Remember When Churches Had Hymn Sings and Ice Cream Socials?

How a summer evening with my Mamaw in Shelby, North Carolina became one of the sweetest memories of my childhood.

One of my favorite childhood memories is going to old-fashioned church ice cream socials with my Mamaw Hamrick in North Carolina.

On warm summer evenings, we’d gather under the shade of big trees after church. Long tables were lined with homemade ice cream in every flavor you could imagine. I always looked forward to sampling as many as I could, but one flavor quickly became our family’s favorite—pineapple ice cream. Even today, one taste brings me right back to those evenings with Mamaw and Granddaddy.

There was no rush. Children laughed and played while adults lingered in conversation. The air was filled with the sounds of fellowship, joy, and the simple pleasure of being together.

I’m just as fond of the old-fashioned hymn sing.

In fact, I keep a box of hymnals at our home and another at our lake house—just in case someone from my Southern Baptist family decides it’s time to gather around the keyboard and sing a few favorites. You never know when a spontaneous hymn sing might break out, and I want to be ready.

Over the years, I’ve even organized hymn sings at church for special occasions. Every time, people seem to leave with smiles on their faces and songs in their hearts. There is something about opening a hymnal and hearing voices blend together on “How Great Thou Art,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” or “Blessed Assurance” that reminds us of who we are and where we’ve come from.

Sometimes I wonder if what we miss most isn’t simply the slower pace of those days.

A summer evening under the trees.

Homemade pineapple ice cream.

A worn hymnal.

Voices singing in harmony.

Those weren’t just church events—they were moments that became part of our family’s story.

What are your favorite memories of church ice cream socials or old-fashioned hymn sings? I’d love to hear them.

25 Hymns Everyone Requested at an Old-Fashioned Hymn Sing

Before worship bands, projection screens, and digital playlists, there was the simple joy of gathering with family and friends, opening a well-worn hymnal, and singing the songs everyone knew by heart. Whether the hymn sing was held in a little country church, under the pine trees on a summer evening, or after a church ice cream social, there were certain hymns that someone always requested. These timeless favorites weren’t just songs—they were part of our shared story, reminding us of God’s faithfulness and connecting generations through music.

1. How Great Thou Art
2. The Old Rugged Cross
3. Victory in Jesus
4. Blessed Assurance
5. Because He Lives
6. I’ll Fly Away
7. Just As I Am
8. In the Garden
9. Great Is Thy Faithfulness
10. What a Friend We Have in Jesus
11. Love Lifted Me
12. Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
13. Standing on the Promises
14. When We All Get to Heaven
15. Amazing Grace
16. He Keeps Me Singing
17. He Lives!
18. His Eye is on the Sparrow
19. At Calvary
20. I Need Thee Every Hour
21. Near the Cross
22. Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling
23. There is Power in the Blood
24. My Jesus, I Love Thee
25. Sweet Hour of Prayer

10 Homemade Ice Cream Flavors Everyone Hoped Someone Brought to the Church Ice Cream Social

There was always excitement as families arrived carrying hand-cranked ice cream freezers wrapped in dish towels to keep them cold. No one knew exactly which flavors would show up, but everyone had their favorites. If you were lucky, someone had brought the one you’d been hoping for.

1. Pineapple (My family’s favorite!) Sweet, creamy, and packed with crushed pineapple.
2. Fresh Peach A Southern classic made with ripe summer peaches.
3. Strawberry Filled with chunks of fresh berries picked from the garden.
4. Chocolate Rich, creamy, and always one of the first freezers to empty.
5. Old-Fashioned Vanilla Simple, homemade, and anything but ordinary.
6. Banana Made with ripe bananas for a naturally sweet flavor.
7. Butter Pecan Toasted pecans folded into a buttery cream base.
8. Black Cherry A favorite when fresh cherries were in season.
9. Black Raspberry A beloved church social flavor throughout much of the Midwest and Northeast.
10. Lemon Custard Bright, refreshing, and perfect on a hot summer evening.

From the Porch

As I grow older, I realize those church ice cream socials were never really about the ice cream.

And the hymn sings were never just about the music.

They were about slowing down long enough to know one another. They were about generations gathering under the same shade trees, sharing recipes, singing familiar hymns, laughing with neighbors, and creating memories that would last a lifetime.

Today, I keep boxes of hymnals in both our home and our lake house because I still believe a hymn sing can happen anytime family gathers. I still smile when I see homemade ice cream being churned. And every time I taste pineapple ice cream, I’m a little girl again, sitting beside my Mamaw and Granddaddy Hamrick on a warm North Carolina summer evening.

Those traditions may seem simple.

But simple things often become our greatest inheritance.

Perhaps it’s time we brought a few of them back.

Maybe this summer, gather your family under the trees. Make a batch of homemade ice cream. Dust off an old hymnal. Sing a few verses of “Amazing Grace” or “Victory in Jesus.”

Years from now, someone you love may remember that evening the same way I remember those sweet summer nights with my grandparents.

Because the greatest memories are rarely expensive.

They’re homemade.