Luke, Andrew, Jay, Amanda, Angie, Merle, Connie
LUKE: (singing) Precious memories, unseen angels, Sent from somewhere to my soul; How they linger, ever near me, And the sacred past unfold.
Precious memories, how they linger, How they ever flood my soul; In the stillness of the midnight, Precious, sacred scenes unfold. (music continues under)
MERLE: Maybe you remember things better from your childhood. It seems like my most precious memories of worship are all from my childhood. Maybe I paid better attention back then.
AMANDA: Applause was not allowed in our church. I mean, there was no official announcement of this…you just didn’t do it. But I was a little kid and didn’t know any better.
ANGIE: A high school boy got up and played “The Holy City” on his trumpet. It was awesome, and when he was done I broke into applause.
AMANDA: I was the only one.
ANGIE: Everybody stared at me…at least I felt like they were staring at me.
AMANDA: Then my mother did the nicest thing she’s ever done for me…she started applauding too. Then everybody did. It was just like Easter. I made a mistake and somebody stepped in and took my blame.
CONNIE: There was a young couple that once attended our church; fun loving and willing and ready to share their enthusiasm and their faith.
ANDREW: There seemed to be something missing though, there was a sadness that no one understood.
CONNIE: As time passed the sadness became more apparent; finally one Sunday the young wife spoke to the congregation. She told them that she wanted to have a child but God was not answering that prayer. Their prayer request was on every heart.
ANDREW: Just recently my husband and I attended the Lincoln Land play in Beardstown and the actors were young people from our area. What a thrill it was to see a beautiful teenage girl, the spitting image of her mother, sing and dance her way into everyone’s heart.
JAY: The minister would ask if anyone had a testimony and we weren’t always used to doing this. Then Bea Plunkett would stand up and you could hear a pin drop.
CONNIE: She spoke softly but with authority.
JAY: No one in our congregation had suffered the trials that this lady had, but her testimony was always to the love of God..the grace of God. Then she’d sit down. No matter what happened after that, it was Bea’s words and love of the Lord that always stuck with you.
ANDREW: I was in a Pentecostal gathering of some sort…not a large crowd, but they were very spirit filled. A former football coach from Decatur was speaking that night and we were in the middle of a song. Suddenly the lady in the chair ahead of me slumped over. Then she fell to the floor.
CONNIE: The man near her checked her pulse.
ANDREW: “She dead,” he said.
CONNIE: Then without any fanfare, all those around her laid hands on her and began to pray. Pretty soon she sat up.
ANDREW: I’m not kidding. She sat up, stood up, and joined in the song that had never stopped all the time she was dead. I don’t explain these things, I just tell them.
LUKE: It was our church’s first Lay Witness Mission. Somebody forced me to come. It was the first time in my life that I’d heard common, every-day lay people stand up and tell what Christ had done in their lives. I’ve never been the same since.
MERLE: It never fails. I don’t want to go to church. I feel lousy. I just don’t feel like being with God that day. Then I make myself go. …and something happens. Something always happens. The very days I don’t feel like going are the days I must.
ANDREW: (singing) Precious father, loving mother, Fly across the lonely years; And old home scenes of my childhood, In fond memory appears. ANDREW AND LUKE: Precious memories, how they linger, How they ever flood my soul; In the still ness of the midnight, Precious, sacred scenes unfold.
CONNIE: April 22, 1945 I was baptized, and publicly confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of my life, and was received into full membership of the Concord Methodist Church.
ANGIE: It was a very moving experience for me, and I became well aware of all Jesus had done for me by hanging on that cross with those large nails driven into his wrist, and into His feet tied together.
AMANDA: The entire event made enough impression on me that I remember it well to this day, some 60 years later.
CONNIE: However, some 14 years later, at a revival, again at the Concord Methodist Church, I felt compelled to, once again, go to the altar, and confess my sins, and accept Christ as my Savior. This compelling was beyond my control…I didn’t want to go… but there was this strong force which would not let me rest until I had done it.
ANGIE: I always figured that was the Holy Spirit urging me, and that particular night this force was very, very strong. Sometimes the Holy Spirit can be strong, other times it’s that still small voice.
MERLE: One of my first memories of Sunday School takes me back to a basement full of kids singing, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down my heart...." under the direction of Gert Phelps.
LUKE: Three years of confirmation class. Three years and I was the only one in the class.
MERLE: Three years, just Martin Luther, Louie Knief and me. It was torture.
LUKE: Nothing wrong with Louie and nothing wrong with Martin Luther, but me…I was 11 and 12 and 13 years old and wanted to be anywhere in the world other than in confirmation class every Wednesday after school.
MERLE: My kids took Methodist confirmation and they covered the entire history of the church in a month. For me it was three years…me, Louie Knief and Martin Luther.
JAY: I was on a mission team to the Jacksonville prison and it was freezing. We were in a flimsy tent and the wind was really whipping.
ANDREW: They handed me a cup of coffee but my hands were shaking so badly I could barely get the cup to my lips. Then one of the inmates took of his gloves and said, “Here brother.”
JAY: I don’t know how much the guy had in his life, but he gave me one of his most valuable possessions.
ANDREW: Then the young minister from Quincy got up to preach and suddenly the wind stopped. I mean it stopped dead and the warmth of God’s presence filled that little tent.
AMANDA: Tom Ewalt was very sick and didn’t have long to live. He hadn’t been to church in a long time but I think it was Jessica Meyer who organized a mime dance for Easter Sunrise Service and Tom’s daughter Tonya was to dance in it.
ANGIE: Tom showed up, sick as he was. I remember they danced to the song “I Can Only Imagine.”
AMANDA: Recently I was driving back from somewhere and “I Can Only Imagine” came on the radio. I had to stop and pull over.
LUKE: I can only imagine What it will be like When I walk By your side I can only imagine What my eyes will see When your face Is before me I can only imagine I can only imagine [Chorus:] Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel Will I dance for you Jesus or in honor of you be still Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all I can only imagine I can only imagine I can only imagine When that day comes When I find myself Standing in the Son I can only imagine When all I will do Is forever worship You I can only imagine I can only imagine [Chorus] I can only imagine [x2] I can only imagine When all I will do Is forever, forever worship you I can only imagine
CONNIE: I felt the nearness of God at the Birth of each of our children. I do think birth and death are times when we feel the presence of the Living Lord. It seems we are nearer to Him then.
ANGIE: I had that same feeling when I learned of the birth of each of our Grandchildren, and my Great Grandchildren. They are all gifts from our Maker. In every case the 1st time I held each of them in my arms I ask the Lord to Bless them all their days.
CONNIE: I'm grateful for all the Blessings He bestows on me daily in the form of a wonderful family, and good friends, all the creature comforts, & decent health he blesses me with. God is good, and I could not make it without Him, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Thank You Lord.
MERLE: Easter is such a wonderful time in the Church, because we are reminded of all Our Lord has done for us. Sure I enjoy the new outfits I see, or special Easter clothes, but the time and date mean so much more to me. Especially as I draw nearer to being with Him forever more.
LUKE: My friend gave his life to Christ one night as we both sat around a campfire. It was just him and I. He said that for years he’d sat in church and declined communion because he was never really convinced, and now that he’d given his heart to Christ he was desperate to receive communion.
ANDREW: I don’t think it followed the prescribed Methodist way, but it may have been the first time in the history of the church where Dr. Pepper and Twinkies substituted for wine and bread…but believe me, that communion by the fire with tiny cups and plastic wrappers was the most authentic communion I’ve taken in my life.
CONNIE: I was recently at a meeting of Methodists and I asked a well-known minister where it said in the Bible that preachers had to give communion.
JAY: He leaned over to me and whispered, “We just made that up.”
ANDREW: I feel better about the Doctor Pepper now.
MERLE: I’m always amazed that no matter how many sermons I hear, nothing has had the powerful impact that Grandma did when she simply had me memorize John 3:16.
ANDREW: When I was a young boy, I think that I was ten. I’d listen to grandpa tell of how it was back then. “I walked to school, son. A mile up-hill, both ways. I could throw a fastball, back in my younger days.” I’d sit there laughing until I nearly cried. Then, just like always, I’d hear grandpa sigh. “Then I met your grandma, and I knew it was time.” “No more playing baseball, it was time to start my life.” “We had five sons. Who got their own families.” “Now you’re here son. That’s all the knowledge that you’ll need.” Chorus: Those were the first days I felt Jesus. Those were the days that I felt God. Those are the days I’ll always hold on to. Those are the days… I felt the Lord. V2: I talked to grandpa, I think it was yesterday. He was next to grandma, lying in his grave. I said, “Hey, grandpa… just one more tale.” “Tell the one of Jesus… the hammer and the nail.” I sat for a second… or maybe it was ten. Just then I heard grandpa start chiming in. He said, “This man, Jesus, He gave His life for me.” “He gave me and grandma a life of eternity.” Chorus: That was the last time I felt Jesus. That was the last time I felt God. That little moment… I’ll always hold on to. That was a time… I felt the Lord. Chorus 3: Today… I feel Jesus. Today… I feel God. This moment… I’ll hold on to. This very moment… I feel the Lord. CONNIE: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever shall believe in Him shall have eternal life.” MERLE: They called it a “Catacomb” service. The first Christians had to meet underground in the Roman catacombs…no lights. And that night in church we did the same. AMANDA: You couldn’t see to read. It was simple..if you knew a scripture, you said it out loud. If you wanted to pray, you prayed. If you felt like singing, you sang and people would join in.
JAY: We’d heard prayers and scripture for about twenty minutes then it got silent..then a little girl’s voice started singing …
LUKE: (singing) Jesus loves me, this I know..For the Bible tells me so..
MERLE: Sing along!
ALL: Little ones to Him belong. We are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me..Yes, Jesus loves me… Yes, Jesus loves me..The Bible tells me so.
MERLE: The church we were visiting was really back in the sticks. They had no indoor toilet..in fact, no running water in the church. No pads in the pews and the pulpit was made of two by fours. I was sitting there wondering how far to the nearest restroom when it came time for the sermon.
AMANDA: The old preacher stood in front of us, pushed a button and a computer screen lowered from the ceiling as he gave his entire lesson as a PowerPoint presentation. I guess they had their priorities pretty much right.
CONNIE: I was sitting in a prayer group with a bunch of elderly ladies and someone asked us to tell about a great prayer experience.
ANGIE: All of us answered but one lady. When we were finished she said, “I’m sorry, but mine’s sort of strange.”
CONNIE: We encouraged her to go ahead.
ANGIE: She said, “Well, my James died five years ago. We always ate breakfast together and that’s still when I miss him the most. I don’t eat in restaurants. When they see you’re a woman by yourself you usually get a small table back by the kitchen, so I eat at home. But I really miss James at breakfast. We used to sit there and read the paper, listen to the news, listen to the birds and discuss what the day would bring. I really miss talking to James.”
CONNIE: Her head bowed a moment…she was having trouble telling her story.
ANGIE: “So,” she said, “I put Jesus in that chair. Every morning I set a plate for him and I talk to him just like he’s sitting in James’ chair. I hope nobody comes in and finds me talking to an empty chair…but it’s really not empty. Jesus is there.”
Luke: (singing) I said God I hurt And God Said I know God I am so depressed at times He said that’s why I gave you sunshine I said God my loved one died God said so did mine Oh God mine was such a loss He said they nailed mine to a cross He said I know, did I not make you The covenant is sealed I’ll not forsake you You’re not alone I am all around you my glory is revealed my love surrounds you I Know………. I said but God, your loved one lives and God said so does yours I asked Him where they are tonight He said be at peace they are in my light
Repeat CHORUS I said God I hurt God said I know
JAY: This really wasn’t a church service, but I was on a mission team visiting a church for the weekend. We stayed in the homes of the congregation. My chosen home was way back in the sticks…a new log home, but very remote and these people believed in keeping animals …everywhere.
ANDREW: Since they had guests they thought they’d locked up most of their pets, but they forgot something. At about 1:30 in the morning I felt something on my stomach. I opened my eyes to see their 30-pound pet coon sitting on top of me.
ANGIE: We were at a church in Rochester and they were having a healing service. An autistic boy was sitting in the front row. He spent the weekend sitting there, rocking back and forth, and mumbling words no one could understand.
CONNIE: The minister, I remember, was a very tall man..I mean, maybe six foot eight or nine. In the middle of the healing service he suddenly went down. He crashed to the floor.
ANGIE: The autistic boy got up from his seat, put his hands on the minister’s forehead and began praying in perfect English. The preacher got up and continued the service while the boy took his seat again and continued to rock and mumble.
CONNIE: No one thought this was strange but I sat there with my mouth opening wondering what the heck just happened.
MERLE: A few weeks ago, my son and his little sister took up the offering together. It warmed my heart to see them side by side....at the altar. Thanks, God! CONNIE: When God's house feels so good, my 3-year-old grandsons dance in the aisles. AMANDA: Church is a place where I can share joys..... - concerns like when .I was having a baby at 39! I remember the day my husband made the announcement. I cried. But I also saw God's confirmation in all the smiles and words of encouragement from the congregation. CONNIE: It was such a sweet homecoming after I had that baby and brought her to church for the first time... God knew what He was doing! MERLE: I remember by grandma always telling us the story of Christmas and the importance of the nativity, especially Baby Jesus. So I can think her that I wanted to pass it on.
LUKE: I decided to give a nativity set as a wedding gift. My husband, Rick, made the manger with his wonderful carpentry skills. I bought the Nativity set. When I got ready to wrap the gift I wanted to put the nativity set in the manger to save on space.
JAY: Each piece of the nativity that was wrapped in plastic and surrounded by Styrofoam, you know the stuff that stick to everything. So I decided to get the vacuum out and suck up the foam. I did each piece individually to get the foam off, when I came to Baby Jesus. I sucked Him up and he got stuck in the hose.
MERLE: You can’t have nativity without Baby Jesus. What was I to do? I shook the hose, no Baby Jesus. I turned the hose backward to blow instead of suck, still no baby Jesus. I did not want to break Baby Jesus so I wanted to be careful.
LUKE: Finally after several stamps, shaking carefully, baby Jesus came out of the vacuum. He was slightly dirty but fully intact, no limbs broken! I gave Baby Jesus a bath and placed him in the manger. I wrapped the gift and when the wedding came and we gave the gift to my niece and her new husband, I told them the story and it became a family story to pass on.
MERLE: We should always pass on the story of Jesus.
AMANDA: The first memory I have of our church was the first time I attended here. It was a Lenten service in 1972. I was sitting close to the front on the piano side…I didn’t know why… and it was during the “testimonial time.” That’s what they called it.
CONNIE: I heard a lady behind me give hers and I thought to myself she sounds like an angel. I don’t really remember what she said, but I do know I sensed the Holy Spirit in what she was sharing.
ANGIE: I learned it was Reverend Redmond’s wife. I left the service and pondered what I had experienced and prayerfully that spring and summer sought the Lord’s guidance about a changing churches.
AMANDA: Early that fall our family started attending here.
CONNIE: I enjoy many of the old traditional Hymns. I remember as I drove home from Passavant Hospital after my Mother died in June 1998, the song "Victory In Jesus ", was running through my head, and I thought, that's it Lord, Mom has Victory in You, Thank you Lord.
MERLE: It seemed the Holy Spirit brought that song to my conscious mind. It was a comfort to me at that moment, and we sang that song at her Memorial Service. To this day, some 12 years later, hearing that song brings a sweet calming peace over me. Praise God from whom all Blessings flow.
LUKE: (singing) I heard an old, old story, How a Savior came from glory, How He gave His life on Calvary To save a wretch like me; I heard about His groaning, Of His precious blood's atoning, Then I repented of my sins And won the victory. (continue playing for a bit) ANDREW: I was sitting in a church service out north of town…a revival, I guess. And in the middle of the preacher’s sermon a mouse started crawling back and forth on the curtain behind him.
AMANDA: I don’t think anybody heard the rest of the sermon.
JAY: I was visiting a church in Jacksonville. My friend’s grandfather was the preacher there and he really wanted me to go.
MERLE: This was a very Pentecostal place and when the minister preached, he didn’t stay in the pulpit. In fact, the roamed up and down the aisles like a caged lion.
JAY: He’d get right in people’s faces.
MERLE: I know, because he got right in mine. He leaned over to me and shouted, “Do you want to go to hell?!!”
JAY: Well, that was sort of a personal question, even though the answer was obvious.
MERLE: “Do you want to go to hell?”
JAY: I finally nodded that no…I’d rather not…I mean, given a choice.
MERLE: “Then are you gonna accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?”
JAY: Well, I’d already done that many years ago, but the preacher wasn’t there at the time and I was afraid he wouldn’t believe me, so I said, “Yes. Yes, I do.” I mean, what would it hurt to do it again?
MERLE: “Then come up here to the altar with me!” he shouted.
JAY: So I went. I was already saved, but I was really afraid the old preacher was going to have a heart attack if I didn’t do it again.
ANDREW: Our church was involved in a Bill Glass Evangelistic Crusade at the Bowl in Jacksonville. Our family attended every evening. My husband ushered and our older daughter went forward to give her heart to the Lord.
JAY: In March of 1991 our church sponsored the Bull Bramlett evangelistic crusade at Triopia. We had a great participation with the area churches including our own Missouri Lutheran Synod church.
MERLE: Even though Bull had been a professional football player, he came to preach the gospel and has a burden for lost souls. I had never seen an evangelist who during the altar call went to each one personally and asked if you were ready to meet the Lord or do you personally know Jesus.
CONNIE: Some of my most memorable church services have been with my sister at a Baptist Church in Phoenix. Many times the highlight of my visit with her would be worshipping with her. I could always sense the presence of the Holy Spirit when I walked into the sanctuary.
AMANDA: We would sing the praise choruses from the overhead projector on the wall with beautiful scenery.
CONNIE: My brother in law would always refuse to sing the choruses. He wanted to hymns from the hymnal. Occasionally they would mix choruses and hymns and he would still refuse to sing…I would poke him and remind him that it was a hymn from the book and he was a singer.
AMANDA: We had many discussions about the music “war.”
CONNIE: It was only church that I have attended that when it is time for the offering the worship leader would say that if you were a visitor not to feel obligated to contribute. They expect their members only to support the church…
AMANDA: Prescott, the Grand Canyon, the deserts, the shopping malls, the Phoenix Suns games..never compared to the church services.
MERLE: It was Sunday morning and the young people were putting on the annual Christmas Program.
JAY: There were shepherds with crooks, angels in tinsel and wise men bearing gifts, but the only performance I really remember is my own little shepherd.
MERLE: My youngest son was standing in front of the stained glass window near the altar when his expression changed and he suddenly began to fall backwards, he had fainted.
JAY: Without thinking I jumped out of my pew and joined the cast before anyone really new what was happening. I remember Mike Crawford saying he thought it was part of the performance.
CONNIE: I’ve had many memories of special music services Lay Witness Missions, special services, children’s sermons, but for me having my grandchildren baptized here and attending weekly with generations and going to the altar rail together is so special to me.
JAY: Lucerne, Switzerland…22 people in my small hotel room holding a prayer service. Our communion was a bottle of wine I’d won in a trivia quiz that morning and some bread stolen from our fondue restaurant. But it must have been legal..that night our British tour guide gave his life to Christ.
MERLE: I was visiting a church in Winchester and when I came in, the lady greeting at the door said,
ANGIE: “Sit anywhere you want, but don’t sit near the organ. My sister’s the organist.”
MERLE: I thought that was strange, but by the time I got to my seat the only seats left were near the organ. I found out why people avoided that spot. The organist would talk to herself and talk to the organ when she played. She wasn’t crazy or anything, she just liked to comment on what was going on. At one point she looked down at the organ pedals and said, “Come on, get with it.” She was talking to her left foot.
CONNIE: So many times at Green Pastures summer camp I’ll look out there and a brother and sister will be praying together at the altar. Or a brother and a brother or two sisters. I have to go to the back of the sanctuary sometimes.. I’m sobbing.
MERLE: One night at Green Pastures this little boy from Pittsfield came up and said..
ANDREW: “You think I’ll live ‘til tomorrow?”
MERLE: I told him he looked pretty healthy, and that yes, he’d probably live until tomorrow. “Why?” I asked him.
ANDREW: Because I feel like giving my life to Christ but I want to wait ‘til church tomorrow when my daddy can go to the altar with me.
JAY: “Two Congregations” (guitar instrumental in under)
AMANDA: A couple of church services, let us take a view A church packed attendance at one and the other just a few.
CONNIE: All denominations were represented in the larger group, And just the United Methodists in the smaller troop.
ANGIE: The hearts were warm and the faces aglow in each meeting, And the number attending had nothing to do with the seating.
AMANDA: One consisted of three hours of anointed music galore, The other featured a guest minister anointed with God’s word and more.
CONNIE: A few differences in the two services one can see, But the important essential remaining for you and me.
ANGIE: I was so refreshed, renewed, and strengthened in each one, And I certainly felt the presence of God, His Holy Spirit, and the Son.
ANDREW: As a teenager I took part in a Community Sunrise Service. The organizers wanted youth to be ushers. So I agreed. My plan was to take part in the service, then go home and sleep before my church's service.
MERLE: When the service was done, I went home, ate breakfast and found that I wasn't tired. So I didn't try to sleep. There were so many at my church that day that my family had to sit up front--yes, that dreaded location where everyone in the church can see you.
ANDREW: I was fine until about halfway through the service. Then I started to get drowsy. I remember my head nodding and my sister poking me in the side and what a struggle it was to stay awake for the rest of the service. In all my life as a churchgoer, that is the only time I ever struggled to stay awake--on Easter Sunday.
JAY: We were singing in a church somewhere south of Jacksonville and the lady didn’t show up in time to unlock the church. We had to set up our equipment so we boosted Mike Crawford through an unlocked window of the church.
MERLE: Just then the lady with the key showed up. She asked if we’d been waiting long. We told her that we wanted to go in but we thought we heard someone crawling around inside the church. Just then Mike poked his head out the door.
ANGIE: It was a Communion Sunday and the oldest couple in the church came forward. They had been married for over 60 years. Though they were old, she kept flowers that would rival a botanical garden and his family could not keep him from going out to the farm for a couple of hours every day.
JAY: They were both able to kneel at the rail for Communion and as they did, I noticed that they were holding hands. I thought "wow." To be married for all those years and still holding hands when they shared in Communion. Sometimes love is forever.
CONNIE: Church is fine, but by far the most powerful worship experiences have been in my own home…just between me and God.
JAY: Sometimes I’ll sing..
AMANDA: Sometimes I’ll listen to music..
ANDREW: Sometimes I’ll dwell on a single verse of scripture.
MERLE: And sometimes God will say, “Just be quiet tonight and let me do all the talking.”
ANDREW: One of the nicest was just this week. I went to my place to pray and God said, “You’re tired. Just sit there awhile and rest in Me.”
LUKE: (singing) As I travel on life's pathway, Know not what the years may hold; As I ponder, hope grows fonder, Precious memories flood my soul. (spoken) Sing along with me…. Precious memories, how they linger, How they ever flood my soul; In the still ness of the midnight, Precious, sacred scenes unfold.
Precious Memories, 2010
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