Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Tinney Talk, September, 2008
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Photo by Rev. Dr. Joan LaBarr, NTC Communications Director
TINNEY TALK, Observations by Joe Dan Boyd
THE QUINTESSENTIAL COUNTRY CHURCH is the brand for Tinney Chapel UMC, our 108-year-old assembly of worshippers. Like any other brand, whether seared into the skin of a free-range cow or etched onto the label of a grocery store container, our brand is our leitmotif, broadcasting near and far to one and all that we enjoy a distinctive character, a unique DNA and an identity that cannot be compromised.
WE ARE A RURAL CHURCH, more than willing to model both its meaning and its mission, proudly declaring ourselves to be quintessentially country. What that means to me, or to you, will always vary to reflect the stages of our lives, mirroring the current closeness of our walk with the Lord.
TINNEY CHAPEL WAS FOUNDED, by donation of land, in 1900, from a farmer who recognized that every community needs a church. Very soon, Tinney Chapel became the designation for both a church that was quintessentially country, and a community that was peopled by families who depended, for Life itself, on their covenant with a fervent God and a fertile ground.
BORN & REARED IN ONE OF THOSE FAMILIES, my early worldview found ethos and expression from rural residents intent on wresting a living from a stubborn soil while also mirroring Salt and Light messages from a lamp-lighted country church.
WHAT TINNEY CHAPEL MEANS TO OTHERS often finds its way back to us, as has happened on several occasions with Rev. Fred Durham, North Texas Conference Director of Connectional Ministries, a former District Superintendent, a former mayor of Winnsboro and a former pastor at the quintessential country church.
AS A GUEST PREACHER HERE eight years ago, Oct. 22, 2000, Rev. Durham introduced a friend from far away who had accompanied him here on that revival evening: "I brought my friend along so he could see what a real church is like," Pastor Fred declared. "I'd rather be here, in Winnsboro, Texas, at Tinney Chapel, than anywhere in the world. It's the place of my fondest memories. It's where I feel whole again."
