NEW MEXICO ANNUAL CONFERENCE
2000 LIVING ARCHIVE - LAY PRESENTATION
FRIZELLA
WHITIKER
Frizella Whitiker was bom to Rev. and Mrs.
Charles Edwin Whitiker, a parsonage family of the Central Jurisdiction of
The Methodist Church. Rev. Whitiker served a number of churches in what
was known as the West Texas Conference at the time. The family lived and
ministered in communities such as Austin, Grosebeck, Mexia, and Waco. Much of
Rev. Whitiker's career was spent in Austin, Texas, where his pastorate at Wesley
Chapel was a defming appointment not only for Rev Whitiker, but for his family
as well. Rev. Whitiker later served as District Superintendent of the Austin
District.
Wesley Chapel Church in Austin has had a
long and storied history of ministry and effectiveness. It was in this
congregation that Frizella Whitiker was led to a life-long faith in Jesus Christ
that has resulted in her own ministry in the Methodist and United Methodist
Church. As a young teenager she taught Sunday School to young children, played
piano for the Sunday School, sang in the youth choir, and was a member of
Epworth League.
Ms. Whitiker recalls that Wesley Chapel
had a balcony and Upper Room that were instrumental in the youth ministry of the
church as places the congregation had set aside for the use of the youth. She
served on the youth usher board and attended conference events in Brownwood,
Texas.
"Wesley Chapel was an active
body of people. There was always something going on. The dedication of the
teachers who worked with youth was a primary influence on my life. Ms. Burns got
me involved in the music ministry of Wesley Chapel."
Ms. Whitiker has almost always been
involved in music ministry, and those who have been blessed by her vocal talent
and her piano playing are forever grateful that she was nurtured by the church
to use her gift of music.
Frizella Whitiker graduated from Anderson
High School in Austin, Texas and matriculated to Samuel Huston College which
merged with another Austin college to become Huston-Tillotson College, from
which she graduated in 1950. She later received a Master's degree from Texas
Southern University.
Ms. Whitiker arrived in Odessa, Texas on
August 30, 1950, where she began a long effective teaching career. She became a
member of Mackey Chapel Methodist Church soon after her arrival in Odessa,
and has been a member since that time. When asked about her involvement
in the local church, Ms. Whitiker confirmed that she had held nearly every
position available over the years. Except for a few years when arthritis made it
difficult, she has played the piano for worship as well as leading the choir.
Ms. Whitiker has been a member of the
Conference Board of Education, and active in the United Methodist Women and its
predecessor organizations at the local church, district, and conference levels
in the New Mexico Conference and our predecessor West Texas Conference of the
Central Jurisdiction.
Her influence has been widely known in
Odessa and the Odessa District. One of the gauges of the respect and esteem that
she has been afforded is in the Headstart center named for her contributions to
the community. It is called the F.C. Whitiker Headstart Program.
Frizella C. Whitiker
is a Christian of enormous influence, a person of great humiility and modesty, a
leader of God's people, and we are pleased to designate her as our Lay Living
Archive for the year 2000.
It
was our
great pleasure to have been a part of the honoring of Ms. Whitiker (Mom). Please
join us in enjoying the pictures (memories) from Glorieta. We are very proud.
Alphonso and Zelda
Alexander
