R EMEMBERING
WHERE
SAINTS
WALKED
“The First Century”
Of
The Church of God of
Three Rivers, MI
- 1888-1998
Possible
cover:
scanned in
sketch of pictures used for capital funds program
need to find
By
WAYNE
M. WARNER
“- FROM THREE RIVERS, MICHIGAN -”
“I praise God for a
full and complete salvation
that keeps me sweetly
saved all the time.
O glory to God and
the Lamb forever!
‘If we walk in the
light as he is in the light,
we have fellowship
one with another;
and the blood of
Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.’
Glory to God for His
salvation just now.’
He that keepeth His
commandments dwelleth in Him,
and He in Him: and
hereby we know that He abideth in us,
by the Spirit which
He hath given us.’
Amen.
Enclosed one dollar
for the Trumpet,
and
fifty-cents for
tracts entitled ‘Christ is the Body, the Church.’
May God bless you all.”
Leroy Burden
The Gospel Trumpet, September 15, 1884
*(earliest
known contact with the Gospel Trumpet)
-----00000-----
We are the builders
who build today;
But someone before us
has paved the way,
Someone has dreamed
and someone has prayed,
And through their
visions, our hearthstones are laid.
We also are dreamers
today, who dream,
But someone tomorrow
must cross the stream.
Someone must fashion
from our mind’s view
The future building
that we would do.
Someone will master
because we believe.
Someone will do what
we dream to achieve.
Agnes Davenport Bond
IN MEMORY OF
MYRTLE JENKINS BISHOP
(10-3-1918--2-7-2005)
And company…
(Caring Christians,
Devoted co-workers, and area Friends)
Like a mighty army
Moves the Church of
God;
Brothers, we are
treading
Where the saints have
trod;
We are not divided;
All one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,
One in charity...
Sabine Baring-Gould
(Italic added)
(Scan in
Appropriate-sized picture of Myrtle)
“SAINTS”
“As a church and
ministry,
let us get a broader
view of our work,
a greater vision of
the field
and
our responsibility to
the rest of mankind,
and then with
enthusiasm and determination
rise to the task
before us. . .”
Herbert McClellan
Riggle,
Pioneer Evangelism, (p. 350)
H.
M. Riggle spoke vigorously and wrote prolifically. He flew the Reformation flag
of early Church of God Saints, who purposefully and passionately pursued their
mission. Riggle’s words shaped the contour of our development in those
formative days of “flying ministry.” They expressed the deep devotion of those
early Saints to God as well as their consensual concern for one another. His
words internalized the intense commitment that drove our forbearers to live
singularly and vigorously what they perceived as holiness before God.
They
worked at gathering God’s diverse peoples into what they perceived true unity
of Spirit. They envisioned a transforming fellowship, visibly united, with its
arms wrapped around all of
God’s far-flung family. Quickly becoming a global Body of Christ, they reached
out to people everywhere through the sanctifying power of Their Sanctifier.
Nonetheless, they remained “flesh and blood” humanity walking in very ordinary
shoe leather while trudging their dusty trail of servitude.
Following
two years in Williamston, Michigan under the daily management of Joseph C.
Fisher, the tiny updated publishing plant settled in Grand Junction, Michigan.
From this place that Warner described as the place where the “lightning tracks”
crossed, they inspired men and women in all corners of the globe for twelve
years--1886-98.
They
had already held their first nationally-designated annual Camp Meeting in
Bangor--1883. Predominantly Anglo-Saxon Protestants, they included heavy concentrations
of ethnic Germans and Scandinavians. African-Americans further swelled their
ranks, finding delightful freedom in the music and human relationships so
freely offered. They were commonly referred to as “the “Saints” and they wove a
variety of tribal cultures together, creating a warm blanket of newly-knitted
friendships. They were tightly woven together, bound in variegated strands and
threads of religious culture. People
found renewed faith in their midst, some for the first time. Each new strand
strengthened the multi-colored Joseph’s Coat known today as the Church of God
[Anderson, Indiana]. They conducted life by the Bible, pursuing a Bible-based
holiness that transforms vulnerability into victory. They endured trials and
triumphs similar to those we experience and they made many of the same errors
we make. They expressed their saintliness in their own unique way rather than
conforming to a single-sized cookie cutter!
You
will meet some of the earliest families rallying together in Three Rivers, MI
under the Church of God Reformation banner. I spent nearly eighteen years
walking among them. Admittedly, I have shared considerable of my own personal journey.
I have also reflected on other relationships within the Movement, as well as on
that universal family of which we are but a mini fragment. I know that not all
of God’s saints live in stained-glassed windows of great cathedrals. I also
know the world graciously embraced a tiny, ninety-pound bundle of Godly grace,
garbed as an Albanian Roman Catholic Nun. And, I concur: she was a saint!
We
Protestants lack ecclesiastical mechanisms for creating institutional saints. True
sainthood, however, needs no institutional hierarchy—no six-billion-dollar
Vatican Empire to create a saint. Thus, I credit Myrtle Bishop with touching
people with the same ease and devotion that Mother Teresa touched India's
rejected masses.
Myrtle
valued character. She lived her life fully committed to Christ. Her very actions
transformed ordinary drudgery into saintly service as she squeezed daily
tediousness into biblical ideals that reflected Godly ideals as well as anyone
I knew. As part of our Church of God family, I saw in Myrtle indisputable
evidence for believing in sainthood.
She
contributed heavily to local congregational history. Her influence flowed
freely wherever our congregation served. Her roots commingled among the roots
of our earliest reformers. Disparaged as “Come-outers,” but idealized as church
of the Living God, Myrtle
walked among people that were more than sauntering idlers--a la Sainte terror.
They
journeyed with intent. They were more than pretenders en route to Jerusalem. Their
walk differed from those begging Friars of the Middle Ages. They envisioned the
eternal city foursquare, and they knew they were not yet there, but they knew
where they were going.
I
met Myrtle in 1979, the year following the death of her husband John. This
genteel lady lived frugally, but strongly, and graciously. She lived deeply
entrenched in local life long before I arrived, but she became my friend and my
co-worker. We each loved the church and reverenced its roots.
Her
perspectives evolved from earlier days after her parents met at the Gospel
Trumpet Publishing House soon after it relocated to Anderson. She tracked that
radar system until God called her home, and I am indebted for her unflagging
zeal, and her tireless efforts.
Her
photography sometimes seemed amateurish, but she shared it unselfishly and left
us warm memories. She gave unstintingly out of her rich reservoir of history.
She supported us eagerly, always anxious for us to breathe deeply from her rich
heritage.
Myrtle’s
avocation became her private obsession. She compiled three dozen pictorial,
award-winning, notebooks of congregational life--articles, clippings, and
pictures. The local WCG, Women of the Church of God, and now the Women's
Connection (CLC), currently maintain her accumulated works compulsively
completed on her own initiative and at her own expense. The church library
became her legacy; it was a long-term investment that paid high tribute to the
vision of God’s people across 125 years. It merits attention from serious students
of congregational history.
Staying
busy became a cardinal virtue for Myrtle. She busily navigated an Interstate
System of practical details that fortified her for maximum living. It transformed
her life as it led her to serve others.
I
smile when recalling one of the last notes Myrtle mailed me. It pictured a
Michigan lighthouse and she wrote, “Rev. Warner & Tommie: sending you some
things you would be interested in” (4-14-03). She inspired my frugal Germanic
“save everything” and I still chuckle.
For
a longtime I kept an envelope beside my computer with Myrtle’s name on it. It
held various canceled postage stamps that accumulated from years of
mailing articles to editors--a formidable collection of domestic and foreign
stamps from around the globe. Her leadership in Church Women United compelled
me to save those canceled stamps for the mission projects she and her
compatriots vigorously supported. I never knew our women to fail in supporting
this project. Although it might seem insignificant to the reader, it gave those
Church Women United one more way of supporting a cause they passionately loved.
Myrtle
makes me a self-confessed debtor! Her self-dedication whetted my taste for learning
about our church roots--Michigan, West Virginia, and elsewhere. Myrtle’s family
satisfied my taste buds and I fed from her table of significant resources. Her
bits and pieces injected new life into my historical repertoire. Her eye for
detail--her camera for pictures--her mindset for personal participation (until
slowed by declining health), enabled me to share stories with the church--state
and national.
When
forced to “slow down,” Myrtle converted her “widow’s wagon” into an
“unofficial” Church Taxi for selected seniors. She was well into her golden years
by the time Betty McClain picked up the mantle she wore into her nineties--thank
you Betty!
The
year 1989 saw an epic event unfold. Myrtle’s family--Jenkins’ Clan--rallied
around her and helped our church family celebrate the life and ministry of former
pastor, James E. Jenkins--Myrtle’s
father, the patriarch of the Jenkins’ clan. We gathered in our new multipurpose
facility on M-86 to dedicate a lovely Communion--Kneeling Rail in memory of the
Reverend James Erastus Jenkins. I treasure that day. We did then--do
now--honor the memory of pioneer pastor J. E. Jenkins.
Myrtle’s
parents, James and May, served bi-vocationally, until his premature death, through
the mid-teens into the mid-twenties. Our celebration allowed the children and
grandchildren to pause long enough to gather and celebrate his memory with us.
This diverse family still pursues numerous trans-denominational Christian
ministries to this day. They model the ecumenical unity proclaimed by our early
reformers.
James
Jenkins should be exceedingly proud of the accomplishments of his far-flung
family. He should be immeasurably pleased with the publishing contributions
contributed by Jerry’s Christian book publishing efforts, Jay’s Bible
translation work in Senegal with Wycliffe, and other efforts too numerous to
mention. Their clan contributed significantly to God’s global Kingdom.
I share the family’s reverence, with
this one regret: I never had occasion to meet James and May Jenkins. James died
two years before my birth, but should this gentle shepherd review the history
of that little band of saints in which he invested his adult life, may he
discover abiding satisfaction. May he know his investment still pays eternal
dividends, and that the congregation’s ministry still transforms people's
lives.
Linda
Edwards delivered the following tribute the year the congregation honored
Myrtle as WOMAN OF THE YEAR--1982-83. While typical of Myrtle, it remains
reminiscent of that greater cloud of witnesses:
When
you have such an abundance of wonderful Christian Women, it is hard trying to determine who should be
nominated for Woman of the Year, but the one
we
have chosen especially deserves the honor. Our Woman of the Year has given herself all of her life, never asking
anything in return.
Regardless
of her home situation when it wasn’t always easy to go to church by herself or raise her children with
Christian guidelines, she never missed a WCG meeting,
a Sunday morning or evening service, a mid-week prayer meeting, or any special meetings that were being
held. Always there, trying to ignore the constant
pain of crippling arthritis to her hands and feet, while she played the piano or organ for every service.
Being
raised Church of God since childhood; there haven’t been many Warner camp
meetings that this gal has missed. She always shows up with baked goods, jelly, or home sewn items for the
missionary cottage sales. Never has she gone to
camp meeting without a loaded car full of fellow Christians from home who needed a ride.
I
have never seen this great saint angry or upset, even when she was being pulled
in three or four directions to
wear the many hats she has
worn over the years. Sewing baby
clothes has been a special project for our lady. Many babies at Hattie Downer’s Mission Home in New York City
have been dressed in gowns and
wrapped in the blankets made by the hands of this special person.
She
has been a longtime member of Church Women United, always at the meeting ready to sew quilts, take the minutes as their
secretary, or to do any running that might
need done. She’s a charter member of the local Grandmothers Club, again
acting
as an officer and helping with the annual children’s Christmas shopping
spree.
Our
lady has served as a Sunday School teacher, Sunday pianist, Sunday School Secretary (which she is still doing),
and as Sunday School Superintendent, sometimes
doing more than one of these things at a time. She has given of her time to the local WCG serving as publication
chairperson, always getting the meeting
write-up in the local paper, Historian, ready with her camera at all times for the sake of history, turning a plain
scrapbook into a gold star history book, and
as secretary, faithfully taking the
minutes of the meeting. No matter how confusing
the meetings may be, her minutes read like poetry.
She
serves as an officer on one of the auxiliaries of a local nursing home. The patients love to have her come as she’ll take
endless requests at the piano, again having
constant pain from her arthritis, but never thinking of stopping when there is still but one who would ask her to
stay.
I
think of all the work days we’ve had when only a few came to clean. She was always one of the few, giving her
time and energy for as long as it takes to finish the job.
One
of our goals most endearing fruits of her heart is the taxi service she
provides for anyone needing a ride. She
makes, one two, or even three trips to gather His flock for whatever meeting or social event they need
transportation to. Never asking or
wanting monetary payment for her service of love. It’s jokingly been said that she chauffeurs the “Widow
Wagon” as most of her riders have lost their mates
and can’t drive.
I
think the way I could tell you best about how much she is loved by all ages is by relating a conversation I heard by a
small sister and brother. They were playing quietly
together when I overheard the sister say, “Let’s play church, you be the pastor. I get to be Sister Bishop.
What
an example her life has been! For all these reasons and many more, we nominate Sister Myrtle Bishop for
woman of the year.
In February 2005, I
drove the five-hundred miles from the offices of Reformation Publishers in
Prestonsburg, KY to Three Rivers and led the celebrative Memorial Celebration
for Myrtle. Mary and John Hill inspired us that day with their “special
tribute”--“The Lighthouse”. This contemporary Gospel song anchored our
certainty and removed all doubt from our minds! We believed James and May--dad
and mom Jenkins--quietly smiled and whispered their affirming “Yes!”
Wayne M. Warner,
Pastor - June 1979 to September 1996,
_______________
No comments:
Post a Comment