Visiting at Mt. Tabor

Until today Sheila and I have been licking our wounds since a few weeks before our church of over fifty years (over sixty for me) officially disbanded and have not gotten out of the house on Sunday mornings, except for one Sunday at Cave Spring United Methodist Church. But we rousted ourselves this morning and drove up through Texas Valley to Everett Springs to visit Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church. 

Our friend Dale McConkey is the pastor there. We should have realized that Dale would be absent, since he just lost his mother-in-law. But if we couldn't hear Dale, what better sub could we have than Wayne Hopper, another friend and once the associate pastor at Trinity. He preached a good advent sermon on John the baptizer and being a messenger in our time. 

It was good to see a crowd there and many folks that we have ties of one kind or another with. Several were relatives of kids I've taught. And one couple not only are parents of one of my students but also friends from the seventies of my late sister Beth. 

Afterwards we were invited to stay for their advent covered dish dinner! It took a LOT of arm-twisting of course, but we finally gave in. <Wink!>  It was a typical absolutely scrumptious pot luck meal with fried chicken and veggies and casseroles and lots of desserts.

For a country church Mt. Tabor has a wonderful church plant with a nice dining room and kitchen and an attached gym/activiteies room.

We got just a few pictures:

Faith and Carl Melear are parents of Connor whom I taught about 15 years ago. BUT my siblings will be interested to know that Carl's Daddy was the owner of the famous Melear's Barbecue near Fairburn where my Dad loved to eat. Faith and Carl both knew my sister Beth and her first husband Randy Hearn. Carl actually attended their wedding.

We love (Rev.) Wayne Hopper. He served as pastor at Mt. Tabor for a long time. He lives practically next door in Everett Springs terms. He is a friend of many in my family including my late Mom and my sister Joan and her husband Jim (another retired pastor).

It was good to visit with Ray Barton. Ray has been my Facebook friend for a long time. He is the nephew of our late dear friend Wint Barton and cousin to our current neighbor George Barton. We enjoyed retelling Wint stories.

We missed taking pictures with a relative of the late Cleo Marion -- a dear friend of my parents in the sixties. Then there were Dunagans and Sharpes and other Bartons and our friend Harriett who has remarried and whose last name escapes me right now.

We missed seeing Dale, but we sure did have a good time worshipping and visiting at Mt. Tabor. About the only other thing that would have made it better would have been if Mt. Tabor's most famous daughter had been home to sing a song or two -- world famous mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton.