Tinney Chapel Today

Tinney Talk, observations by Joe Dan Boyd

HAROLD LENIUS TURNED 90 ON OCT.25, and attributes his long life to a mindset of always keeping busy, both physically and mentally. He was born in Waterloo, Iowa, where his father, Rufus, worked at an electric power plant. Soon afterward, Rufus moved his family—-wife, Lucinda and young Harold--to Bremer County, near Waverly, where they became farmers, renting a 100-acre grain farm. “We grew corn, oats, and also raised hogs and cattle,” recalls Harold. “We marketed the grain by feeding it to the livestock.”

YOUNG HAROLD WAS AN EARLY RISER, up with the sun every day, after which he usually went out, barefoot, to round up about 20 cows for milking, usually from still-dew-moist pastures. “We had a DeLaval hand-operated milk separator,” explains Harold. “After processing the milk, we used what we needed for the family, fed some to the hogs, and also sold milk, buttermilk and butter for extra income.”

SCHOOL FOR HAROLD WAS EIGHT GRADES AT RIMIA Elementary School in Bremer County, to which he walked over a mile each way every day, sometimes in temperatures that reached 20 degrees below zero. “Mother bundled us up: me, my brother Robert and my sister Lucille, with scarves, heavy homemade coats and insulated caps with snug earflaps,” says Harold. “Snowdrifts were often waist-high, so tall we could hardly get through some of them.”

AFTER COMPLETING THE EIGHTH GRADE, Harold’s family moved to Waverly, where his father became a car salesman. Harold, then about 15 years old, became a resident hired hand for Martin Fritchel, a bachelor farmer in Bremer County. “That job lasted a couple of years,” recalls Harold, who then moved in with his parents to work at the body shop of the Chevrolet dealership where his dad was the star auto salesman. Harold then earned $10 a week, a salary that would be increased by $2 a week when he married.

HE MET JANETTE when he was 18 and she was 14. Married in 1939, they first rented an apartment in Waverly. By 1942 Harold, Janette and their two kids--Barbara and Larry--moved in with Janette’s parents at Vinton. Breadwinner Harold was about to join the U.S. Navy to serve in World War II, during which time their third child, Suzanne, was born. Harold returned to civilian life in late 1945,

# posted by Joe Dan Boyd @ 10/25/2008

THE CULTURE OF OUR CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP almost certainly was born after Jesus returned thanks or called for a blessing on the very first covered dish meal arranged by a core group of ladies who ministered to the Master and His growing group of itinerant Apostles, disciples, grocery shoppers, cooks and bottle washers in First-Century Israel, about whom we read in the New Testament.

A MEAL WAS THE CHANNEL OF CHOICE for some of Jesus’ most meaningful Gospel messages, especially as recorded in Luke, and also was the setting for some of His memorable parable accounts. In fact, the parable of the great banquet is widely regarded as Jesus’ ultimate vision of the Salvation that God offers to the whole world.

THAT TABLE FELLOWSHIP was an important part of Jesus’ ministry is beyond doubt. Even after the Resurrection, Jesus appeared several times to His disciples in the context of a meal.

AFTER THE FIRST PENTECOST, birthday of the Church, Luke tells us in Acts that early Christians worshipped in the Temple and broke bread in their homes, eating with glad and generous hearts. The earliest versions of our Lord’s Supper Communion Sacrament were full hunger-busting meals, later called Love Feasts in the book of Jude, not small hunks of bread washed down with single swallows of grape juice.

RECIPES IN TINNEY CHAPEL’S NEW COOKBOOK, Cooking Favorites From The Country, come to us in the spirit of those earliest Christian cooks who favored full-course meals that waged war on hunger and memorialized a Savior who not only appreciated good food and table fellowship, but also fed all who hungered in His presence for sustenance or salvation.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE COOKBOOK COMMITTEE of the Tinney Chapel Ladies Group, an organization that has, for many years, been the heart of our church’s ministry. Many helped in this keepsake cookbook effort, but special thanks go to Joy Privette, Elaine Graham and Sadie Jordan for making it happen. If you don’t already have a copy ($12), contact Tinney Chapel at 449 County Road 4620, Winnsboro, TX 75494 or phone 903-629-7696.

# posted by Joe Dan Boyd @ 10/01/2008