Sherry Poteet - Getting Out Of The Building Speaks Volumes
You are listening to The Cumberland Road, and I'm your host, TJ Malinoski. Sherry Poteet is a music educator, a consultant, and a student teacher supervisor at the Stephen f Austin University. She's also an elder and a session clerk at Elmira Chapel in Longview, Texas, and she's one of the leaders of a worshiping community called Sunday Morning with Friends. Sherry and I talk about her faith, her work, mission trips, mission work, and women's ministry. I enjoyed getting to know Sherry and to listen to her as she shares her faith journey. So enjoy this faith conversation with Sherry Poteet.
T.J.:You are a music educator for over 29 years. 29 of those years was in the middle school as a band director. You continue to serve the school system as a mentor, consultant, and you supervise student teachers for Stephen f Austin State University. When did you know that you were going to pursue music education as a career?
Sherry:Well, actually, I didn't get into music education. I wanted to be a classroom teacher. I had the opportunity as a teenager to do some work with a second grade teacher. And I I I've played school my whole life. I'm a lifelong learner.
Sherry:There's just something about learning that draw drew me to that, to want to help this teacher that I was working for. And so I thought I was going to be an elementary teacher. Well, one day my mom and I are talking and we're career planning and all this kind of stuff. And I had gotten a band scholarship, but that was going to pay for my college tuition. And, you know, when you first start out, you don't have to declare a specific area.
Sherry:So I went with elementary music. I mean, that seemed the right thing to do for me, because I had experience with that teacher. My mother looked at me and she said, what is your favorite subject in school?' I said, 'Band.' She said, who are your friends and what are they in? I said, well, mom, you know my friends and they're all in band. She said, why don't you be a band director?
Sherry:Now this was in the seventies, and seventies and early eighties. There were not many women band directors. I, I did not know of any women band directors, and there were very few at that time. And I said, Mom, I can't do that. That's too hard.
Sherry:She said, look, this is your passion. This is what you love. With that passion, you can take it and you can do anything you want. And so at that point, I just said, okay. I mean, it was not like a big revelation or anything.
Sherry:I just did what my mom and I discussed. And I have never regretted it one bit. Like you said, I had 29 years plus in public school, and then I retired. I went into teaching junior college, and now I'm a supervisor at the university level of student teachers. And I have been incredibly blessed through the gift of music.
T.J.:What is your favorite instrument? Are you allowed to tell me because of the your you so you don't show favoritism towards, students and student teachers that you come across? But do you have a favorite instrument?
Sherry:Well, let me put it this way. My primary instrument is saxophone.
T.J.:Okay.
Sherry:But I I don't know that I I lend lean toward a favorite instrument at all. There are some that are much more difficult to teach. I will tell you that.
T.J.:Mhmm.
Sherry:But I think the bassoon is a beautiful instrument. I think the French horn is a beautiful instrument, in most cases.
T.J.:I don't see many French horns in in bands. Are they making a comeback?
Sherry:It depends on if you are marching the traditional military style, or if you're marching the contemporary style. Contemporary style are the bands that you see at, mostly in areas that are outside of east Texas. In other words, what they're gonna be marching, they're making shapes and things like that, like the college bands do. You will not see a French horn, but you will see what's called a mellophone, which is a French horn, but it's fashioned in a way that you can actually carry it. It's more like a big trumpet.
T.J.:Okay. You're right. Because it would be hard to carry a traditional French horn for any length of time without having to, I don't know, move it around your shoulder or I don't know. I don't even know exactly how to correctly carry 1. It just seems like an instrument you would use in a stationary position, just because of the size and the shape.
Sherry:Well, and because it's directional as well. The French horn, the bell faces behind you, And it's the only instrument that does that. And so with that, there are accommodate for that.
T.J.:I'm already envisioning trying to teach young people how to walk backwards in step to keep in time with their just so that people could experience the richness of the French horn.
Sherry:Sure. Yeah. You haven't lived until you've done that.
T.J.:Being in music education for as long as you have, what would be your biggest takeaway about young people, about human beings, about teamwork? I don't know what sticks out.
Sherry:Kids are resilient. Kids will do anything for you. I often tell young teachers that your band will take on is a reflection of you. They will take on your personality. So what they see, the work ethic that you put into what you're doing as an educator, the caring of the students and what's going on outside their lives, That builds a family.
Sherry:And a band family is one of the closest things, and that's another reason why I went into music education. That's the way my high school band director raised us. We were a band family. We traveled together. We ate together.
Sherry:We prayed together. We cried together. We laughed together. We worked in the hot Texas sun together. We were out there in the rain, in the sleet, in the snow together.
Sherry:And some of my very best friends are the friends that I had in band. And that's what we bring to the table as music as as music educators, band directors, orchestra directors, choir directors. It's a family. It's it's a uniqueness that we have.
T.J.:You're right. I I guess I never really thought of it before, but in in my high school, there was certainly a camaraderie among those who participated in the marching band. And similar to a sport, there is so much practice, so much time traveling, and maybe even more so because you can practice band all year long, and in certain high school sports, you have limitations. So how important do you think that is for a young person to kind of experience their high school years, junior high and high school years, in a community, in a family?
Sherry:Well, I think it's very important. Parents are so inundated with having to earn a living for the kids, to earn enough money to put away for the kids to go to college. There are a lot of single family, single parent families that the parent is working 1, 2, 3 jobs. I've seen it. A lot of times grandparents are caring for children, and there's no real family unit.
Sherry:It's I hate to say, but it's rare that you have a mother and father that are in the household with the family. And so your band becomes your extended family. A lot of times kids will tell me things as their band director that they would never tell their parents. That's that can be a good and bad thing. But, and I've got students that are grown adults that my goal as a band director was if my former students, if their children were in band, I felt that was the ultimate success in my career.
Sherry:It's not winning trophies. It's not being recognized. Those are all great things. Mhmm. But if my band kid's kid is in band because they their parents had a good experience in the program, That was my ultimate goal and my ultimate success.
Sherry:And I said, I have a lot of band grands out there at this point. I have kids. I have former students that are band directors. Oh, okay. They're choir directors.
Sherry:Yeah. It's it's it's been a wonderful career. I've been very blessed.
T.J.:So that community continues on. If you how do you keep in touch with folks? Because if you know that there are grand children, then 3rd 2nd and third generation, that means that community is still still a community in its own way, a music community. Because, you know, people come and go through your lives and, you know, seasons, But this sounds like it's unique. Is is the music community unique?
Sherry:I think it is. You know, Texas is a really big state. Yes. I know so many in the state of Texas through my my career, what I do, through connections. And I'll have a former student that is married and they've moved to Austin and their child is in band and they're continues it multiplies.
Sherry:It continues to it continues, it multiplies. It continues to evolve and continues to multiply. And when I have great grands that are in band, that's gonna be even more wonderful. A lot of the students that I had were friends on Facebook, so, you know, they'll post pictures with their kids, you know, participating in band and things like that. So it is just it's a wonderful thing.
Sherry:It's it's a real tight knit community.
T.J.:How was the transition for you when you shifted from being an actual band director to, well, essentially, an instructor or supervisor for student teachers who will be or may already be band directors?
Sherry:Oh, it's it's fabulous. I, I loved my career as a band director, but this is the best job I've ever had. I love supervising student teachers for many reasons. The transition happened this way. Before I finished my retirement, I started teaching a college course, a dual credit college course, where high school kids could take college credit but on the high school campus.
Sherry:So I kinda got my foot in the door in that way. And then after I retired fully, and and I still do this as well, band directors all over the state of Texas will call me and ask me advice. They will ask me to come in and watch their program, give them on advice on the direction the program should be going, how do we compare to other schools, what can you give us to help us get better, things like that. Mhmm. And through that, the door just opened up for another connection.
Sherry:He is an alumnus of, Stephen f Austin State University, and they needed a field supervisor. And so he gave the lady in charge my name, and she called me up. And I said, yes, I don't care if I even have 1 student. Yes, I want to do this. Because, number 1, you're not in the classroom.
Sherry:Number 2, these are people that have spent 4 to 5 years studying at the university and are ready to go into the field of music. Prior to, me and a few others that are field supervisors that are band directors, they had just an education person that was watching them and mentoring them through their student teaching years. They weren't getting the specifics of how to become a better band director. What does your classroom need to look like? What sort of materials do you need to go through?
Sherry:What are rehearsal techniques like? And so it was just a really easy transition to roll right into that. And this is the greatest job I've had. I just love it. I observe those, my students, 4 times a semester.
Sherry:We have a pre conference, an observation, and a post conference. And through those conferences and in my association with them, we have we have bonded. We're not just field supervisor and student teacher, or it's not that way with my students. I get to know them. I get to know their families, I get to know their, their fears in going into to to, the area of teaching, And I try to encourage them and give them tools, and it doesn't end with them finishing student teaching either.
Sherry:Many of those students will put me down as recommendations for them for job opportunities. If I know of jobs, I call them and let them know about those jobs, then they'll call me back and say, miss Portique, what do you know about the school? You know, things like that. And then those band directors are calling me. So our community is still working.
Sherry:We're still working to put music educators in public schools.
T.J.:Sherry, how did you and and this can be a present tense question as well. Working in the school system, being the music educator, so you have school during the week and then competitions throughout the year, on the weekend, and band camp, how did you grow your faith? How did you worship? How did how did you maintain a relationship with God when you're essentially working 6, 7 days a week?
Sherry:That's an excellent question.
T.J.:Because you can't be on one end of Texas for a band competition, and make it back home to east Texas for for worship on Sunday morning. So I and I I think a lot of people, you know I don't know. Maybe not. They don't really think these things through that, oh, well, somebody is not here on worship, so they they either must be sick or they're angry or or I mean, we come up with all these other circumstances when in reality, it may be because we have to work because of those things. But that that doesn't mean that we are less than, you know, those who are present.
T.J.:Then I don't I'm not saying that you felt that. I've just I know that that can go through people's minds and, but I do wanna know how do you maintain a relationship how did you maintain a relationship with God and in your Christian faith when you cannot always be as active in the community of faith as maybe that you would like to be?
Sherry:That's a really good question, and let me back up to what you had just said before I answer that question.
T.J.:Alright.
Sherry:That that is a fact that when I am really busy, and it seems like the older I get, the more busy I get. You would think it would be better to go around, but but, yes, I I do often miss Sunday mornings. And while I was teaching, actually, when I was teaching, my schedule was a little bit more stable. Now that I'm not teaching, I set my own schedule. And like you just said, I could be traveling all the way to Beaumont, which is a 4 and a half hour drive one way to see a school and have to catch another school and then make it back.
Sherry:And sometimes I'm not back in time for church. Occasionally, I do have to miss a session meeting. I rarely get to attend any committee meetings because they're during the week.
T.J.:Now that may be a good thing.
Sherry:I'm not gonna speak to that. But, you know, and in the church that I'm in now, it's older folks and they're retired, and so their schedule is pretty flexible. They can meet at 10 in the morning for women's ministry. They can meet at 4 o'clock in the afternoon for a committee meeting. But my schedule is not it's not like that at all.
Sherry:And and it's it's purposeful. I I love to stay busy. I love to help people. I I love what I do. And it's, and I'll say it again.
Sherry:I have been so blessed to be able to do that. But but it is, it it is you have to be intentional to maintain your working life and your spiritual life. Now your spiritual life does not have to be in a brick and mortar building. Your spiritual life, as you know, is in in relationship with God, is in studying the word. It's in your interaction with other people.
Sherry:It's in the the people that you surround yourself with. All those things.
T.J.:Yeah. And I I think we put quite a bit of of pressure or like a, I don't know, like a loyalty test in term based upon attendance and, specifically attendance on Sunday morning. And I don't know if that really can apply anymore in 2,022. Our participation with the community of faith can take on various means of celebration for worship and study, and I think the church needs to seek out some creative ways in which people can plug in and participate that may not fall in that golden hour on Sunday morning.
Sherry:Absolutely. And and along those same lines, during the pandemic in 2020, we started an online Sunday school. And it has grown and we have been meeting and we're still meeting. We meet every Sunday morning at 8 o'clock. We gather, and we just, you know, shoot the breeze with each other, get caught up in each other's lives, ask what's going on, what's good, what's bad.
Sherry:We laugh. We talk. We ask about mechanical things, like how to fix the plumbing, anything you can think of. And then at 8:30 is when we start our lesson. And we start our lesson with prayer, and then we get into the word.
Sherry:We have been using intersections until we exhausted all that, all that, all that's published. And now we're, working through another book, a book and also an advent book. But we study that together. We have discussion with each other. We take turns leading the start the the lesson.
Sherry:We have discussion, and these are honest, open, real, no holds barred discussions that we have, and they're absolutely wonderful. We cry together, we laugh together, But most, most importantly, through this journey, we have grown in our faith and grown in our spirituality, right here on a screen. Some of us were very close friends to begin with, but many of these people, TJ, that are in our Sunday school group are unchurched. They've been hurt at some point in their lives by the church. And they don't feel comfortable.
Sherry:They don't have the right clothes. They don't feel comfortable being around the people that are in a particular church or even a particular denomination. And so the online Sunday School group, we call it Sunday Morning with Friends. And that's exactly what it is. And we always invite our friend Jesus to come along with us and to guide us through our journey.
T.J.:I like how you have baked in at the beginning 30 minutes from 8 to 8:30 of just some social socialization, just some catching up for the week. And it allows you to come in at 8:10, 8:15, 8:25, or right at 8 AM. And you can participate or not. But there is that sense of building towards, the studying of the word. That's pretty neat.
T.J.:It's also pretty neat that everybody takes turns. Or for those who want to take turns in leadership, they can.
Sherry:Right. We also record those sessions, and we have those sessions available. And there are some people in in the church at Elmira, like the organist. Well, she's up there practicing, so she can't be there, but she listens to the recording every single Sunday. So if you aren't able to be there, you know, we post that recording in our in our messenger group, and anybody can listen to it at any time.
Sherry:And so it it's not just on a Sunday morning, but it's something that carries on until our next meeting together. So it is a wonderful thing.
T.J.:That's fantastic. So, Sherry, let's talk about where your your faith began. Are you a, what they call, cradle Christian, or did you have a transformative experience, as a young person, as a teenager, as a young adult? What does that faith journey look like?
Sherry:Well, not so much the latter that that you, alluded to. I grew up in the church. I was Presbyterian USA. My dad made sure we were in church every time the door was open. We were there on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, Sunday socials, Sunday school, bible school, youth group.
Sherry:In fact, when I became a teenager, we were in a very small little country church, and he moved our entire family into town, to the big church, so that there were big kids. And I never questioned my dad about that at all because you didn't question my dad. But I thought in the back of my mind, that's not really necessary, but okay. And so he did that, and then once we all grew up and went all got out of the house and all that, he and mom went back to that little country church because he had grown up in that country church.
T.J.:Uh-huh.
Sherry:So I I've been in church my whole life. I don't know anything other than that, with exception of when I was in college.
T.J.:What happened?
Sherry:And when I was in college, you know, other things get in the way. We got all kinds of excuses. I've gotta study, hang out with my friends. I was out too late last night, blah, blah, blah, all those things. So I did get away from church in college.
Sherry:I got back in church when I was teaching, not right away, but eventually. And I wanna tell you a a short story about that real quick.
T.J.:Good.
Sherry:Where I was living, there was a little Baptist church down the way. Okay? Never been a Baptist. Wasn't gonna go to a Baptist church. I had some friends who were Baptist.
Sherry:We used to do, you know, white stuff with them, but, nah, it just wasn't my thing. So one afternoon, this little tiny frail, elderly lady comes to my door. I have no idea who this woman is. She comes up to me and she said, hello. My name is miss Billie Allen, and I wanna invite you to our church.
Sherry:My pastor has encouraged us to invite people to our church. And she said, it's just down the road, and this is what time it meets. So I said I thanked her and watched her walk taught her out to her car, make sure she got there okay, and shut the door.
T.J.:You had genuine concern of for her mobility that
Sherry:Yes. I did. I did. But and and once I shut the door, something just came over me, and I thought, okay. This lady walks up to a complete stranger, not knowing how she will be received.
Sherry:What bravery she just exuded in stepping out of the box to do that. And I thought, you know, I might just go check that out. And so I did go check out the church. Come to find out there were a few people in the church that were associated with the school that I was working at at that time. And things, were rocking along there pretty well until they weren't.
Sherry:And, I won't go into the details of it, but it was made clear that I was not welcome in their church. That that my presence in the Baptist church because of my lifestyle was keeping the Holy Spirit away. And yeah. And so that was like, just a knife to the heart. And after that, you know, I was pretty, I was pretty scalded by that.
Sherry:Not by all churches, but especially that church. There were still people in that church that were very caring, but there was that very vocal minority that exists in a lot of places that it made it very uncomfortable for me. So I got away from the church for a while.
T.J.:Let me let's pause here for a moment. Yeah. So one individual has the power to be able to remove or keep the the blessings and the gifts of the Holy Spirit away from the community of faith. I haven't heard that one before. That's quite a bit of power.
Sherry:It's comical. Isn't it? It's just comical. One person has the ability to make another person miserable, but to keep the Holy Spirit away from the church? No.
Sherry:And and that that spoke to me on many levels. Not only did it speak to me on the on the fact that this person was very judgmental and and and condemning to people, but it also spoke to me about that person's faith. How they understood God as opposed to how I understood God.
T.J.:Did you walk away bitter?
Sherry:Oh, yeah.
T.J.:Disillusioned? Yeah.
Sherry:Slapped in the face, as you might imagine.
T.J.:So this was a real opportunity, correct me if I'm wrong, this was a real opportunity to go, look, I'm I'm just done. I'm done with the people, with the faith, if this is how Christians are going to behave. And treat treat you, treat treat human beings.
Sherry:Yeah. Exactly. Until there's more. Please. Until I was outside in my backyard on a Sunday morning hitting golf balls.
T.J.:Same place? Same home?
Sherry:Yeah. Same home after all this took place.
T.J.:K.
Sherry:And I received a phone call that my grandfather had died. And so at that point, I I was just it it it it again, it kinda brought me to my knees because here I am standing in the backyard on a Sunday morning, putting stupid golf balls when I should be and where I know that God is calling me to be, is to be in a church. The story that my grandfather has to do with that, not only was it during that time, but, my grandfather was killed on a Sunday morning, as I just told you. There was a young lady that was on her way to church, and she hit my grandfather in her head on. It killed him instantly.
Sherry:It did not kill the young lady at all. It didn't hurt her at all. And you're probably saying, well, how do you know she's on her way to church? She had a Bible right next to her on the seat. She walked away from it unscathed.
Sherry:Now this young lady was a teenager, so she may not have been physically injured, but I'm sure that she was upset. I know she was upset. Her family was upset. Her family knew our family. They reached out to us daily, to my grandmother, to us, to make sure everything was going well, how we were doing checking on us.
Sherry:I don't know whatever happened to that young lady, but I I certainly don't fault her. It was a miss it was an accident. My grandfather was on up in years. He had lived his life, and she had her whole life in front of her. So those two events is, like, taking me by the shoulders and shaking me saying, better get back to where you're supposed to be.
T.J.:Yeah. You're definitely sandwiched in between 2 pivotal extremes. Well, you know, in a way, they're both they're both kind of death, little death, big death.
Sherry:Yeah. You're right.
T.J.:Looking back during that time period, Sherry, do you think you were able to distinguish between a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and a relationship with the church? We often use those, interchangeably. I don't know if we recognize it in our language or not, but there is a distinction between church church is an institution, it's an organization, it has its very good moments, and we have room for growth and room for change. But the relationship with God, that's something very different. During that time period, were you able to go, I still believe in this higher power.
T.J.:I still believe in the transformative love of God. I just don't believe in some of the followers that come with Christianity.
Sherry:Oh, absolutely.
T.J.:Or was that? Oh, okay. I didn't know. Yeah. Because sometimes it's easier to just kinda, like, wipe our hands and our feet, to just walk away from all of it.
Sherry:I I just I just knew in my heart that that the God that I know, he made us in his image.
T.J.:Mhmm.
Sherry:The the God that I know is is of love. The Jesus that I know, that's all he talks about. That's what he is. And, yeah, there are those doubts that creep into your mind just from external stimuli going on around you. I have been in churches where there was, like you just described, the institution of the church.
Sherry:And then separate from that was personal relationship and spirituality. I that doesn't work well for me. It has it has to be both things Yeah. To me.
T.J.:Yeah. Because without the community of faith, I I wouldn't be who who I am. You wouldn't be who you are in the community of faith in its best moments and its worst moments have both shaped me and you and everyone. Not to ignore ignorance, mistakes, bad days, bad decisions. We could have them individually.
T.J.:We have them collectively as well. There's still there's still the work of god that in spite of those things, still good is happening on this planet and, great things. And, we just need to be more intentional when we get together collectively.
Sherry:Exactly. I agree. 100%.
T.J.:Any any influential individuals that have impacted your faith, people throughout throughout your life that have made you a stronger person, a stronger Christian, a better leader?
Sherry:Absolutely. As I mentioned, my my parents. Mhmm.
T.J.:No. There were didn't sound like there was much of a choice there.
Sherry:Wasn't. Hold on. No. There wasn't.
T.J.:In a good way.
Sherry:Well, yeah. The intentions were good. Mhmm. You know, I was I was baptized in the Presbyterian church when I was 12 because it was my dad said it was time. You know?
Sherry:And okay. You know? Really it wasn't a personal relationship at that time. It really wasn't. I I grew in my relationship with Jesus.
Sherry:So my parents, the friends that I have now around me, close friends. The lady I'd mentioned earlier, miss Billie Allen, her husband was brother Walter Allen. They were missionaries in Africa. And they would invite me to their house, you know, and and show me all their things that they brought back from Africa. They even had a monkey that they brought back from Africa.
Sherry:I was just fascinated. I know. Fascinated with the stories that they told of their life in Africa and they lived, you think that, you know, they might have lived in a hut. They lived in a hut. There's no joke.
Sherry:They had no running water. They had no electricity. You know, this was like in, I would say they were probably there during the fifties and sixties. A lot of political unrest, very violent. But I was just fascinated with their stories And they were always so loving and accepting of everyone.
T.J.:Alright. If we can if we can take a sidebar here, did the monkey live indoors or did it live outside in a
Sherry:Well, funny you should ask, they had the monkey lived indoors, but they had a window and they built a little cage so he could go outside if he wanted to go outside. But he did not run free. In East Texas, I don't think that would work. Okay. Yeah.
Sherry:Okay.
T.J.:Well but, jokes aside, very, very influential, good people that
Sherry:Oh, yeah.
T.J.:Were shaping your faith.
Sherry:Another another person is miss Anne Allen, in in our church at Elmira Chapel. Miss Anne, she actually tricked me into women's ministry. Miss Anne was a very, you talk about influential. Yeah. She could talk you into anything.
Sherry:And she tricked me into becoming involved in women's ministry. Didn't really give me a choice. So I ended up going to a my first women's ministry convention was in Hot Springs. I'll never forget that. I had no clue what was going on.
Sherry:I did not know what all these women were doing. I didn't even know what I was supposed to be doing there, but I went because miss Anne told me to, so I went. I supposed to be doing there, but I went because miss Anne told me to, so I went. But there were many, many wonderful things that came out of that trip. I met my very good friend, Reverend Doctor.
Sherry:Pam Phillipsburg. And she that was when I met Pam for the very first time. I went on my first mission trip with Pam, and we've done many since then and a few other things since then as well. But just that introduction into women's ministry and mission work in general was pivotal for me. And I know you wanna talk more about the vision mission life and my passion, there as well.
Sherry:So we'll get to that when you get ready.
T.J.:Yeah. Yeah. I wanted to ask you about that. Well, let's talk about how you got connected with, Elmira Chapel
Sherry:Oh, okay.
T.J.:Which is in Longview, Texas. And if you don't mind me telling the story, and of course you can correct it a long way, is one of the congregations that literally has an oil rig, there on the property. And, I want to say the time that I was there, it may have it may have been working. But I mean, it's really, really there on the property. So those who are not part of East Texas or in a region where there is you don't have oil, they they do exist and there's actually one right there.
T.J.:Kind of the parking lot sort of goes around the actual oil rig, so it's really really fascinating.
Sherry:That is correct.
T.J.:So how did, how did you get connected to Elmira Chapel? And yeah. We'll start there, and then I got a follow-up question.
Sherry:Okay. Cool. Well, another friend, was going to Elmira. I I she she was a teacher at the school that I was a teacher at as well, and she was driving she lived in Longview, so she was going to Elmira Chapel there. And she had asked me if I wanted to come there.
Sherry:I said, I don't know. You know, I don't what what are Cumberland Presbyterians anyway? I don't I don't know what that is. She said, well, I'm not really sure either, but it's a really neat church, and I think you'll like the people there. In fact, you may know some people there.
T.J.:So That's hilarious.
Sherry:I know. She so she kinda him hogged and and and tried to talk me into going, oh, you can sing in the choir. You're a musician. You know, you'll love the choir director there. Blah blah blah.
Sherry:She just kept on and kept on. And finally, I said, okay. I'll go. Well, when I drove up to the church, one of the things that stood out to me was the sign in front of the church. And it's still there today.
Sherry:And it says, Elmira Chapel, Cumberland Presbyterian Church, a serving congregation. It was that word serving that stood out to me. And I took that to heart. If they're gonna put that on their sign, then I wanna be a part of that community. I want to be a part of that congregation that is a serving congregation.
Sherry:And we were, and we are. We serve locally, we serve nationally, and we serve internationally. And that's very important to me. What we do outside the building is probably more important to me than what happens in the building.
T.J.:And this is come coming from somebody who's in the choir.
Sherry:Yeah. And I'll love to sing. Yeah.
T.J.:Well, currently, you are an elder at Elmira Chapel and you're the session clerk, and singing the choir, and you're on committees, but you're not always able to attend. What stands out in terms of all the different leadership roles that you have? What's some of your favorite? What's the most rewarding? Which one speaks the most to you?
T.J.:Or to use a word that you used earlier, which one are you very passionate about?
Sherry:I you didn't mention it probably because you don't know, but I was the Sunday school teacher for the senior adult class at one point. The only reason I gave that up is because all those people passed during the time I was teaching them. No fault of mine, but it just happened. That was a that was a passion of mine. And and with that teaching that senior adult class, there were lots of challenges.
Sherry:Most of those people in there were teachers, former teachers. That was a little intimidating. They had been in church their entire lives. They knew the Bible way better than I did. That was intimidating.
Sherry:But it was still extremely rewarding to be able to to to teach them. The other thing that is I'm passionate about is is mission work. And as you know, I'm sure, TJ, I've done mission work from anything from pulling weeds with my bare hands to, paving a parking lot, to building a barn, to painting desks in Guatemala, to helping with Bible school in Brazil, and also most currently, Belize. It's just it it just it it touches me deeply to do, work outside the church and see the the joy that you bring to people, but all that joy it brings to you as well. You know, at first, when I first started mission work, I felt somewhat guilty that I've had this such a good feeling.
Sherry:But, I mean, that's what it's all about.
T.J.:Let's go back to the very first mission trip you went on. And you shared with me that you you you've gone to Kentucky, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Colombia, Guatemala, Brazil, and Belize. Mhmm. And so that very first mission trip, what was running through your mind? Did did you have anything that you could relate it to?
T.J.:Were there any anxieties as you're packing, as you're getting ready to go? What were your expectations?
Sherry:I had no clue. Donna Clark, the same person that had invited me to Elmira initially, she's the one that talked me into going on this mission trip. And and I don't even know how she got hooked up with Pam because this was Pam still. Pam Phillipsburg. I knew that she was taking all women, and I really had no I had no expectation.
Sherry:I didn't know what to expect. I knew that we had to drive 17 hours to get to Mount Vernon, Kentucky, to do that. And I knew that women were coming from all over the United States. I knew it was gonna be a work trip. I did not know at that time that we were going to be building a barn and we're not talking about just a little barn, we're talking about a 2 story barn.
Sherry:And my friend Donna, she happened to be pretty handy with tools. Me, I'm just kinda like a gopher, but I can hold boards and stuff like that. So we were the ones that were stationed up on the top of this barn to screw the boards in there. Mhmm. And so you when when you go on a mission trip, even though you might not know what to expect, God is with you and he's gonna enable you to do whatever work needs to be done.
Sherry:I've not been on a mission trip where he's disappointed me at all.
T.J.:Where,
Sherry:you know, we we've always figured it out. One of Pam's favorite sayings is there's something special something special happens when women's ministry comes together and that's the truth. You know, I hope that barn's still standing today. I don't know. It was quite an experience to do that, but I went into it just completely blind.
Sherry:Just, okay. It sounds like fun. Let's do it.
T.J.:Was there an moment of, like, oh, this is this is a way of sharing my faith. This is a a way of service that that benefits, you know, local residents, but also exemplifies kind of the love and grace of God as well. Did it happen in the midst of that trip, or after you got back, or or has it happened yet? What what is the appeal, do you think?
Sherry:I think I I don't think it happened on that first experience. I think it has been a something that grew within me and the experience of working alongside like minded people, and the experiences we had at these different locations that I've been to on how you feel the spirit and how you feel the spirit grow. Our whole lives is a journey, and my mission life has been a journey as well. Some you you you get some of those mountaintop experiences on mission trips, and then sometimes you're not in the mountain tops, you're in the valleys for the whole time, and you don't get that mountain top feeling until you get back home. Mhmm.
Sherry:I would say that would be the the case with the last mission trip that we went on. It was it was difficult. It was difficult. And and that first day, I was a little grumpy. You know, we're we're so spoiled, us Americans, we're so spoiled.
Sherry:So when, you know, you have bugs in your shower and it's hot, and the humidity is just worse than it is in Texas, if you can even imagine that. And the mosquitoes are like the size of hummingbirds. And there's chaos. I was a little grumpy, and I and I had to just I had to pray God and say, Lord, I know you put me here. I don't like it, but I need your help.
Sherry:I need you to help me through this. And he never lets us down. He helped us through it.
T.J.:My first mission trip was when I was just turned youth group age. It was very transformative for me. But what advice do you have for somebody who is an adult that maybe didn't, have those opportunities or just missed them for various circumstances and are kind of wavering and seeing as, yeah, it's an opportunity for service. But, yeah, I don't want to deal with the bugs. I don't want cold showers.
T.J.:I I wanna sleep in my bed at the end of the the day. What words of encouragement would you give them where they want to do service? You know, they want to be able to use their hands and their feet for evangelism, for for the betterment of of the world and exemplify god's love. But they're not real sure about some of the creature comforts.
Sherry:Oh, I I get it. What what I would say to them is you don't have to leave the country. You don't have to leave the state. You do have to leave your home, and you do have to get to outside of the church. And it can be mission work is as simple as helping a neighbor cut up a tree when that fell down, or going over and making sure that an elderly lady has enough food or has transportation.
Sherry:Sending a card to someone. Just checking on someone. You know, we look at all these grand ideas about what mission work is, but mission work is just helping another person. And so if you don't wanna deal with the bugs and you don't wanna deal with the humidity and all that stuff, it's not for everybody. I get it.
Sherry:But I don't like cold showers either. For me, I just have to get in a mindset where I can deal with that kind of thing. Some people just can't make themselves go there, or they're not interested in going there. And that's fine. That's that's not for everybody.
T.J.:Yeah. There's no shame in in going through your entire life and not experiencing a mission trip, because there's other ways to share our faith. But since you've been bitten by the mission trip, Buck, I just wanted to give you this opportunity to promote it, but also kind of give insight for somebody that that's, had had those mountaintop experiences and then just stayed in the valley.
Sherry:Well, definitely, there is no feeling like those mountaintop experiences. You cannot go on a mission trip and come home the same person you were when you left.
T.J.:Yeah. That's true.
Sherry:Does not happen.
T.J.:Yeah.
Sherry:Does not happen. It changes you. It it changed me every time we went to Christ Outreach in for the blind in Kentucky. It changed me when I met wonderful women when we're on our hands and knees in the hot sun in Springfield, Missouri pulling weeds. We were clearing a garden.
Sherry:We had no tools. We had this right here. We sang hymns together. I'm good friends with those ladies from that day forward. You know, there there is no substitute for the camaraderie and the coming together for a common goal as you get when you're on a mission trip.
Sherry:So many wonderful experiences. Also, to, if you go out of the country, or really not even going out of the country because South Dakota is almost like going out of the country,
T.J.:But when
Sherry:you when you
T.J.:We we love the people in South Dakota.
Sherry:Oh, absolutely. But what I'm saying is I had never been that far north. I had no idea what was in South Dakota. No, I love those people dearly. Yes.
Sherry:And everybody should have a glimpse of what the our country looks like. There's such a vast array in the United States, even in Texas, there's a vast array of landscape and people and all those things, and and just experiencing how they worship in other areas and see what they go through and see what their needs are and see how you can work side by side with them and how they can educate you. It's not only about the mission people, people on the mission team going in to do something. That's not what it's about in my opinion. It's about the mission team people going in to work side by side to learn from other people.
T.J.:Yeah. And not to undo what you just said, I think one of the takeaways for me on mission trips is that, that self reflection. And oftentimes sometimes during a trip, but also sometimes afterward as well. There's like a self examination of kind of like, okay, where where do I fit in my relationships back at home or in work or in school, depending on how old I was, and and what does my relationship with God look like as well. So there's this internal kind of examination and conversation going on.
T.J.:It was like, you know, some of the things that I thought that I couldn't live without or high priorities, a hot shower or, you know, plenty to eat or, you know, specific pillow or blanket or, you know, you know, a mattress. Just a mattress. You know Right. Things like it's like, you know, you really do you really can adapt fairly quickly and in ways that maybe you didn't think you wanted to or were able to. And it's not just a physical discomfort or a physical change just by location, but also prioritizing, you know, in terms of how important your family is.
T.J.:You're in absence of of your family, your parents, spouse, siblings, nieces, nephews, whatever the circumstances may be, your church family, your work. And it gives you a different perspective on those things. Just maybe maybe it's the minimal realization of just being physically removed. But there's some of that as well that I have gained from from mission trips. Absolutely.
T.J.:It's it's it's changed. I mean, it I think that goes into what you were talking about. Just being you're changed because you've expanded your horizons and the people that you meet in the way that people interact with each other differently, live differently, prioritize their lives differently, and it makes you look at your own and go, okay, what really is important?
Sherry:Exactly. Right. Stepping out of your comfort zone is what what we're talking about.
T.J.:Yeah.
Sherry:And when you get out of your comfort zone, I think that's where God wants us to be. I don't think he wants us to be fat, dumb, and happy. You know, I I think he, I think he wants us to get out of of our comfort zone and experience other things, so that when we get back in our comfort zone, we look at it and we realize, we come to the realization of how blessed we are. How abundant how how much abundance we have. You know, I always come back home and wanna get rid of half the stuff in my closet that I don't need.
Sherry:You know, we we are so gluttonous. We we are so wasteful in the United States when compared to other countries. It just gives you a whole new appreciation for life and how others live their life.
T.J.:That abundance also extends beyond the material because we we have like, if you're in a youth group, you have that circle of friends in your youth group and went on a mission trip. Or you have your your church family, you have your your family that you were born into. And, sometimes depending on the mission trip, there are people that don't have those circles of support. And and so I I think we also have an abundance of non material things and sometimes even non tangible things that, you you know, it it gives you that opportunity to to examine it and go, okay. Wow.
T.J.:What am I moping about? What am I angry about? What am I sad about? I have I have an abundance of many, and that many can include the tangible and the non tangible.
Sherry:Right. It puts everything in perspective.
T.J.:It can. Yeah. Mission trips can, for certain. We have another passion besides mission trips. We can always come back to those if you like.
T.J.:And and that and you've alluded to it already, is women's ministry in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in in our denomination. You've served as regional president, secretary. You've served at the at the denominational level. You were an interim convention women's convention coordinator. Why is that such a passion for you?
Sherry:Well, we know the history of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church that world missions were started about the women.
T.J.:I wonder what the men were doing back then.
Sherry:I've got somebody else. I don't know. But, you know, that whole egg and bread money thing, you know, that they it's it's again, it's a special group of people coming together, it's hard to describe. Since COVID, I I think women's ministry has has taken a hit, in that we, in our different regions, we got away from meeting together, and, I missed that tremendously. We're of all ages, you know, in in our area, it's mostly older folks.
Sherry:I would be one of the younger ones at 62, but still, which makes me feel pretty good. But you you come together with people, that you don't go to church with. You come to together with people, from all walks of life. One of my best friends is Jamie k Berkeley. She's a lawyer.
Sherry:You know, I've never had an encounter with a lawyer and hope I don't. But if it is, I want it to be Jeremy. But, you you know, you you just get to meet all different kinds of people from different walks of life that come together as a common goal. Mhmm. And, and again, I'm gonna say what Pam says, when women come together, something amazing happens.
Sherry:It does. We still, through women's ministry, at convention and on the regional level too, we do outreach. You know, we we're still serving in the mission field in a different way, trying to reach people the the best way that we can and and just building each other up and supporting each other and encouraging each other. So, yes, I'm very, very passionate about women's ministry.
T.J.:If you don't mind, just for those that may not know, could you briefly describe kinda how women's ministry and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, what that looks like in terms of the local, regional, convention? Just assume that there are listeners that may not have any idea what we're talking about. Correct. And if you could just kind of capture that. And how would you explain that to somebody who was like you back in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and you didn't even know exactly what you were getting into when somebody invited you to convention.
Sherry:Sure. Well, on on the local level, churches can, form what's called a circle. It really is just a group of women. And those those group of women within the church, like the Marshall Church, down the road from us, not too far from us, They have 2 circles because they have large enough congregation, but most of our churches around here just have 1. But the women come together, and they may do devotionals.
Sherry:They may work on outreach projects. They may, come together and just have a quilting circle, and they give those quilts to, like, a homeless shelter or a women's shelter or something like that. So it works from the the local level. And then within those local churches, the circles come together at the regional level. And we meet twice a year, once in the fall, once in the spring, and we have officers.
Sherry:And, again, the idea here is to, to join together in communion, to worship together, to give back to the community, but also to give back to women's ministry at the denominational level. So after you get from the local level, then you have the regional levels, and then you have the women's ministry convention, which is, Rebecca Zardy is the women's ministry director now. And so she would, be in charge of organizing the convention and things like that. There are officers at the, denominational level for convention as well. And throughout the year, now it's not just that one time for convention, but throughout the year, these officers are making connections and reaching out to the different regions in in, women's ministry to see how they're doing, how they're doing with bringing people together, what their projects are like, and things like that.
Sherry:We usually have, we always have. At convention, we have a convention offering, and then we have, another offering that we give, and people from outside the country and some inside the country can petition women's ministry for funds that would help to increase their women's ministry in their country. The women's ministry in Brazil is rocking. They have done some wonderful things, also in Japan, in Guatemala, in Colombia. Oh my goodness.
Sherry:Very strong women's ministry groups outside of the United States and inside the United States.
T.J.:What is it about, Cumberland Presbyterian Women's Ministry that appeals to you, speaks to you the most? And and it may have changed over the years. So if you wanted to start with some of your early interactions and then talk about where you are currently, because you've served at different levels and been involved in different levels.
Sherry:Oh, it's yeah. It's changed. Alright. As a fresh person, going into women's ministry that first few times, back in the day, I'm looking around and I'm saying, what is really the purpose of all these women coming together? I don't really see why we have officers.
Sherry:I don't know why we're doing all this kind of stuff. And then as I've grown and been embedded in women's ministry at all those levels, I understand. It's it's all about mission work. It's it's about ministering to other people, but it's also about the community of women coming together. There are women clergy, that's a specific group.
Sherry:There are, just clergymen in general. That's a specific group. But it's nice having a separate group of just women coming together. And now, women's ministry has 2 young women ambassadors. They're Savannah Lamb and Mary Robin, and they're part of women's ministry.
Sherry:And I love this idea because now we're starting to listen to young people and take their ideas. I mean, we're killing ourselves if we don't start to listen to young folks and listen to their ideas and and do things that would bring them in and then and involve them in spreading the gospel and spreading the the kind of community that we have within women's ministry now.
T.J.:Yeah. To be able to raise those questions to go, what will a gathering of women look like for for you? And that that question goes across the entire and you could divide that up based upon where you live, and your stage of life, and and your age. And then it accommodates, so that one brand fits all may not always work all the time. And to be able to to change it and have the freedom to change and adapt it to the the setting and context that you're in, to help meet your needs and help give you opportunities to serve, has got to look different based upon age and location and and interest in gifts.
T.J.:So that's great. That's great to hear.
Sherry:TJ, if we don't change, we're gonna die. We have to. We have to as women's ministry. We have to as Cumberland Presbyterians. Mhmm.
Sherry:There it's it's no secret that church going folks are declining, not just in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, but in all denominations. The world is changing and and we have to change too. We have to find new, better, effective ways to incorporate people and to include people.
T.J.:Well, it's a good segue. So for us, specifically, as a denomination, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, In what areas, Sherry, do you think that we could we could make changes to be able to share the gospel, not new ways, but share the gospel in in dynamic and in intentional ways that will help build up the kingdom.
Sherry:Well, that's that's the $6,000,000 question
T.J.:out there. Well, I hope you get started. I think you alluded when you were talking about, what you was it Sunday School with Friends or Sunday Morning with Friends? I'm sorry. Which one was it?
Sherry:Sunday Morning with Friends.
T.J.:Sunday Morning with Friends. That has a, you know, a low anxiety, welcoming approach to those for various reasons may not show up in the in the traditional times for worship or in traditional settings. And I would even challenge it and go, even the contemporary ones, maybe this is the new contemporary, in terms of what a gathering of Christians and seekers will look like online or a mix of online and in person and at a different time and place. That's how a lot of our new church developments and worshiping communities and even some of our new churches are already already trying that, experiencing that, and have become pretty skilled at it as well. So I've helped you out on that, but there's more.
T.J.:There's got to be more, and I I want your input.
Sherry:Well, sure. I absolutely agree with that. And the reason I named it what I named it was for those reasons. I I love the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Don't get me wrong.
Sherry:But I did not want to attach a denomination, an expectation, a doctrine, if you will, to what we were doing. I think there there's room for both those things. There are people in the church that want the traditional Cumberland Presbyterian way, And then there are people in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church that want something new and something different, something that's not, something that's more inclusive, something that's more personal. For the same reasons that we started that, this Sunday school class where you feel comfortable with the group that you're with. I think small groups work best.
T.J.:Yeah. And Yeah. Even though We have that market cornered as company.
Sherry:We do. I was just gonna say that even though we are a small group of people coming from the Presbyterian still, I'm talking, you know, no more than, you know, 8 or 10, so you can have a a good conversation. But I know that our Sunday schools have traditionally been that way, Then in small group communities too. So I think incorporating, technology has been a good thing. Not just the technology of Zoom, but the technology that we now have in a lot of our churches.
Sherry:There are so many different things, ways to do, and just getting out of the building. That that's big volumes. You know, if so what if you met at a coffee shop? So, you know, what if you met around a a bonfire or something like that? What if you just drug the chairs out on the parking lot outside?
Sherry:Mhmm. You know, something that's different, something that that changes, something that keeps people on their toes and kinda kinda puts them out of their comfort zone a little bit, maybe.
T.J.:And I just see us doing a lot of permission giving to to explore and don't let the fear come in on the front end of, like, well, it's going to fail. Well, how how do you know unless you grab the folding chairs and or or no longer meet there on the church facility or property and you meet a different time in different location or in somebody's home. There's something there for sure. Alright. I like asking guests if there's books, movies that resonate.
T.J.:But with you, I want to ask what type of music or what music has impacted your faith and in in your life?
Sherry:Well, that's a big one too.
T.J.:I'm leaving it kind of vague so you don't have to be honed in on a specific genre. But, and and you can be, by the way. But, yeah, is there is there a type of music or is there a song? Is there an artist? Is there something that has impacted your faith recently, long ago?
Sherry:I, you know, being a long time Presbyterian, whether it be USA or CP, songs like some of the old standard songs, are still relevant today. It's not so much about the music, but the old standard songs are more about the lyrics. And I think even the contemporary worship style songs are about the lyrics as well. But there's one specific song that touches my soul deeply, and it's a song that Horatio Spafford wrote, It Is Well With My Soul. And if you know the story of Horatio Spafford, he was on a journey and he was separated from his wife and children.
Sherry:And during this journey when they were separated, his entire family perished. And he wrote the song, It is Well With My Soul. If you don't know those lyrics, you go back and you read those lyrics and you hear that song and you know that everything's going to be okay. So that's the one that really just pokes me in the eye every time I hear it.
T.J.:I didn't know the backstory. I'm sitting here thinking of the lyrics, and it almost seems like a contradiction. If if those lyrics were written out of such a deep sense of loss, you know, it seems like there there would be anger or resentment behind it, but that's not that doesn't come out of the lyrics at all.
Sherry:It doesn't.
T.J.:In terms of music, I've I've noticed as I've gotten older, if we want to keep it within, you know, kinda Christian type music. We don't have to. But I've noticed that how a song is sung or who sings it can have a different impact.
Sherry:Oh, yes.
T.J.:And, you know, whether it's a choir or an individual,
Sherry:it's Or a child.
T.J.:Yeah. Yeah.
Sherry:Yeah. But there is nothing sweeter than a child's voice when they're singing.
T.J.:Yeah. Yeah. And there's something about a child's laughter that that just unbridled laughter, you know, where it's just totally uncontrolled. Man, that is just such a great thing. That and a child so we have a child singing, a child's laughter, and I love the true abandon they have in when they dance, when they're smaller.
T.J.:You know?
Sherry:Yes.
T.J.:There's just, you know, they I don't know what age it is. I'm sure it's an age bracket where you kind of become conscious of like, oh, I don't have any rhythm or I'm not moving to whatever the rhythm if there even is music. But that complete abandon of just letting your body go and and and dancing with just just abandon, with joy. I don't the laughter and the joy of a child is fantastic. It's, heavenly.
T.J.:It's it's heaven here on earth, for sure.
Sherry:You're exactly right. You're exactly right.
T.J.:Alright. I have another question for you as we're kinda closing up this conversation. Yet another passion that you have, Sherry, And I've actually admired this about you, just you're very physically active. And you shared with me that you enjoy running and cycling, yoga, and hiking with friends. So I have a couple questions.
T.J.:I don't know the answer to them, but do you run marathons?
Sherry:I have run marathons. You did hear me say I'm 62. So my marathon days are behind me now. Let me tell you, there is no pain like the pain of 26.2 miles. So yes, I have, I've run 3 marathons and, you know, we talked earlier about, that mountaintop experience in the valleys.
Sherry:We spent a lot of time in the valley, but when you cross that finish line, that's when you're on the mountaintop until you start walking, trying to walk away from there and you feel like you're just gonna die. But yeah.
T.J.:From your perspective, how how does being physically active and I'm not saying being in shape or have a certain physique, but how does being physically active how how can that speak to our faith and how does that speak to your faith? Do those go hand in hand?
Sherry:I've never thought about that, but I would I would say it takes discipline. You know, we have to have spiritual discipline to, and be intentional with our relationship with God and studying the word. And it takes practice. It takes practice to stay spiritually intentional. You know, I'll I'll be real good about reading my devotionals certain times of the year, and then the other times of the year, it just sits there and collects dust.
Sherry:You know, this time of the year, during the Advent season, which is my favorite, we're usually pretty good about that. We're really on fire, and we're intentional about studying the word and learning about God, that feel good story. But when Lent rolls around, it's not so feel goody. We're a little bit hesitant sometimes to see it that way. And so to answer your question, and I'm glad you asked that question, being committed to taking care of our bodies, is is something that I think honors God.
Sherry:He only made us this one body. It's ours. Good, bad, or ugly, it's ours. Right? So I think we're called to take care of that temple.
Sherry:That's what he says in the body in in the Bible is that your body is a temple, and that you you take care of that the best that you can. So I guess that is is how it would relate to my spirituality, is being the best person that I can be outside and inside, so I can help other people. As my mom ages, I wanna be the one that is able to help her. I wanna be able to, lift 17 pieces of luggage when we went to Belize, when few other people couldn't. I wanna be able to do those things like that.
Sherry:I want to remain active. I wanna I wanna enjoy my life. I want to live my life to the fullest. I wanna live to be a 120, But I want to be live to be a good 120.
T.J.:Right. I'm a put words in your mouth. But I I could almost envision you saying, look, if you can't carry it, you don't need it in terms of luggage.
Sherry:You're not putting words to my mouth. You must have heard me say that because those words did come out of my mouth. Oh my goodness. Sidebar. We took a lot of the luggage because it was all it had a bunch of stuff in it for the kids and stuff, though, but still, we had to get through the airport with that.
T.J.:Right. Right. Yeah. A lot of that wasn't coming back, I guess.
Sherry:Oh, no. No.
T.J.:No. Yeah.
Sherry:Oh, thank goodness. No.
T.J.:I have really enjoyed this conversation with you. I've learned about your faith and some background. And we've crossed paths many times through meetings and just sharing space, but this is the most time I've been able just to share with you, and I've tremendously enjoyed it. And now I have so much background to and understand your love and your passion for the church and for women's ministry and and for mission trips as well.
Sherry:Absolutely, TJ. And I I thank you for the invitation, the opportunity to do this. I just I just wanna say these things, these words as as a parting statement for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, that we must come together. We we must be in unity together and not divisive. That we must be like Jesus, to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and to see everybody the way he sees them, that we're all made in his image and that we're all equal.
Sherry:And so I thank you TJ for this opportunity.
T.J.:Good words. Thank you, Sherry.
T.J.:Thank you for listening to The Cumberland Road. If you would, please subscribe at Apple, Google, Spotify, your favorite podcasting site. In closing, I wanna read to you, sorry, not sing but read, the last verse of It Is Well With My Soul. And the lord, haste today when the faith shall be sight. The clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend. Even so, it is well with my soul.
