Evergreen Outreach

By Editor | January 6, 2016 |

By Charlene M Jett
The joy of Christmas rang true in Wesley Hall on Monday as Evergreen Outreach embarked on the beginning of another successful year. HAPPY NEW YEAR! There was a savoring of the last few days of the lighted Christmas tree, the table full of Poinsettias and tons of cookies.

Our pianist, Bette Stolte, welcomed everyone with her arms full of sheet music, several music books and her hands in control of the keyboard. Her continued rich selection gets everyone in an upbeat mood, and with Beulah Brown as our leader, we sang our welcome and Outreach songs.
You wouldn’t think that much could compare to the great Christmas party we had, where Phyllis Rames gave everyone a book “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” But, surprise, it was another great day! Thanks to Ruth Ann Scott’s thoughtfulness we all signed get well cards for Louise Kruenegel and Marie Sutton. The Rev. Joe Lawson gave a short devotion focused on God’s faithfulness. He restated some of the words in that old hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” He told us a story about picking up his wife at an airport, and how important it is to be faithful and honest in our dealings with God and all people. God is always faithful to us and we should be faithful to him in all we do. This type of an attitude inspires a good attitude in others and God’s continued love. Rev. Lawson prayed for all of us.
Beulah reiterated Rev. Lawson’s focus on faithfulness by describing how patient He is with us when we try to fix mistakes. We make some again and still have more mistakes to fix. God will encourage us, be gentle with us and will always still love us. With that in mind, Beulah turned the stage over to Randy Scholar and Judy Varga, our entertainment for today. Since they just returned from a Florida vacation, their energy was high and their voices strong. Judy opened with a solo, “Shelter in the Arms of God. This was a serious number and was delivered with reverence while the entire audience was impressed with the emotion poured into it. It was about traveling and walking with Jesus thru life.
In this particular situation, Jesus took us thru the “farm” to do the “Chicken Dance.” About a dozen of us created a serpentine, moving, tangle of hands, feet, arms and bottoms. This is a really great three-minute workout that creates giggles and smiles all around the room. The next “dance,” was conducted by Jeannie Schlicht, who led us all around the room “locomotion”-style. I was a caboose!
The fun didn’t stop when Randy soloed on “Ring of Fire” and nearly got out of control when he sang “Elvira,” because Brenda led the dancing! This is a sight, I must say – I could hardly keep up with her! Randy again soloed on “The Gambler” and I was turned down for a dance by Brad Elmore because he had an upset stomach. He promised me a rain check! At this point, the entire room was singing very loudly to “ Lollipop” and the “Old Rugged Cross.” I know it doesn’t make much sense to have those two songs in the same sentence, but that is just the way Evergreen works.
One of the funniest songs – part skit – is Randy and Judy doing a special rendition of “Hey Good Lookin’.” With a devious Judy encroaching on an innocent Randy, he seems to have bitten off more than he can handle! Their signature piece was “Tennessee Waltz,” which had a calming effect on the general chaos that they had created! Now, you know yours truly, plus Phyllis and Jeannie, were up dancing in the final number!
The pinochle table welcomed back a good friend of Evergreen, Shirley Locke, who teamed up with Rosamund Hobler to tie with Mary Woolsey and Susan Meador, one game each.
Now, you all remember that for the next two months, EO is only on the first Monday of the month. Hope to see you then! Stay blessed and warm!