Because He Lives
Almost twenty years ago now, Donny’s accident occurred on Friday, July 19, 2002. His funeral was Tuesday, July 23. Tired from grief and everything else unimaginable that week, we needed to “get out of Dodge.” So we gathered up some kids and some close friends for support and headed out to my parent’s house on the Eastern Shore in Woolford, Maryland.
My dad was crabbing at the time so he still had his crab boat which made for the perfect diversion spending some time on the water, fishing, and crabbing.
Outside of our world, the rest of the country was watching the events unfold in Somerset County, Pennsylvania where on July 24 eighteen coal miners were trapped in the Quecreek Mine. Somerset County was where Kim’s family resided so that crisis hit close to home as well and captured our concerns too.
Woolford is a small town about halfway between Cambridge and Taylor’s Island. There is not much to the town but a small post office attached to the Woolford Store. The Woolford Store had everything you needed for fishing, crabbing, and back then, hunting. You could also pick up your beer and groceries or have a seat at one of the few tables in front of the deli/grill and have breakfast or lunch. Camo was common or whatever you liked to fish in and pick-up trucks lined the road out in front.
Just a little ways further up Taylor’s Island Road was a small United Methodist Church named Milton United Methodist Church.
The Milton United Methodist church in Woolford at the time was part of the four church “Church Creek Charge.” The Church Creek Charge consisted of the Whitehaven UMC in Church Creek, Milton in Woolford, Madison UMC in Madison, and the Taylor’s Island United Methodist Church on Taylor’s Island. The Pastor at the time was Reverend Bob Kirkley. Kirkley was a preacher’s son who himself spent many years preaching in Baltimore and in St. Mary’s county on the Western Shore. Like my dad, he was born in 1929, so he could have easily been retired. But instead, every Sunday morning Reverend Kirkley would start his preaching at 8:45 a.m. at the Whitehaven UMC in Church Creek, and once finished he would beat feet down the road to Milton at 9:45 a.m. then Madison at 10:45 a.m. finishing up the morning at Taylor’s Island UMC.
On that particular late July, Sunday, Kim and I felt like we needed to be in church and we convinced my parents to attend with us. We sat down in one of the pews of the small very traditional-looking aging church sanctuary. As strangers in church that morning, once we were acknowledged my dad very uncharacteristically stood up and introduced us and explained the circumstances with Donny.
Though I don’t remember what the sermon was about that Sunday, I do remember Kim and me thinking that it was speaking directly to us on that day.
At the end of the service, everyone stood and sang “God Bless America.”
Later that morning we went over to the Volunteer Fire Department in Secretary, Maryland for buckwheat pancakes and caught some TV replays of the miners in Pennsylvania being brought to the surface one at a time in their rescue capsule.
Answered prayers for those families.
Once we returned to Herndon Kim emailed Reverend Kirkley and explained that my parents really needed a church family and could he visit with them and try to get them to start going to church.
He did, and it worked, and eventually, my parents became active members of the Milton United Methodist Church.
The aging church building benefited from some of my dad’s carpentry skills and in addition, he would build a new church sign out front and a special Christmas tree-shaped stand for the poinsettias at Christmas in the sanctuary.
As my dad’s health began to fail and walking became more difficult, they eventually had to stop attending services.
Kim and I would attend from time to time while visiting.
Eventually, Reverend Kirkley’s health failed too and he had to retire, and just this past February, he passed away.
And the once four charge “Church Creek Charge” over time became a three church charge with the closing of the Taylor’s Island church.
Now with a new pastor, Pastor Ben, who is actually a police officer on the western shore when he is not preaching on the weekends, the same traditions of the small-town congregation continue.
Yesterday Kim and I returned with my mom for Easter services at Milton. She hadn’t been to church in a while and they were happy to see her.
Most of the faces of the small congregation were familiar.
The sign on the wall said “last week’s attendance 31.”
With Easter, however, this Sunday’s attendance swelled to 46.
The stand my dad built for the Christmas poinsettias was still present in the corner now decorated with American flags.
And since the lady who used to play the piano moved away, the hymns are sung accompanied by recorded music and vocals. We sang “He Lives” along with Alan Jackson and “Because He Lives” with Bill Gaither.
And just like it was twenty years ago, “God Bless America” still ends every service. No accompaniment was needed for that one.
After church, we visited with my dad and tried to remember Easters of the past when the big deal was packing the family in the Corvair and driving all the way to Middletown to have dinner at McDonald’s.
Now with our visit over, Kim and I got back in the truck to head home.
But not before a quick stop at the McDonald’s in Cambridge to keep the tradition going.
It was a nice Easter.
“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth a living just because He lives”
(From “Because He Lives” by Bill Gaither)
Postscript
The photo above was taken at the time the new sign that my dad built was installed at the church.
