Rory Feek Finds Church Home on the ‘Outskirts of Heaven’
A year after his wife Joey Feek's death, Rory Feek is finding solace at a new church, one that also involves a fellow country singer.
Feek, who was one-half of the duo Joey + Rory along with his late wife, opens up in a new post on his blog, This Life I Live, on Thursday (March 9), sharing the story of how he and his late wife were trying to find the right church near their Tennessee home, but nothing really seemed to fit.
It wasn't until the singer visited a church in the small town of Bethesda that he truly felt at home. Uniquely dubbed the "cowboy church," the gospel songs are given a country twist with the presence of guitars, fiddles and mandolins, as the music is led by "Outskirts of Heaven" singer Craig Campbell.
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The Feeks would often host concerts inside the big red barn on their farm property, but music hasn't played there much since Joey's passing. Now, with his newfound church and accompanying community, Feek has opened up the barn doors once again, with the "cowboy church" services moving from an elementary school in Bethesda to Feek's barnyard location. Campbell and his wife Mindy lead the music each week, with Feek sharing a video he created of Campbell singing his current hit in between clips from a service at the church.
Feek visited his wife's grave on their property with their daughter Indiana on the anniversary of her death, and it made him reflect on the changes he's seen in the past year.
"As the sun continued to set behind us in the cemetery and Indy and I got ready to head back to the farmhouse, I couldn't help but smile and think of the beautiful irony of it all... how we held a service for Joey in our barn a year ago and now church services are being held there every week. And also how that line in Craig's song seems almost written for Joey, 'Lord when I die, I want to live on the outskirts of heaven,'" Feek poignantly writes.
Joey + Rory won their first Grammy Award in 2017 for their album Hymns That Are Important To Us in the category of Roots Gospel Album. Joey's solo album, If Not for You, is set to be released posthumously on April 7.
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Watch: 5 Unforgettable Joey + Rory Songs