin Wilson.

Special thanks to Erin Johnson for filming, producing, and editing!

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

08/13/2025

Thank you Hand in Hand Creative for the incredible and amazing mural honoring Mother Ruby Bryan and Feed the Elderly Yadkin Valley! Thanks also to Explore Elkin for sponsoring its creation and to for desiring and pursuing a meaningful piece of art on your business building’s wall.

The story/video that planted the seed for this mural is the first video in CommUNITY Connections of Yadkin Valley’s video series “Echoes of Waymakers: Giving Voice to Black History in the Yadkin Valley”, produced by the very talented and creative Erin Proctor Johnson. To view the video, please scroll down to our February 8, 2025 post.

What a tribute to Mother Ruby’s legacy of love and service to community!

06/21/2025

Some of our inspiring CommUNITY Connections clergy, gathered at Elkin’s Juneteenth celebration, who are committed to dismantling racism through the power of relationships.

Galloway Memorial Episcopal Church
First Baptist Church Elkin
Purpose of Love Ministries
Saint Stephen Catholic Church, Elkin, NC
Elkin Presbyterian Church
New Beginnings UMC of Jonesville
First United Methodist Church - Elkin

05/23/2025

You are invited to a Free Community Meal and Table Talk on Monday, June 2nd at 6:00 PM.

This event will take place at New Beginnings United Methodist Church in Jonesville, and is sponsored by NBUMC and CommUNITY Connections.

We continue to offer space for our community to gather, connect, and grow as we seek to dismantle racism—one relationship at a time.

Please join us for an evening of free food and fellowship. Everyone is invited and welcome!