Evergreen Outreach
By Charlene M. Jett
It was HOT! It was HUMID! But we know that we can store this heat and humidity in 16-ounce bottles for winter, right? And as the snow flies, we can pop open a can of warm sunshine. Ha!
We gave a big Evergreen Outreach thank you for the Rev. Jim Fackler (our leader and devotional speaker) and Darla Day (our flautist and entertainer). We also had Donna Smith at the piano, and she still doesn’t need sheet music to reach our hearts with her sweet notes. We sang our "Outreach" and "Happy Birthday" songs as we celebrated birthdays for Megan Langley, Edith Simm, Wilma Tackett and Jodi Veteto.
We had a new member visiting E.O., a very handsome baby boy – Carl Cornette and his mom, Jamie Hughes. His grandmother is Kim Bunyard, who also visits EO. Baby Carl was a big hit with everyone as he toddled around, smiling and trying to walk.
Fackler warmed up his audience with one-liner jokes from his infamous joke book. For example: "What do you call a nation that only has red cars?" A red carnation! And this one: "A recipe for GOLD soup … just add water and 14 carrots!" And this one: "What goes up and down hill, but never moves?" A road! I really think he took lessons from Bob Hope!
On his serious side, he called to memory the disciple Paul, who was one of the first to understand and fully know the power of God and the cross. Paul was a mean, vicious and violent man before God stopped him on the road to Damascus, blinded him and turned him into a peaceful, loving Christian. After God restored his sight, he traveled far and wide to preach about God’s love and mercy.
One way to accomplish this ourselves is to follow Fackler’s example: When we wake up, ask God to be with us, and when we go to sleep, we ask God to be with us.
We can also ask God to bring us the joy of living with him, recognizing that this joy can only come from God, not man. Fackler led us in “God Bless America” and a special prayer for Beulah Brown, who is in the hospital with a broken leg.
To brighten our day, he introduced Darla Day, our entertainer. Darla plays the flute, doesn’t need sheet music either, and lives in Collinsville.
She is the wife of Dr. Day, who for several years was a doctor here in Vandalia. Never mind the “hot air“ joke that Fackler used to introduce her! For a moment I thought she might bop him with the flute!
But she went right on to play many, many joyful songs – starting with her high school fight song and her mother’s favorite from the “Sound of Music.” She shared many of our traditional patriotic songs and hymns: “You're a Grand Old Flag,” “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” “America the Beautiful,” ”Yankee Doodle,” ”Dixie,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.” Even though we didn’t kick up our feet today, the hand clapping was loud and the smiles were broad when Darla played.
So many of the songs we know by heart, and it was a wonderful collection she chose to play.
The pinochle table was composed of Richard Kruenegel and Shirley Locke, who tied with Mary Woolsey and Rosamond Hobler, with each team winning one game.
We dismissed with the song “God Be With You, Until We Meet Again.” Everyone have fun this summer!
