Church in the Windshield

Church in the Windshield

 

The Talmage United Methodist Church

July 29 2018

Travel north of Abilene, Kansas on Fair Road about ten miles and you will come to a little town of Talmage.  This small town’s population is about seventy five; it’s a friendly little town and my home town.

Sheron and I turn right on Ohio Street and drive east toward Francis Street three blocks away.  Age old trees stand on either side of the street shading the street with branches that nearly touch the roof of the car.

Driving the short nostalgic drive, I reminisce some of the “old timers” that use to live in those houses. My mind drifts for a moment and I wonder who lives in those houses now?

We park in front of this stately old red brick church which has been such a part of my life for now almost seventy five years.  There is a sign out front that gives the service time and the name of the pastor, Rev Julie Truhlar. She won’t be there today though because I am filling in for her while she attends summer school in Wilmore, Kentucky.

My wife and I sit in the car for a little while and I appreciate once again the beauty of this structure.  I see the corner stone that remains etched in the edifice of time and it reads “Established in 1917.”  From a recent celebration, I know that the corner stone contains a metal box chuck full of historical artifacts. I know also that the corner stone has recently been removed; the contents examined and current items added to update the time capsule for future generations.

My eyes gaze upward toward the top of this magnificent structure and I see foot tall letters embossed in cement.  The letters supported by two huge pillars and two stately half pillars, proudly announce “Methodist Episcopal Church.”

The pillars stand on top of corner rounded steps that can easily support more than one hundred people at the same time for photo opts. Sheron and I climb the steps that lift us to a Holy Sanctuary and place of worship . . . one . . . two . . . three . . . ten in all, we count.

We enter the sacred sanctuary, where we are greeted by a few long-time old friends and some new found friends as well.  In a little while, more people would come; one by one they will drift in; but no more after seventeen.

Seventeen dedicated people are doing their best to keep the church doors open. Seventeen people who remember when the church provided worship for a hundred plus people on any given Sunday.  I ponder on that for a moment and breathe a silent prayer of “Thanksgiving” for those so dedicated.  God bless them each one.

Before the service starts, I look upward to once again appreciate the ultra-high dome. It is a gorgeous dome and it always gives me the awesome feeling of being close to God.

During the day, light shines through beautiful stained glass windows contained in the dome enhancing the worship service.  At night, there is one high wattage bulb that hangs from the center of the dome to illuminate the pews directly below.  After almost seventy five years of life, I still wonder how the bulb is replaced.  Perhaps there is an opening at the top of the dome where one can reach the bulb . . . or maybe a cable that pulls up the whole light fixture . . . I wonder.

Suddenly, I hear the music prelude being played and my mind is jerked back to the reality of the worship service. I have been greatly blessed and now I need to bring a message that will bless others as well.

After going through all the ritual of the church service, the singing . . . the prayers . . . etc. comes time for the message.  The message today comes from the Gospels where Jesus fed five thousand men plus women and children. Jesus fed the people by using a young boy’s willingness to share his five barley loaves and a couple of fish. New inspiration from the well-used story came when Jesus divided the crowd into hundreds and fifties.

Jesus took the overwhelming problem (feeding the five thousand) and broke it down into small amounts (hundreds and fifties).  The implication being that we can tackle overwhelming problems in our lives by breaking them down to small amounts.

The service ended; Sheron and I said our benediction to the congregation. We felt that we had been to worship today and somehow I think the congregation felt they had been to worship as well.

So take overwhelming problems a little bit at a time and God will be with you and bless you.

Until next time, We will see you in the windshield. 

Ron & Sheron, the drivers behind the windshield

Epilogue:  If you would like to visit a warm friendly little church on a Sunday morning, stop by and visit the Talmage United Methodist Church, 2970 Francis, Talmage, Kansas.  Worship service starts at 10:00 a.m. They would be happy to have you and their pastor Julie Truhlar does a wonderful job.