Church Member Spotlight Nancy Banks

Kathrine Alderman
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Living right between Greenville and Monticello, Nancy Banks is a resident of Jefferson County, and though her husband, Bert Banks, passed away in 2015, she has a large family with nine children, 17 grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.

Come December, she will have been a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Monticello for 20 years. Not only is she a member there, but she has also been their regular pianist for as long as she has been in attendance.

Banks has been a natural at the piano ever since she first started taking lessons at the age of eight. She recounts how she would often do her best to avoid practicing for her lesson but somehow still did well anyway. Throughout her life Banks has played a variety of instruments including the piano; organ; guitar, when she was younger; and french horn, for her high school band.

When she first moved to Monticello in the early '80s, someone asked if she could play the piano and the rest was history. Since then, she has played for a variety of churches, organizations, and events. One such place was her first church, First Baptist Church of Monticello. She recounts how her husband, the late Bert Banks, was very active in the church, which kept her active. At the time, the church had its own pianist, but Banks would fill in whenever they needed her to. This went on for about 20 years until a fateful encounter one day at the Jefferson County Community Choir.

Banks tells that, at the time, she felt like she was missing something—she wished that she could be a regular pianist and be responsible for the music she was playing. In comes Carl Hanks, the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at the time. They struck up a conversation after both performing for the Community Choir and Banks found herself asking if they had a regular pianist. Hanks replied that they paid a girl to play for them; however, Banks was not deterred. She then asked if they had a regular organist. When he replied that they didn't, Banks offered her services and the rest is history—Hanks was handing her the keys to the church in no time at all.

Churches aren't the only places Banks has played for, however. Banks has been a member of the Eastern Star organization since the early '70s and has played for the chapters in the area on multiple occasions. She talks of playing whenever they wanted music but notably for “official visits” of the Worthy Grand Matron. Though the attendance of meetings has been dying out, forcing chapters to merge, Banks would always go when she could and held positions, such as the Worthy Matron, two to three times throughout the years.
Nancy Banks is no stranger to music and has played songs for many people, but when asked what her favorite hymn was she had a hard time deciding, so she settled on a few. Three big ones in her life were the first she ever played, “the Lord's Prayer,” her first solo song for the First Baptist Church, “Here I am Lord” and her first solo for the Presbyterian Church, “God Bless America.” Other songs she wanted to mention where “Precious Lord Take My Hand,” “Precious Memories” and “There is a Savior.”

An accomplished pianist, organist, and so much more, Nancy Banks happily brings the joy of music to her church and community.