The Rev. James L. Parker was the only dean of the Carroll-Douglas Bible Extension School (BES).

By this time of year, he would already be going door-to-door to businesses, banks and churches, selling tickets to the school’s Annual Christmas Banquet, the BES’ only fundraiser.

But Parker won’t be there this year.

The 88-year-old preacher, who was the only dean in the school’s 45-year history, died Oct. 31. And the list of people he contacted each year for the fundraiser went with him, according to Charles Hudson, an instructor at the school. Not that there was ever a list; during his 88 years, he crossed paths with a lot of people.

Hudson is hoping that people who knew Parker, and even those who didn’t, will buy a ticket to this year’s banquet.

Parker, a longtime resident of Douglasville will be honored at the banquet, which will be held Dec. 15 7:30 p.m., in the fellowship hall of the Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church, 119 Thomas Dorsey Street in Villa Rica. The speaker for the event will be Pastor James E. Potts of Mt. Prospect Baptist Church, Villa Rica.

A donation setting up a scholarship in Parker’s name is this year’s goal and is an honor well-deserved, Hudson said.

“Rev. Parker was a humble man who wasn’t one to brag about the accomplishments of his past,” Hudson said. “He was one who focused on educating others in Christian doctrine. He didn’t want any church to be taken over by people who were unscrupulous or who taught unsound doctrine.”

Parker stayed in the South despite harsh conditions and wasn’t one of the thousands of African Americans who migrated north for better living and working conditions, Hudson said. He made a decision to remain, starting a small food bank that morphed into a community-type center and working in the community and the church.

His greatest love was working with the church, Hudson said.

“He wanted to make sure that preachers in the church were knowledgeable,” he said.

At his funeral, one whole section was filled with preachers, Hudson said.

When the Georgia Baptist Convention started its bi-vocational Bible Institute locally, it contacted Parker to lead it, according to Hudson. Meeting at night, the program was started so that farmers and others who held day jobs could attend.

The school offers continuing education credits for pastors, ministers, Sunday school teachers, deacons and others, Hudson said.

These days, BES is seeing a drop in attendance because of online programs people are taking, he said, adding that those who take online classes are missing something.

“What you miss by doing it online is the fellowship, the nuggets of wisdom that longtime members can expound upon,” Hudson said. “It might get repetitious but we need that foundation, that reminder.”

BES is housed at Mt. Prospect Baptist Church in Villa Rica and is aligned, certified and sponsored by the Georgia Baptist Convention, along with Brewton Parker College in Mount Vernon and Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Ga.

Classes meet every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. from September to May. The banquet will be the last meeting until after the holidays, and is held on Tuesday — a school night — just like Parker always planned.

It has evolved into an elegant affair, Hudson said, still scratching his head at how such a humble man like Parker was able to get the donations needed to pull the banquet off as well as money to keep the school going. But this year, most people are donating their services to the banquet, in Parker’s honor.

“Rev. Parker will be missed, but one way we can honor what he did while he was here is make sure the school continues,” Hudson said.

Anyone who would like to purchase tickets to the banquet may contact Hudson at 678-360-0079. Tax deductible donations may also be sent to the Carroll-Douglas Bible Extension School, P.O. Box 939, Villa Rica, Ga. 30180.