Little White Church in the Vale , livre ebook

Inspiring Voices - Bonnie Watkins

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58 pages

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Small-town living and faith come alive in the experiences and personalities of life in the tiny dairy farm community of Addicks, Texas. Let your mind wander back to a simpler time as you read poetry inspired by life in a small Methodist church.In Little White Church in the Vale, author Bonnie Watkins recalls her childhood in Addicks and paints a picture of her life in the community. In brilliant details, she describes the stained glass windows in her church, the gardenia bushes outside, and even what it felt like to wear her hair in pincurls on Saturday night in preparation for church on Sunday morning. Black-and-white photographs of small Texas churches tell stories for themselves, bringing another dimension to Watkins words. Whether youre from a big city or a farming community, youll find inspiration and refreshment for your soul in Little White Church in the Vale. Advanced Praise for Little White Church in the Vale: You can almost feel yourself sitting in the pews and watching the congregation of this small town church. PJ Pierce, author of Let me tell you what I've learned": Texas Wisewomen SpeakBonnie has brilliantly captured the charm, beauty, culture and even humor embodied in the rural congregation. You'll be reminded of the simplicity of country living and the transcendence of faith while you feel like youre looking at a Norman Rockwell painting. Will Davis, Jr., Senior Pastor of Austin Christian Fellowship and author of Pray Big and 10 Things Jesus Never Said

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Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Inspiring Voices
Date de parution	19 septembre 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781462400034
Langue	English

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Little White Church in the Vale
Reflections on Small-Town Faith

Bonnie Watkins

Copyright © 2011 Bonnie Watkins

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Inspiring Voices books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

Inspiring Voices
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.inspiringvoices.com
1-(866) 697-5313

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-4624-0003-4 (e)
ISBN: 978-1-4624-0004-1 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011937683

Printed in the United States of America

Inspiring Voices rev. date: 9/14/2011
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Attendance Last Sunday
Behind the Gardenia Bushes
Brother Black
Bell Ringing
Sharps and Flats
Handing Over the Hymnal
Rescue Mission
Stained Glass Windows
Pews
Mama’s Purse
I Love To Tell the Story
Brothers and Sisters
Saturday Night Pincurls
Kitchen Class
New Preacher Comin’
O Tannenbaum!
Stuffing the Bags
Easter Egg Hunt
He is Risen, Indeed!
Covered Dish Supper
Hayride
Addicks Dam
Summer Volleyball
Haymaking
Girls’ Quartet
Birthday Bank
Sleep in Heavenly Peace
Rachel: A Sister to Sarah
Oil of Nard
Holding the Coats
Scarlet Sins
Funeral Fans
Raising Lazarus
Personalities of the Parking Lot
Spring Crop Dustin’
The Hitchin’ Rail
Joe’s Garage
Tante Anna

For my dear family and devoted friends, especially those who have known little churches

“What Christ is saying always … is this: ‘I am my Father’s son, and you are my brothers.’ And the unity that binds us all together, that makes this earth a family, and all men brothers and so the sons of God, is love.” —Thomas Wolfe
Preface
Blistering Texas summers.
Freezing, damp winters.
No air conditioning or heat.
Linoleum floors with a carpet strip up to the altar.
Still, every Sunday (barring flood or fever) we filed into one of the eighteen wooden pews of Addicks Methodist Church to worship and fellowship in our small dairy community.
Singing the old hymns of the faith was a large part of the service. No organ offered the accompaniment, but rather an ancient upright piano, not always totally in tune, with a few broken ivories. Copies of The Cokesbury Worship Hymnal, thinner than today’s hymnals, were on the back of each pew. Two wooden boards on the wall flanked the altar and pulpit. One announced attendance and offering, the other the numbers of the hymns we would sing that Sunday. Truth to tell, the hymnals were unnecessary because most of us had the verses committed to memory.
Although not a general practice, we were not above changing the words, if warranted. Hymn #121 was “The Church in the Wildwood.” The chorus crooned:
Come to the church in the wildwood,
Oh, come to the church in the vale
No spot is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the vale.
Since we were a little white church, we conveniently changed the lyric.
During my childhood in the 1950’s, our church sat 30 miles outside of Houston next to the Addicks Dam on Farm Road 1960. Today it still remains with practically no changes to the outside, and very few inside. Its name has changed to Addicks United Methodist Church. The road is now Highway 6 between the huge highways, IH10 and US 290. But when you turn off the busy highway today, time seems to stand still. It’s still the little white church in the vale.
May these reflections of a time gone by and pictures of other little churches bring to you memories of your own “spot so dear.”

Bonnie Watkins
Acknowledgements
Although most of the people who sat in the pews with me at Addicks Methodist Church are no longer alive, the memories of Mama, Daddy, Ethel, Myrtle, Norma Ann, and Aunt Nellie live on. To Aunt Nellie’s family, the Fiebig girls, I give thanks for still blessing our family with music. My gratitude and love go to my sister, Carolyn Higgins Ter Poorten, for sitting close and helping entertain a wiggly little one on those hard pews. My love goes to Dan, my husband, and to Nancy, my best friend from college, for the wonderful times we’ve had taking pictures together.

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