Tinney Chapel Today

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A Celebration of the Home-going of Mary Belle Marrs

Parking was at a premium on the grounds outside, and the house was packed inside, to standing-room-only status, at 112-year-old Tinney Chapel United Methodist Church on this day-before-Thanksgiving, November 23, 2011.

All had come to say bon voyage to one of their own, blood kin and church family of their favorite young-at-heart, perennially positive, adventure-loving, hard-working, God-in-her-life former beauty operator with a great sense of humor, always armed with a kind word and a wide-angle smile for everyone in her path and in her heart:

Mary Belle Marrs.

“You can bet that she is skipping along the Streets of Glory today, and that she is no doubt praying for some of you in this congregation,” declared Rev. Duncan Graham, officiating master at this memorial service, and for seven years the pastor of today’s honoree, a long-time member of Tinney Chapel, where Rev. Graham began the service by reading about the art of rejoicing in the Lord from the New Testament book of Philippians, starting at chapter 1, verse 19, quickly segueing into other passages, beginning with 1 Corinthians 15:40 and Hebrews 11:13 (“we shall be raised and changed” versus “death where is thy sting?”).

That Mary Marrs was a great lady perhaps goes without saying to most of those here, observed Rev. Graham: “She lived a great life, and we all look forward to walking with Mary on those Streets of Glory.

“And, as we cherish the memory of this very wonderful lady today, I can not even think of her as other than one of the Three Sisters (Frankie, Imogene & Mary), who enjoyed such a close bond with each other. But, this is Mary’s Day, and our thoughts and words will concentrate on her for the most part.”

Rev. Graham noted that it was exactly nine years ago that he performed this same duty, a funeral/memorial service for Mary’s husband, Hoyt Marrs, who was also a member of Tinney Chapel at a time when Rev. Graham was the church’s pastor: “Meanwhile, all of us may rest in the calm assurance that Mary today is eternally happy.”

At one point, Rev. Graham told several stories about Mary that he learned from her family: Sandra, Rick and Sherri, including her insistence on climbing and descending an intimidating slide when Mary was 75 years of age at Fort Worth’s Trail Dust Steak House. And, then, there was the time Mary managed to get husband Hoyt’s bird dog intoxicated on an overdose of holiday eggnog. And, lest we forget: The years that Mary functioned as an aggressive keeper of bees and harvester of their honey, which Rev. Graham remembered fondly, especially since his first taste was free, but then he was hooked and continued as a loyal paying customer until Mary shut down the hives upon the departure of her profitable bees.

“She had a real sense of adventure,” emphasized the pastor: “Mary thought she could do about anything, and then—before you realized it—she had actually done it. She was an industrious worker in her yard and taught her children the value of honest, hard work by setting an example for them.

“A woman of great love was another of her chief characteristics,” added Rev. Graham: “As her pastor, I always anticipated her hugs and smiles of welcome. She was, in many respects, a preacher’s dream, faithful in all ways, a lovely lady who will be missed by all of us. But, she has already enriched our lives, and will continue to do so via our memories.

“Now she is free of sickness, inabilities and paralysis, all by the Resurrection Power of Jesus the Christ,” said Rev. Graham, who reminded the congregation that the Apostle Paul mentioned over 500 people who had personally witnessed the Resurrection of the Savior.

The pastor concluded with a reference to the Faith described and honored in the 11th Chapter of Hebrews: “Mary has gone Home to receive her Glorified Body.”

Congregational hymns this day included Near To The Heart Of God, When We All Get To Heaven and I'll Fly Away.

The following is a Tinney Talk Column from the Tinney Chapel print newsletter of June 1999:

TINNEY TALK
Observations by Joe Dan Boyd

‘May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.’
---Proverbs 5:18

This Old Testament INJUNCTION is, for the most part, standard operating procedure for ORDINARY folks of the World War II era. These are the people LABELED, in Tom Brokaw’s book, as our country’s GREATEST GENERATION. Two of that generation’s greatest are HOYT & MARY MARRS, who met in the Dallas-Fort Worth METROPLEX during 1946, when PEACE was BREAKING OUT all over the WORLD.

MARY and sister IMOGENE left WINNSBORO in 1945 to attend Neilsen Beauty School. HOYT, fresh from OKLAHOMA and INFANTRY service in the EUROPEAN Theater, was visiting his sister Dorothy, and keeping an EYE OUT for promising JOB opportunities in the expanding post-war CIVILIAN theater.

That SEARCH was INTERRUPTED temporarily when HOYT got an EYEFUL of MARY, a diminutive, 121-lb. BEAUTY with brown eyes and dark hair. ‘She was the PRETTIEST thing I had ever seen,’ he later told their DAUGHTER Sherri. MARY liked HOYT, too, despite a HEIGHT difference of almost 10 inches: He was 5 foot-eleven; she, LESS than 5 foot-two.

But she enjoyed LOOKING UP to him, and they ENJOYED each other’s COMPANY. It wasn’t long until their FIRST DATE: ‘HAMBURGERS at the PIG STAND,’ recalls HOYT. Their COURTSHIP included nearly two years of TOGETHERNESS at picture shows, public parks and the FRONT PORCHES of a NOT-YET-AIR-CONDITIONED Texas SUMMERTIME.

‘I think what really ATTRACTED us to EACH OTHER was a COMMON BOND from the way we were RAISED in the COUNTRY during the GREAT DEPRESSION--which actually was NOT so great,’ recalls MARY. ‘And, there was NO formal PROPOSAL. We just EXPECTED to get MARRIED,’ she recalls. ‘One day, May 14, 1949, we found a JUSTICE OF THE PEACE in Rockwall, and TIED THE KNOT at 8:15 in the EVENING.’

Their HONEYMOON was DINNER at a nice RESTAURANT before HOYT carried MARY across the THRESHOLD of a TINY east Dallas APARTMENT: ‘ONE ROOM, plus a little KITCHEN fashioned from what had once been a CLOSET and a bathroom,’ says MARY.

WHY has the MARRIAGE, 50 years later, GONE GOLD? ‘LOVE,’ says MARY, with disarming SIMPLICITY: ‘He TOLERATES the things I DO.’ Adds HOYT: ‘It’s the COMPROMISE of everyday GIVE AND TAKE; you have to WORK at it.’ MARY smiles and delivers the clincher: ‘You HAVE to have GOD in your LIFE.’

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Tinney Chapel Leadership List For 2012

Chair of Ad Council: Kathy Brown
Assistant Chair: Most recent past chair present
Lay Leader: Roger Schneider
Treasurer: Jenna Nelson
Financial Secretary: Sharon Schneider
Recording Secretary: Brandi Hayley
Membership Secretary: Jenna Nelson
Children's Ministries/Education: Georgia Goggans
Evangelism: Glenn Goggans
Missions: Cheryl Ann Newton
Family Ministries: Chair, Frankie Brewer, Imogene Myers
Telephone: Chair, Zonnie Griffin; Members: Bobbie Hollingsworth, Imogene Myers, Corinne Tinney, Alice Deitering
Stewardship: Cheryl Ann Newton
Communications Coodinator: Joe Dan Boyd
Lay Member, Annual Conference: Jenna Nelson
Worship Committee: Chair, Carolyn Newton; Members: Linda Hallman, Joy Privette
Finance Committee: Chair, Alicia Moore. Members: Sharon Schneider, Jenna Nelson

Staff-Parish Relations Committee:
Chair:
Lay Leader, Roger Schneider
Lay Delegate, Jenna Nelson
2012--Georgia Goggans
2012--Sharon Schneider
2013--Kathy Brown
2013--Cheryl Ann Newton
2014--Elaine Banks
2014--Bob Deitering

Trustees:
Chair:
Pastor (non voting)
2012--Corinne Tinney
2012--Gerry Privette
2013--Carl Griffin
2013--Ronnie Moore
2014--Mike Banks
2014--Gailya Gearner

Nominations Committee:
Chair: Pastor Sue Gross
2012--Gailya Gearner
2012--Roger Schneider
2013--Joe Dan Boyd
2013--Zonnie Griffin
2014--Ronny Ellison
2014--Cheryl Ann Newton

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Matthew 25:31-36, The Sheep & The Goats, Preached Here Today
Pastor Sue Gross, Tinney Chapel UMC

Matthew 25:31-46

New International Version (NIV)

The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart fromhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Link to above resource page:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A31-46&version=NIV

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Live Poets Society Met Today @ Winnsboro Emporium
With 5 Founding Members & 3 New Members Present

At this month's meeting of the Live Poets Society, present were five original founding members: Bonnie Sir Kegian White (leader and founder), Conrad Wolfman, Angela Wylie, Lucy Germany and Joe Dan Boyd.

Three new poets joined the group at this meeting: Ayne Agassi, James Chambers and Amy Pierson.

Lucy Germany read Archibald MacLeish's "Ars Poetica" and an "untitled" original poem. Bonnie Sir Kegian White read Robert Service's "The Shooting Of Dan McGrew" and an original poem "Sepia Or Technicolor." Conrad Wolfman read an original published poem "Winter Fantasy" and a Japanese poem "Little Sister." Joe Dan Boyd read Edgar Guest's "Raisin Pie," and displayed a photo of his Aunt Maude Tinney Cater and her personal recipe for that unique dish, Joe Dan's favorite dessert. Ayne Agassi read 3 original poems: "Dialog of Silence," "Picking Flowers" and "Until You." Amy Pierson brought her book of poetry, Tea And Talk, from which she read "The Smile Of Sammy." Angela Wylie, perhaps this group's most highly decorated poet read 2 original works: "Cold" and "So Tired."

The Live Poets Society meets monthly (most of the time) at The Winnsboro Emporium, hosted by proprietor Conrad Wolfman, on North Main Street in beautiful downtown Winnsboro. The group welcomes other poets or fans of poetry who just like to listen. The next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 16, 2011.

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Jerry Ezelle Wants To Pay Tribute To Contribution Of
Caddo Native Americans To Heritage Of East Texas

At this evening's monthly meeting of the Native American Fellowship (NAF), Jerry Ezelle of Scroggins, Texas, called on this group and others to join him in a still-evolving project to honor the many contributions by the Caddo Indian Tribe to the beauty and productivity of East Texas.

After a long and successful business career in the DFW Metroplex, Ezelle retired to the natural beauty of Northeast Texas, and--during his personal research into the history of this area--was surprised to learn how much he, and the rest of us, owe to the Caddo Indian Tribe for its care and stewardship of the land and its resources over a period of several centuries.

Ezelle has since been on a one-man crusade to help facilitate a project that will stand as an ongoing, lasting memorial to the noble Caddo Tribe.

As a potential example, Ezelle said that, in the 35-year history of Lake Bob Sandlin, they have not added a park other than the State Park on the North Shore-which he said they did not pay for. More recently, Ezelle said that Titus County Freshwater District (TCFWD) has just purchased several thousand acres, in both Camp and Titus Counties, behind the dam of the lake. In other words, potential sites abound for a memorial to the Caddo Tribe, perhaps a public park of some kind in one of these, or some other, location.

By contrast, Ezelle suggested a comparisojn with Lake Cypress Springs, which he says has five nice local parks, all with boat ramps that are used by local citizens, rich and poor, from all over Texas, built with the proceeds of the sale of water by The Franklin County Freshwater District. Ezelle said that none of these Parks have any mention of the Native Americans or hiking trails.

Other "Water District Lakes" in the State do the same thing, added Ezelle: "They take the revenue from the water sale and improve the lakes for the enjoyment of Texans. If you Google Lake Worth you will find they have a $117 million capital improvement to the lake much of it being paid for from the sale of water to Fort Worth."

Ezelle's Idea: "Let's approach the TCFWD and propose a park that would include a tribute to the Caddo and The Cherokee, both of which have such a rich history in this area. The park would have a strong educational aspect to it, so local schools could take kids on field trips as a learning experience. If done correctly it could become a 'must see destination' for boaters and visitors in the area."

After Ezelle's presentation, NAF members discussed his general proposal and offered suggestions for supplementing and amending his ideas, eventually asking him to return with a more detailed, formal proposal, which NAF would evaluate and members would vote on whether or not to endorse it.

NAF President Ronny Ellison appointed a committee of Bob Deitering, Linda Fox, Corinne Tinney, Georgia McLain and Joe Dan Boyd to counsel with Ezelle as he firms up his formal proposal for consideration at a future NAF meeting.