Brother Erasmus
| Brother Erasmus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sex | M |
| Spouse | Ethylene |
Brother Erasmus Green is the husband of Ethylene Green. He lived in Twillingate, Florida, and was the pastor of the Twillingate Bethel Church there. The Greens didn't have any children of their own although they did raise E.J. Seasprunk and did an admirable job of it.
Growing up, Erasmus worked at a teppentine (turpentine) camp until age 17, when he ran off to Jacksonville for a construction job. He admitted to running wild and ending up in jail for fighting. That's when he was given a Bible and started to read. A few years later he took a lay preacher course and committed to a new career. He received a partial scholarship to a church school in South Carolina while he washed dishes as well. He was ordained by the church in Jacksonville and came to Twillingate soon after. He met Ethylene while again working at the old teppentine camp on the Cowgill plantation. To supplement their income, he also fished for mullet, did house repairs and worked in the tobacco fields.
Brother Erasmus was a big, burly man with a thick accent. Paul Thibodaux described him once, "Brother Erasmus’ll talk your ear off normally, give him half a chance, but he’s been good people to have around."Roc2-6
Jackie and Mark Gravengood met Brother Erasmus after they came to Twillingate for shelter from a storm. The couple were powerfully impressed by him. "By word, but more by example, Brother Erasmus gave them much to think about."AF21 It was Brother Erasmus that baptized the couple and married them the Sunday before Christmas, 1971.
The Gravengoods returned at least once to visit with the Greens. The couple had apparently passed away sometime before 2000. FtS28 Brother Erasmus had been the only preacher that Mark had ever really liked and he consider him "the only preacher that Mark had ever met that acted like he meant what he was talking about, not just mouthing the words."BAR14
