Serving Still- 2004

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Ruth Clark Visits Cuba

Resident Ruth Clark was part of a Mission for Peace group who visited Cuba April 20-30. During this time they attended the IV International Conference of Struggle Against the Free Trade Agreements (FTA), held in Havana in April 2005.

She reports as follows:

We heard speakers in the Plenary address the problems of the FTA. General sessions were followed by open-mike with questions/ comments and answer sessions. I was repeatedly impressed by how knowledgeable and articulate they were. Clearly these people were speaking out of their own experience. They knew what they were about, and I was honored to sit in their midst and listen. Their commitment both thrilled and strengthened me. Many, including delegates from Guatemala, spoke from the floor. The Guatemalan government had already signed and accepted the FTA, and their delegates tried to understand what avenues were now open to them, like "Where do we go from here?"

There is really nothing good I can say for the FTA. It is carefully crafted and designed to permit total exploitation of the poor for the exclusive benefit of the powerful and rich. At the same time that I am deeply troubled and saddened that such diabolical schemes as FTA could be proposed and perpetrated by persons from the country of my citizenship, I am encouraged and made glad that so many brothers and sisters from all over the hemisphere are organizing so effectively, and so determinedly. I rejoice to see them increasing their knowledge, multiplying their numbers, and refusing to be tools for the rich and powerful to enslave all who might dare to dream of "Fair Trade." Do not be confused by the "Free Trade" concept; it’s free only for the U.S. corporations.

A U.S. corporation guarantees itself all the benefits/pay/bonuses and Latin Americans pay with their blood, sweat, loss of dignity, independence and self-sufficiency, fair pay for work accomplished, and maybe with life itself. Failure or refusal to continue to permit the U.S. corporations to continue their total exploitation of the other party risks lawsuits against the country itself, so that the country and its resources, including its people, may all be obliged to bow before the power of the bonding corporation. The corporation does not bind itself in any way either to protect workers’ welfare or to protect the environment in the area. The worker is without rights to address grievances for fairness or justice for himself or for the environment. In essence the FTA authorizes the U.S. corporations to become the dictator of the Latin-American people and their countries. Neither the Latin-American people nor their governments have any longer any rights that the U.S. corporation does not find convenient.

The tone of the International Conference of the Struggle against FTA plenaries and workshops was consistent in its opposition.

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Art Historian Naomi

From being hostess at the Methodist Center in Bombay and consultant to Christian artists in India to her present service as chairperson of the Archives and History Committee, Naomi Wray puts her background as an art historian into multiple effort.

As a first class volunteer, Naomi could be called a full-timer, but all she is involved in is for enjoyment and purpose. That purpose is to assist with her committee to organize the archives, books and all, into a system of continuity and long-term preservation. This objective is to help the program become a part of the Administration in the future.

How is this being done?

Starting with good work of previous committees and volunteers, Naomi began to put together the many pieces of archival history here and added to it various angles of organization. Closets and places were examined to find just about everything given by residents from way back to the present. Next came the reclassification and seeking places for the hundreds of gifts (not by any means yet completed) representing a long and significant history of missions by deaconesses and missionaries.

One change which will offer assistance in the future is the placing of regional histories of missionaries together. Among these are books by early missionaries in China, Japan, India and Africa. Two copies of Stanley and Livingstone’s African history, first edition, are part of the collection. The deaconess section is another important area of interest constantly being added to with current history.

From the local explorations of materials Naomi has found photos, pictures and records which give opportunity for displays. The downstairs exhibits, distinctive and timely, are put together by Naomi and those whose works are on display. To these are added her special exhibits of exquisitely made items–Japanese, Chinese, Africa, Peru, Mexico, the Philippines–and often suiting the seasons of the year.Another particular part of the voluntary work is changing hallway drawings and pictures for which special frames have been made.

One might say that if an item is named, Naomi has thought of it to reveal how rich the artifacts and gifts given to Brooks-Howell really are, and of what a heritage is each contribution.

Naomi has done much more than spend a good part of her time on the program here in which she quietly applies her graduate degree in history and the arts. She taught at schools in Jabalpur where her family lived for many years. Her ministry covered many forms of media in training and in practice. She is one of the founders of the India Christian Artists Association and wrote and published an illustrated book on one of its famous artists, Frank Wesley.

Her family includes three children, all in educational work, and seven grandchildren. Her late husband, Fred Wray, was archivist for The Methodist Church in India.

Along with making art history at Brooks-Howell, Naomi sings with the chapel choir and is a member of Biltmore United Methodist Church.

It’s volunteerism turned around for Ruth Mayhall, one of Brooks-Howell’s volunteers.

Ruth says her sharing among other residents is a payment to the many Women’s Society volunteers who helped in the thirty-eight years of community service and the related ministries of her career.

"The volunteers were always available and gave assistance in our programs at the centers. I am grateful for them all. My work here is simple repayment for what they contributed to me."

The "repayment" that now benefits Brooks- Howell is Ruth’s earlier participation in the spiritual life ministry and her long service with the Saturday Sunday School program, but foremost it is in her weekly contribution in another direction.

Each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday Ruth can be seen in the hallways delivering mail and packages to those who are shut-in. She brings not only the joy of their receiving letters but of her own joy to those whom she serves.

Another expression of her gratitude to the many women who volunteered in her work is her giving her time and energy to help people in wheelchairs to the dining hall, the chapel and other places of activity. This regularity is a blessing to those who otherwise would have difficulty getting around.

Beyond the premises of Brooks-Howell, Ruth is a member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, where she is also a part of the Faithful Promoters Circle, and she serves as its treasurer.

Ruth graduated from Scarritt College and became a deaconess. Her first assignment was at St. Joseph, Missouri, where she affiliated with her first Wesley Community House. She later spent eleven years in Tampa, Florida, where she worked with a Latin American community.

After a brief time in Detroit, Michigan, Ruth’s next place of service was in Portsmouth, Virginia, and there she served with community groups and related for a time to a local church as pastor, as part of the center’s responsibility. Her work was with the Wesley Community and Child Care Center, where she gave twenty-two years of service.

So from the many years of service in the different center assignments, working with many people of different cultural and social backgrounds, Ruth saw as part of her retirement to be one of those women who give so freely to the church and its programs–for Ruth her volunteerism is with another diversified and rich community.

Book Review: My Indian Jatra - Half a Century Life in India by Frances Major

As World War II closed Frances Major packed her bags and left the cotton field of upstate South Carolina and set sail for Calcutta, India, where she lived and worked in a variety of appointments for forty-two years. She describes the coming of Indian Independence, the genesis of Pakistan and Bangladesh, and the assassination of Ghandi. She shows us people in need, also people of greed, the sick, the persecuted, the hungry and the forgotten ones of earth. We find her loving the people and serving them in the name of Christ.

Francis clearly loves India. My Indian Jatra is history and love combined in a moving story of what it means to live a life less ordinary for the good of others. This book, just published, is available from the author at the bargain price of $15 for those able to pick up their copy or copies from Brooks-Howell. Telephone to Frances Major at 828-258-0809 to place an order. It is available from the publisher now by telephone or internet. To order call 888-2807715, or visit www.authorhouse.com It is also on Cokesbury and other web sites.

Book Review: Sierra Leone Remembered by Esther L. Megill

Esther Megill had an extraordinary life experience in Sierra Leone as a medical technologist–extraordinary in the work she did, in the work she helped others to do, and in the legacy of good will she left behind at the time of her "retirement." Her book, Sierra Leone Remembered, reads like an adventure novel. Written in an easy conversational style, it is a true story whose "characters" draw you into their world. There are surprises at every turn and some will make you laugh along with Esther and her friends. Some will make you weep as she wept for the sick, displaced and those who lost their lives.

This author was there and she takes you with her. Her stories have an unmistakable ring of essential truth. Other authors may have given us history lessons, descriptive passages, testimonials of faith, or glimpses into the culture and everyday lives of people. Esther Megill gives all that and more. Her feast of photographs tell thousands more stories at a glance. Pull up a chair, open Sierra Leone Remembered, and you will see and hear Esther tell her story in her own voice. Her story inspires one to look for the best in the human spirit despite circumstances. One sees that dedication to serve others with compassion, courage and faith, and medicine blessed with God’s love, can make a difference.

If you are able to come to Brooks-Howell Home, Esther has books available for sale, which will save you the postage and handling. This book is also available now from the publisher by telephone or internet, for $10.75 plus postage and handling (paperback) or for $3.95 by downloading from the web site. To order call 888-280-7715 (ask for book # 23464) or visit www.authorhouse.com The specific page for this book is www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=23464 It will also be on Amazon.com and eventually on Cokesbury and other web sites, but it is cheaper if you order directly from AuthorHouse.

When you see Patricia Riddell walking through the hallways, down through the Village, or having the early morning breakfast in the dining hall, you probably cannot imagine what makes her so joyous and active. Pat came to Brooks-Howell ten years ago, and even after a very active life as a missionary in Latin America she has never stopped "going." When asked where she got her enthusiasm and motivation for doing so much volunteer work, she said, "My mother was always a volunteer." And so is Pat.

She is one of these multi-dimensional volunteers. She hardly gets off one assignment before she has planned another. This year she, and others from Brooks-Howell, are going to Europe, primarily to France, where they will join a United Methodist "Prime Timers" group to work with Methodists in the town of Romans, an area of the first invasion of Romans into France centuries ago. Pat has excellent Spanish, and for a trip to France last year and this, she took a course in French at the College for Seniors at UNC in Asheville.

Pat’s background in Christian Education in Argentina, Peru, and Mexico serves her well for the many assignments using those skills since her retirement. She first spent time with the Southeastern Jurisdiction and then went to Palestine, where she located with the Bethlehem Bible College and followed her work there with a creation of a book on subject matters related to the school–this after her return to the U.S. This material is now on a computer there. (Another earlier special assignment was in Liberia, where in seven months she helped the church workers develop study materials which existed until the struggles in recent years.)

A next time overseas was spent in the Dominican Republic, where she served with an extension seminary program, developing materials for teaching and assisting the individual who would use them. She said that sometimes this work was done in the outlying areas by using candlelight. Then, not to rest her skills, Pat was asked to go to Armenia with the Apostolic Church to guide teachers in teaching Christian education in the schools. Two schools with sixty to seventy students were part of the program . It was difficult to work with them in two languages, and with the teachers who were not used to working together in groups as Pat did.

On return to the states from the European assignment, Pat continued her local work with Oakey United Methodist Church, where she teaches a Sunday School class and participates in United Methodist Women, including up to district and conference level programs. She works during the school year with youngsters who are learning English. She commented that this last year produced two excellent students who were highly motivated to learn to read in English. Another Oakley relationship is with the Manna Food Bank, an agency which provides food for many needy places in North Carolina. With several others, Pat goes to their center one Tuesday a month to sort and help pack boxes of food. In her spare time "on campus"– Brooks-Howell–Pat is busy with activities, visiting, making birthday cards, and generally using her computer. The only question one needs to ask Pat is: WHAT NEXT?

Serving with Joy

When you come to Brooks-Howell many opportunities await you. One well-established resident, Jewel Brown, seemingly allowed few opportunities to pass her by. Her register of activities includes all but the kitchen sink–teacher, clerk, musician, chairperson of committees, hostess, caretaker and friend. Until recently Jewel has been with ABCCM helping with clerical work and keeping dozens of records in thirty-four files of clients, who come for assistance. At present Jewel has taken on a new assignment as caretaker for her colleague, Jeanne Wintringham, now recovering from illness.

Jewel is currently the treasurer of the Residents’ Council. She sings in the chapel choir. In earlier periods Jewel has chaired the Spiritual Life Committee and the Archives Committee and the work of these important groups in the Brooks-Howell community. Another distinguishing activity is her participation in the Art Club with her paintings exhibited in Brooks-Howell annual shows and in the hallway of the main building.

Beyond the Brooks-Howell zone, Jewel is a member of the Groce United Methodist Church and its choir. She is active in the United Methodist Women’s groups. She once served as treasurer for Church Women United. Another affiliation is with the American Association of University Women. Mentioned with nostalgia was her co-hosting with Jeanne at the Fenton Memorial Deaconess Home in Chautauqua, New York for seven summers. Where did Jewel get her drive for volunteerism and other ministries? She comes from Zionsville, Indiana, a United Methodist family, and has led a dedicated life as a deaconess of the church. Like others in volunteer work, Jewel is above all a person to know as a FRIEND.

It is a rare occasion to find one at Brooks-Howell who can clip two resumes of herself in a short time. But here there is one who can and this column will share both. Winifred Wrisley is a good Yankee come home to North Carolina, but like her resumes, she retains two "homes" and is highly regarded in both.

AT ABCCM
First, there is the "Winnie" who is an essential part of ABCCM, where she gives much time as a receptionist and knows all who come for assistance by a persistent knowledge of how to work with those in need. The ABCCM monthly paper recently caught up with her, and here are some of the excerpts of what they say about one of their valuable volunteers:

AT BROOKS HOWELL
After the ABCCM involvement, it does not seem possible that there is more volunteer-ism left in Winnie, but her New England background keeps popping up in her contributions and joys of being a resident of Brooks-Howell. She is most visible at the organ or piano on chapel days and at other times. She is a busy person in her church, where she also shares her musical talents as pianist, and as secretary of UMW, plus being part of Church Women United.

Here at Brooks-Howell, Winnie is a past president of Residents’ Council, participates in the White Elephant sales, is a former chair person of the Spiritual Life Committee. These past and present activities reflect her lifelong ministry using music and teaching. Her career involving music began with her own teaching of the skill, later increased while she was at the University of Vermont and continued in graduate study at Boston University. While at Boston, she realized she was called to the ministry using music as a medium. Winnie was commissioned as a deaconess, attended Scarritt College, and then had various jobs including teaching music at the Harwood School in Albuquerque, New Mexico and then as a local pastor in her hometown of Waterbury, Vermont. She was in the Troy Annual Conference and the Green Mountain District (VT.) for fifteen years before coming to Asheville and Brooks-Howell.

Now having lived in the South for a considerable time, Winnie still remains a staunch New Englander. The Waterbury church where she was a pastor remains a part of her home. Several members from there came to Brooks-Howell during the White Elephant Sale this year and assisted with it. This summer, twenty members will come and be with Berry Temple Church for volunteer work and services. The Waterbury Church members will bring with them branches from the Ivy vine which has been a part of their church since Winnie and her mother gave it as an Easter gift many years ago. It has been their symbol for baptisms, marriage, graduations and other events. From time to time, branches have been sent with people going many places in the USA. The symbolism reflects how Christ’s words help people discover His teachings and become part of them. Today with Winifred at Brooks-Howell the nature and message of the Ivy plant from Waterbury continue to live in her ministry and to those whom she serves.

There are a number of residents at Brooks-Howell who have published works to their credit. Some of the books were related to their work, but not all.

Naomi Wray is an example of one who published several books related to her service in India. Anjali (Offering) (1958), a book of 64 pp with 32 full page illustrations. Symbols of Our Faith (1960) a work of 56 pp. Frank Wesley: Exploring Faith with a Brush, published in New Zealand (1993), was 224 pp introducing the work of India’s leading contemporary Christian artist. She was also illustrator and/or editor of various books: Bethany in Bombay and Other Poems by the Christian poet Chandran Devavanesen (1981) 77 pp 30 illustrations, Christian Painting in India Though the Centuries (1987) 102 pp, Methodist Deaconesses Assembly Souvenir (1988) 264 pp. The above were all published in India. The following were published in the USA: Illustrator of Walton’s Great Watermelon Sale, a children’s book (1993) 24 pp with 12 pp. of illustrations, Collected Poems and Selected Prose for children (1997) 188 pp. with 50 pp of illustrations, 2000-2001 Bible Study: Women and the Word: Studies in the Gospel of John (2000) 64 pp. She also wrote for, illustrated, edited newsletters, yearbooks, magazines, in India and throughout Southeast Asia between 1953 and 1993.

Esther Megill’s textbook for teaching Christian education in theological schools in Africa (1976) of 205 pp. has gone through three editions, the latest being 198 pp (2000) in Ghana. She published in Sierra Leone a children’s prayer book which was illustrated with her photos, Father, We Thank Thee (1962) 18 pp. She also compiled and edited while in Ghana a children’s song book, Sing, Children, Sing (1982) 135 pp. Her book Sierra Leone Remembered 124 pp which tells about her experiences from 1951 to 1962, will be published this year. It is illustrated with more than 200 of her own photographs.

Linda Frost wrote White Tension (1973) 118 pp, a semi-autobiographical novel about race relations. It is the story of a modern yet naive New England girl whose idealistic fervor is tried by the racial conflicts she experiences in a Southern community. Children’s Stories for Mature Adults (1977) 30 pp is "Dedicated to all little people especially those with wrinkles and gray hair," a collection of short stories, each with a scripture verse at the beginning. The author says in the preface that a more appropriate title might have been "A Child Psychs Us Out." The Battered Woman and The Child (1980) of 26 pp is the story of a battered woman told from the perspective of a child.

Barbara E. Campbell wrote United Methodist Women: In the Middle of Tomorrow (1975) 255 pp, a history of program, organization, and outreach of UMW indicating continuity of ministries for women with children and youth. In 1983 she wrote a supplement of 32 pp covering the years from 1975 to 1983.

Betty Letzig is the author of Expressions of Faith (1987) 60 pp, a background paper on the origins of social welfare institutions related to the National Program Division of the General Board of Global Ministries of The UMC. The Joy of Service: Life Stories of Racial and Ethnic Minority Deaconesses and Home Missionaries (1992), 56 pp, does not list her as author, but she actually did the writing as the staff person in the office of the National Program Division of the General Board.

The Backside of Yesterday (1994) is the autobiography of Arthelia Brooks. It is dedicated "To Arle Brooks, my husband of fewer than nine years, and to his family whose devotion to me and my girls has never changed. To my own Hilleary family, where I grew up loved and happy. To my three daughters, my three grandsons, and two great-grandsons. And, If you are a Methodist woman, this book is also gratefully dedicated to you, and to all the Methodist women who have gone before you." It is 342 pp hardback with illustrations.

Ann Janzen wrote The Gardens of the Sitka Pioneers Home (1997) 28 pp. This beautifully illustrated book describes the gardens and those who care for them at this home for retired persons in Sitka, Alaska.

Fusako Krummel is the author of Exercise Book for New Horizon Junior High English Textbook (1993), 119 pp and the revised edition of 150 pp published in 1996. She also wrote Fun to Begin English!, Books 1 & 2 , each 150 pp, (1998). She was the coauthor of Let’s Enjoy English! Vol. I (1991) & II (1992), each 63 pp, accompanied by teacher’s manuals. She was a contributor to Kirisutokyo Bungaku Daijiten (Dictionary of Christian Literature) (1994) and contributor of artcles on English and American literature to six books of literary criticism during the 1980’s and 1990’s. All of the above were published in Japan.

A collection of John W. Krumel’s sermons, Fukai Fuchi Kara (From Out of the Depths) was published in 1997. His Letters From Japan 1956-1997, 208 pp, came out in 1999. It is a collection of the author’s general letters sent out through the Board of Missions to his supporting churches and interested individuals. They tell the story of church and school in Japan. Also included are the mission sermons that the author gave when home on furlough. The book is dedicated "To Japan and all that it gave to me, foremost among them my wife and son." He is also a contributor to Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions (1996), and to Nihon Kirisutokyo Rekishi Daijiten (Encyclopedia of Christian History in Japan) (1988). He was editor of A Biographical Dictionary of Methodist Missionaries to Japan: 1873-1993 (1996) 342 pp. illustrated , bilingual (English and Japanese). The dictionary includes not only career missionaries of the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren Boards, but also short-term and contract workers whether Methodist or not who were employed by one of the Methodist boards. It also includes Methodists who were in Japan as self-supporting missionaries or under non-Methodist agencies such as the YMCA, YWCA, and WCTU and Methodist visiting scholars who were there in cooperation with the Japanese church or a Methodist board.

Carrie: Her Works Praise Her (2002) illustrated, 273 pp, was compiled and edited by Laura B. Wells. A biography of Laura’s mother but with detailed attention to her ancestors and to her descendants. A collection of stories about her and about her family as told by her children and their spouses, nieces and nephews and their spouses, grand and great grandchildren.

Frances I. Major will publish My Indian Jatra this year. It recounts her years in India from 1946 to 1989 as a missionary. The story of food riots, the coming of Indian Independence, the birth of free India, the genesis of Pakistan, the assassination of Gandhi, the death of Jinnah, the visits to Calcutta of Nehru, of leading churchmen, the Assembly of The World Council of Churches in Delhi, are all told by her. Most of the book is based on letters written by Frances to family and friends while she was in India. She is also the editor of Triumph Through Sorrow, a collection of documents about the Lee Memorial Mission from its founding in 1894 to 1989, being published in India this year.

Helene Hill is working on a collection of her devotions that she expects will be finished this year. Will and Agnes Rogers are in the midst of writing the manuscript for a collection of his sermons. Anyone who has ever heard him preach will know what a delight that will be. It will be made even more delightful by introductions for each sermon by Agnes relating an incident from their lives which will illustrate the sermon. It is hoped that the book will be out this year. Ethel Raddon and Eunice Sluyter spent many years of their careers teaching other people how to write and produced a goodly volume of material for that purpose. We’ve written and are writing still.

A quiet woman walks around Brooks-Howell nearly every day, appearing unconcerned about what is going on, and minding her own business. But wait–this woman is Frances Major, who happens to be one of the busiest people here. She is a church woman, a teacher and a medical assistance program associate, not to mention her casual goings about to visit people and talk with them as a real friend.

Frances says she has two major concerns (exclusive of her Oakley United Methodist Church affiliation). The first of these is being part of the Medical Assistance Ministry, which is an ecumenical program supervised by Judy Durham at the Baptist Church in Oakley. This place is only the head office for a ministry which helps to provide necessary prescriptions at little or no cost to those in need. Some doctors give support for the work and other help comes from a few churches. The medical program involves a system of interviewing people, checking with their doctors for a prescription, which goes to one of the many pharmaceutical companies sharing drugs, and sending them back to the doctor where the patient goes to receive them. Frances puts all of the details of the process on the computer for records and any rechecking required. She is one of several persons who assist with this work. This is a facilitating system between doctor and patient and many are served by it. The volunteer service takes Frances out of Brooks-Howell every Tuesday, but leaves her ready for the next day when she goes back to the Oakley area and works for the whole day with teachers and pupils at the school. She helps across all sections of Class Two. Her directions come from the teachers who recommend she work with girls and boys who need drilling in reading and arithmetic (math). She says, "I really enjoy this experience."

Frances’ total ministry follows a pattern she set in her many years as a missionary in India and with the Board of Global Ministries in New York. Her heart also remains with those with whom she worked in Calcutta (her Indian home), Lucknow, Bombay and other places in eastern, central and western India. Her ministry was in schools, districts, in national church offices and always as an active participant in the churches where she lived. Frances was ordained by the Indian conference.

Her personal history of those years is in publishing process here in the U.S., while another book which she reedited is being printed in Calcutta. It is the stirring history of the Lee Memorial Mission, a stopping place for visitors in India and formerly for world travelers. Methodist schools, one for girls and one for boys, are located in the same area, the girls’ school was part of her longtime association in Calcutta. (She incidently knows Bengali and Hindi, and maybe some of other languages.) This February 2004 Frances will lead a group of twelve to India and introduce them to the Methodist Church and its ministries. They will be witnesses to the people and places, the national leaders and the culture which became so much a part of her life. During the stay the visitors will assist for four days in repair projects of two villages in Bengal Province. One of the sites is where Frances was a pastor. Should anyone at Brooks-Howell wonder if Frances should not add "India" to her name?

Honoring Anne McKenzie

Look where you may around Brooks-Howell, and you will see a petite resident who is always busy–in the library, the media room, at the reception desk, or maybe in her car taking someone to the airport or a medical appointment. Then take a walk to St. Paul’s Church, and there, too, you will find Anne McKenzie. Anne is one of the Brooks-Howell volunteers who sees things to do and goes about doing them. She came to BH in 1988 and has not stopped since to count the ways she has become an integral part of the Home. Whether "in house" or not, Anne is known as a true volunteer who gives generously of her time and talents to benefit others.

Perhaps, more than the other ministries, Anne is well known for doing tax preparations for residents (and some outsiders). This meticulous task consumes much of her time for four months a year. And everyone whom she helps appreciates this contribution. Anne is on the lobby desk taking calls, visitors and problems at certain hours three days a week. During holidays she often offers to substitute for Mary Harrin, who can have more time with her family.

Then again at six times a year when the Serendipitor is on schedule, it is Anne who commandeers the mailing process for external readers. She works with other volunteers to get ready for the Bulk Mail Center of the Postal Service. One of her colleagues says this of her intense preoccupation in such preparations: "She is very particular about just how it is supposed to be prepared to meet Post Office requirements." Anne also takes care of bulk mailing for two other organizations.

At other times, when the work of the periodical does not quite overwhelm her, she spends time in the chapel in the handbell choir, and on Sunday she sings in the choir at St. Paul’s. She has library responsibilities and enjoys working in the library several times a week. Over at St. Paul’s Church, Anne adds to her choir participation as a member of the Staff Parish Relations, Finance, and Nominating Committees, and as treasurer for United Methodist Women. About once a month she helps with counting the church offering and taking it to the bank.

If all these involvements are not enough to make heads spin, count another! This is her affiliation with the Community Resources Council which helps with the prison ministry. Funds are now being sought to build a new structure where Bible study, worship and educational events can take place. She also serves as treasurer for the local Church Women United unit. Anne’s former ministry in church and community helped her engage in cooperative projects and program with other churches and groups. All but two of her years as a deaconess were spent in assignments in Tennessee. Her work was under the Woman’s Division and then the National Division of the General Board of Global Ministries.

Two sabbaticals offered her opportunity for earning an M.A. degree at Scarritt College, and later having the unique experience of working as an exchange deaconess in the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Friendships from this period remain. Next time you see Anne at one or two, or maybe three, of her places of volunteerism, just say "thank you" for all she has done or is doing–then and now.