Thoughts

For it stands in scripture: See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. To you then who believe, he is precious. 1 Peter 2:6-7a (NRSV)

THOUGHTS

Timber Ridge 250^th Anniversary (October 13, 1996)

(a few thoughts from former pastor Allen G. Hamann)

Asking a former pastor of Timber Ridge to share some memories, and then putting a time limit on it, is about like telling a dog to be happy, but not wag its tail. It is a difficult challenge. I am reminded of the parting advice given Sue and me by the always insightful Mary Lipscomb: “Don’t ever talk about your former church.” And I have spent the past 3½ years repeatedly ignoring her advice. I would estimate that at least 80% of the memories I have shared from former churches begin, “When I was at Timber Ridge….”

In 1985 I came to Timber Ridge from North Carolina with the help of the Mackey Moving Company, in weather that according to Reid was “hot – – H-O-double-T HOT.” It was as if the Lord was saying, “Here’s so you will remember what North Carolina summers are like.” As we left Timber Ridge eight years later, it was as if the Lord was saying, “And here’s so you can remember what Shenandoah Valley winters are like.” The snow was falling before the moving van pulled out, and we left a blizzard behind us. In between were a whole host of memories.

It was at Timber Ridge where I stood on the same platform as Ann Richards, the future governor of Texas, as we “remembered the Alamo” and honored Sam Houston. It was at Timber Ridge where I received a letter from Ireland seeking information on the Lyle family, which in turn enabled me to write back and ultimately make contact with my own 4^th cousin in Ireland, who was descended from a lost part of our family that had remained in Ireland in the 1830s. Many of you may not even have known that I am ¼ Irish, and I have a cousin who is a “true” Scots-Irishman, having been born on the boat as the family traveled from Scotland to Ireland.

I recall my reaction early in my pastorate here about how the Lord had dealt me an interim hand involving youth. When I arrived we had about 16 young people in college – the fulfillment of Homer Cornish’s great youth group. But I had a high school group that was lucky to number 3-4 youth. By the time I left we had about 60 young people under 12 years of age, so that Lisa and Dan could have this present active youth group. “Just think what Timber Ridge might have been able to do if Al Hamann had organized a youth group,” I often thought to myself, tongue in cheek

I enjoyed making the aforementioned Mrs. Lipscomb squirm by beginning a sentence, “They tell me the Scots-Irish are known for such and such,” a comment guaranteed to warrant that look which said, “Don’t even start on that.” But seriously, it was interesting to see how many of the so-called stereotypes proved false.

(a) “This is a formal congregation,” I was told. Sure! But try to convince somebody as the youth danced to “100% Chance of Rain,” as little Johnny Swink ran up the aisle in his Easter bonnet, or the time when I paused in the midst of a sermon, causing a young worshipper to ask, “Is he done now?” Yes, we had some fun amidst our seriousness.

Just a few months ago, in my present congregation, we were going around the room pointing out the positive God-given talents of each person. When one of the ladies tried to say something nice about me, she replied, “What I like about Al is that when he visits in our home, I always feel so good when he leaves.” Timber Ridge felt so good when I left that they threw us a party. Well, more honestly, they roasted me! And in order to remain true to that image, I want to ask you, “Guess what I’ve got in here!” (demonstrate long-billed baseball cap from farewell party). Regardless of what Mike Henry might have said on that occasion, I prefer to think that this cap represents the vision that we shared together, enabling us to block out the distractions around us and focus on the task at hand, whether on the softball field or on the mission field.

(2)

(b) We were warned about how private and reserved these Scots-Irish people are supposed to be. And then they proceeded to welcome this Indiana farm boy into their midst with open arms (not to mention open homes, open gardens, etc.) Subtle it was when one of the very young boys approached me in the hall prior to worship and asked, “Would you talk faster this morning?” Could he possibly have been related to the member who wanted salvation in 5 minutes or else?

(c) Everyone knows that it is an inbred trait of us people to be “as tight as bark on a tree.” Is that why we ended up every year with a surplus in the budget, while at the same time we began new “special worship opportunity programs” and reached out to support missionaries and local mission efforts so zealously? I remember how we discarded the traditional “pledging” drive and merely “responded to the Lord’s grace,” with a result so successful that our officers were asked to come to a presbytery meeting and share what we had done.

(d) Timber Ridge meant “mission,” even though we didn’t have a fancy mission statement. We helped to create the presbytery Mission Fairs, part of which was hosting the first “Children’s Mission Day” in our community building. And we started a pre-school program. We sent workers to Mexico and to West Virginia, and began to get heavily involved in the Habitat for Humanity program. We sent meals to Gladys House, and we bowled to raise money for the Neriah Food Pantry. We walked the Chessie Trail for CROP, and participated in the hunger program back when we thought 2-cents-a-meal was abundantly giving.

(e) Of course Timber Ridge, like most small rural churches, tends to want only “our kind of people.” So what happened? You welcomed a pastor and a milk tester who had both grown up in the same county of Northwestern Indiana. You welcomed college professors from the Eastern Shore and the Gulf Coast, truck drivers from Decatur and carpet dyers from Waynesboro. They came from Alleghany Co. and Charlottesville, from Kentucky and Louisiana, from New Jersey and England. There were Baptists and Mennonites, ARPs, Brethren and Episcopalians. And they were welcomed in right along with those who could trace their roots 250 years back at this site. That’s probably what I remember most – the people. So I’ve sought to rekindle my memories of some of those people, with a bit of play on words.

Lend me your ears, and perhaps you KINN-EAR, as my LIPS-COMB to tell of the church I revere. As a general RULEY, I’ll REID this to get it just WRIGHT, though my wife said that afterward you probably SHULL want to BURN-ETT.

When I came here, some said Timber Ridge was like a zoo. They had had LAMs, FOXes, BYRDs and BAERs. I must admit I even saw a CRICKET, a couple of ROBINs, an IBIS and a JAY bird while I was here, not to mention a flock of HENry types. Maybe that’s why we need so many veterinarians in the congregation.

First we took the PULTZ of the congregation, and then DREW up a TENE plan. We didn’t have a KIT at first, but we added a bit of DE-WITT, some WILL power, and a little MOORE enthusiasm. We had some smart ALECs who were able to wisely MUSE at possibilities and STERR-ETT all the opportunities. SHIRLEY there were LOTTS of neighbors to reach, so we scratched our BEARDs and made our ARMSTRONG, so we could be WALKERS and talkers to those WARE we went, along each BROOKE and DALE and HILL,MAN, in all the HALLS and CHAMBERS around.

(3)

We had a BOND, so we took some GOODMEN (and women), and KEMP right on working. We puffed and HUFFedMAN. We hired a GOSHORN to make BELLs ring, and we imported a NANCY to help us sing – or at least BLAIR out. Sure, we occasionally got in some FIXes, but we had the WILLA the Lord behind us. We TWYed and we TWYed, and with the aid of MACKEYs and LACKEYs, by crackey we did it. They kept CUMMINS and CUMMINS.

They came in all HUGHS – BROWN, GREENE, BLACK-WELL, you get the idea. There were POTTERS and WEAVERS and MILLERS; PAINTERS and WELDERS; even a HUNTER and a HA(y)MANN. We were a church with more DEACONs than elders.

We were a church where the women were called BUD and BILL and BOBbie, while if you didn’t know what to call a man, you just named him PETE. Because we were very Biblical we had DAVID here, and representatives from the tribes of BENJAMIN, JOSEPH, LEVI, DAN and CALEB. We had young gospel writers like MATTHEW, LUKE and JOHN (Mark had already left us for other pastures). Of course we also welcomed PETER and ANDREW, along with JAMES and JOHN. PAUL and TIMOTHY were here too, along with STEPHEN. Naturally we needed some women to carry the sand and make the big decisions, so we had REBECCA and LEAH, SARAH and RACHEL, RUTH and LYDIA, along with MARY and MARTHA of course. But perhaps by now you have been “pun-nished” enough.

Let me close with the obvious today, that of course Timber Ridge means “tradition,” and do we have tradition! There’s the cemetery outside and the birthplace of Sam Houston; the connections with Liberty Hall Academy, Princeton Seminary and Hampden Sydney, and the clerical gallery in the hallways of the education wing. And what other church places tablets of stone from Mt. Sinai right in front of the preacher’s line of vision in order to remind us of our pastoral mortality here?

But of course it is more than that! It is a reminder that we have a past, along with a present, and also a future. That’s what we’re celebrating today, isn’t it? And so perhaps it is fitting to close with the well-known reminder of this in our midst, when over 200 years ago it was written, “Remember man, as you pass by, as you are now so once was I. As I am now you soon shall be, therefore think of eternity.” We gather today – in the present – to celebrate the past, but we do so with the knowledge of the Eternal love and grace of our heavenly Father who loved us all, and continues to love us all so very very much. Amen, and Amen.

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