5 Church 1 – Centenary, other

Church 1 – Centenary, other

Looking back, it is clear that God has always been involved in my life, even when I wasn’t seeking Him. Both my maternal grandparents were saved (I remember that Grandfather had a Greek NT) and active in St Andrew’s Methodist Church (now defunct) in the Highland Park area of Chattanooga; my uncle (as head Steward) and his wife (in the choir) were, too. Each of their three children has a Christian spouse and three believing grown children. My sister was a believer, and her only daughter has a Christian mate in PA. Evidently God chooses to work in entire families, at least in our case, and I am very grateful for His grace which has included me; certainly I have a goodly heritage.

My mom attended Centenary Methodist Church on McCallie Avenue downtown where she sang in the choir; she also sang at another church across the street, next to a pharmacy that I frequented. We sometimes ate at Fehn’s restaurant, where my favorite was the turkey sandwich. When not singing with the “cherub” children’s choir (Mom sometimes fondly said I had “perfect pitch”), I often napped or read in a pew. I enjoyed the hymns and pictorial stained-glass windows.

My sister went to Berea College in KY, where she worked in the school’s restaurant. After her senior year, she married her college sweetheart in Centenary’s Kate Lyle West chapel; I was their ring-bearer. After a brief divorce, they remarried; later her husband was killed in a car accident. During their second marriage my sister gave birth to their daughter, Rebecca.