National Sponsors
December 16, 2003 The Hinton News | ![]() |
©
The Hinton News. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 6 (6 of 12 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
December 16, 2003 |
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader ![]() |
6 - Hinton News Tues. Dec. 16, 2003
Comment
A Wandering Jew
By Brian D. Boyle
it is said that a person can better
be judged by their deeds than by
their words. In other words someone.
can have a big mouth that may
irritate the jam out of you but if you
look at them closely and they
consistently treat their fellow
human with respect and if they do
good things it does become easy to
overlook the minor faults• Such is
the case for a town like Hinton. It
can often be judged by its deeds as
well.
A few weeks ago during open jam
at Froggys Restaurant someone
tugged at my arm and said that
there was something of an
emergency downstairs and they
asked ifI could come down and help.
It turned out that a citizen of Hinton
had come across a man who by very
unusual circumstances had found
his way into Hinton. He was not all
that clear in describing the
circumstances of how he had come
to be in here. He was from Los
Angeles we learned. I am not going
to mention any names in this article
because no one who became involved
in this story did so because they
wanted recognition. Instead
everyone concerned got involved
because they simply wanted to help.
It turns out that one of the first
things we learned was that this man'
was a devout person of the Jewish
Faith. He had been with some other
people who had come east because
they were roller coaster enthusiasts
and they had come east to ride some
of the big ones we have on the east
coast. He had been to Bush
Gardens. Shortly thereafter, for
reasons that are complicated to
explain, the people he was supposed
to return to LA with apparently
abandoned him. He was left east of
Richmond, Va. He did not have
enough money to take public
transportation. So he set out
walking west following Interstate 64
more or less. The small amount of
money he had ran out pretty quickly
and he became increasingly hungry.
He said that he didn't get many rides
and basically walked from
Richmond Va. to W. Va. To
complicate things he told us he was
diabetic and the lack of food was
having an effect on his reasoning. It
whose answering machines
contained the garbled messages I
had left came walking in the door.
Suddenly we had Christians and
Jews and some folks that had just
met each other all working together
to help this man on his journey. He
obviously needed shelter as well as
food. We also were trying to get him
to a Temple because they could best
accommodate him with respect to
the precepts of his faith.
We all thought of the irony of a
wandering Jew landing in Hinton
looking for a Temple where none
existed. Furthermore he hadn't even
made his way to any of the churches
but had landed in a restaurant
which became the base of operation
to help this man. It was truly an
unusual occurrence. But one thing
was absolutely clear• There was a
group of folks who were all working
together to help this man.
Soon contact was made with folks
from the Temple in Beckley who
agreed to put him up at one of the
Hinton Motels. On this night when
he came to our town he found
shelter, food and a group of
compassionate peoplel He was even
reluctant to trust any of us. This
was understandable given his
circumstances. I believe his lack of
eating and the fact that some folks
may have wronged him along the
way in his travels made him suspect
some of us. The next day another
local person took him to Charleston
to a synagogue and then they helped
him on his journey west by sending
him on to Chicago I think.
In some ways when this man
landed in our town he apparently got
some real help on speeding up his
journey west. In a way he was lucky
to have come here.
If all of us citizens of Hinton took
the time to be more compassionate
and helpful to our close neighbors
here the same way this group of folks
bonded and worked together to help
this man Hinton would become an
even better place to be.
This was a late fall story but it is
the essence of the Holiday season.
Respect for all faiths and lending a
helping hand to those with troubles
is what the holidays are all about.
The next time you set out to do
Pastor Appreciation Day at
Friendship Baptist Church
Shown above is Rev. Joe
Spencer, Pastor of Friendship
Baptist Church, Forest Hill, WV.
By Mrs. Becky Spencer
On Sunday morning the
congregation of Friendship Baptist
Church honored their pastor with
Pastor Appreciation Day Mr. Jody
Spencer opened the services by
introducing his father and mother,
Pastor and Mrs. Joe Spencer. They
were seated and Pastor Spencer was
presented with a boutonniere of a
white rose and Mrs. Spencer was
presented with a corsage of white
roses•
Under the direction of Mrs.
Stephanie Spencer, the Youth Choir
sang "Jesus Wants Me For a
Sunbeam." Miss Taylor Garcia
played "Jesus Loves Me" on the
piano• She was accompanied by her
brother Vic Garcia. Pastor Spencer
was all smiles as he listened to these
beautiful children sing praises to the
Lord.
Mr. Jody Spencer, one of the
deacons of Friendship Baptist
Church, then came and read from
the Bible the many responsibihties
of a pastor. Speaking for himself and
the members of the church he
thanked his father for his
faithfulness and his dedication• Mr.
John Waltman gave a reading
entitled "Out Pastor" and presented
Pastor Spencer with a plaque from
the church. After the presentation,
Mrs. Kendra Ratliff sang "A Wall of
Prayer."
Mr. Jody Spencer read scriptures
on the responsibilities of the pastor's
wife and thanked his mother, Mrs.
contributed to making him confused
d paranoid. He Was becoming
rustful of others."
| Now being of the Jewish Faith he
tried to adhere to its customs with
respect to eating kosher foods and
various other teachings and rules•
This was.;complicated for him
because many of the places he had
been had small populations of his
faith. Hinton has a small Jewish
population as an example. Someone
had given him a ride to Alderson and
then it was not entirely clear how
he came to be outside a store on our
By-Pass when a caring person from
Hinton noticed him and took the
time not to be indifferent.
In my book indifference to our
common humans when they have
troubles is one of the worst
characteristics of a human. It is
always easier to walk away then Go
become involved when someone else
is in need• Even more remarkable
is the first person from Hinton who
decided to help this wanderer was a
woman who might naturally have
had a reason to fear a strange man.
But help she did. She had brought
him from the By-Pass into town to
see if he could get some help at one
of the churches when she apparently
noticed all the folks who were
around to hear the music going on
in Froggys that Monday night• She
stopped and came in to the
restaurant. He was extremely
hungry and the proprietors
immediately fed him. They tried to
accommodate him with respect to
the things his faith allowed him to
eat. He was in search of a synagogue
where he might get help from other
folks of his own religious faith• But
face it-- he was in a Christian town.
I was a minor player in this small
human drama although I am sure
that his troubles were not small to
him. I was asked if I knew any
people of the Jewish Faith who
might be able to point him in the
direction of a synagogue that might
help him. Some of you might not
know that a synagogue is a place of
worship for the people of the Jewish
Faith. I knew many of the small
Jewish folks around our county and
many are my friends. So I started to
place some calls to some of them and
getting quite a few answering
machines-- it was frustrating me.
To further complicate things,
because he was so disoriented, my
appeal for help was somewhat
disoriented as well since I was
unable to exactly explain his
troubles and how he came to be in
our town.
There is a word called providence.
I think of it as being a little different
than fate although similar. It just so
happens that some of the people
something that hurts someone else Becky Spencer, for the support she
take a moment and pictureyoursetf gives to her ' husband and th
as a wanderer in search ofote 0.ncournffi sl. the church
help That person you dt:'h '' " ''r
• ' ' :' ' ' Mrs:!a a cia'read a poeni :
might be the person who could help entitled, "To Our Pastor's Wife." Also
you. Think about it. We all need help
sometimes. Just the same I still look
forward to those holiday meals.
2004 GARDEN CALENDARS
AVAILABLE
The WVU Summers County
Extension Service is pleased to
announce the arrival of the 2004
Garden Calendars. Quantities are
limited so feel free to stop by our
office and pick one up.
Normal business hours are 8:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mon. - Fri.
Ballengee Farm Club Members can
pick up their calendars at Dillon's
in Talcott.
KLINKENSCHNELL
Klinkenschnell The Christmas
Bell presented by the youth at
Countryside Baptist Church on
Saturday, December 20th. at 3:00
p.m. and Sunday, December 21st. at
6:00p.m.
All are welcome to come and enjoy
a refreshing musical remembering
the true meaning of Christmas!
MIHOW PROGRAM IN NEED
The MIHOW Program is in need
of Maternity clothes. If you have
anything to donate please call 466-
2226 and ask for Peggy or Pain.
Mrs. Kendra Ratliff read 'The
Pastor's Wife," and Mrs. Wanda
Moten read "Our Pastor's Wife•"
Mrs. Joyce Waltman presented a
lovely silk flower arrangement from
the church to Mrs. Spencer• Mrs.
Wanda Moten then sang a beautiful
solo "He Didn't Throw The Clay
Away•"
Mr. Wayne Bradley made a
presentation of a Love Gift from the
church to Pastor Spencer• Mr. Victor
Garcia gave a reading entitled "A"
Pastor's Heart."
At the closing of the service, Mr.
Russell Gil, a deacon of Friendship
Baptist Church, came and prayed
for the Lord to continue to bless
Pastor Spencer and guide him as he
leads our church• After the service
the congregation came and greeted
Pastor Spencer and thanked him for
his ministry to the church.
The service was filled with
surprises, smiles and tears. It was a
day Pastor and Mrs. Spencer said
they would always remember and
cherish.
Pastor Spencer was certainly
surprised by his congregation on
Sunday but he was also surprised
by special treats that came to his
home everyday the following week.
On Monday, he received a large
tZhe "00tace"
206 2nd Ave., Hinton Ph: 466-3151
Give
that
someone a special
gift from The Hair Place
Gift Certificates Available
Matrix Amplify Shampoos & Conditioner
Duo (Reg. $20.90 for $11.oo)
Matrix Color X Duo - Reg. $20.90 for Sn.oo
Matrix Biolace Reg. $19.90 for $11.oo
150 - Multiplicity Shine
with free Make-Up Case
Reg. $30.00 Now $27.00
ISO Multiplicity Volume
With FREE Make:Up Case
Reg. $39.00 Now $27.00
ISO Multiplicity Shine Trio Reg. $30.00
Now $15.oo
ISO Multiplicity Volume Trio Reg. $36.00
Now $15.oo
• Merry Christmas! •
breakfast basket filled with
homemade bread, jams, coffee, coffee
mugs, candy and candles. Tuesday
he received homemade cards from
the children's Sunday School
Classes. Wednesday the Ladies
Friendship Circle presented him
with a gift certificate from Ryan's.
Thursday night the men of the
church gave him a Love Gift. Friday
the ladies of the church prepared
lunch and brought it to the pastor's
home. On Saturday evening about
25 people from Friendship Baptist
Church came to sing several of
Pastor Spencer's favorite old hymns.
After singing, everyone was served
hot chocolate.
All during the week there were
cards of appreciation and telephone
calls from members of his
congregation. Pastor Spencer said
this was a week in his life he would
always remember and he thanked
his congregation for their love and
support.
Congratulations to those
celebrating Birthdays: Wanda
Moten, Stephanie Spencer, Pastor
Joe Spencer and Veronica Brunty.
Congratulations to those
celebrating Anniversaries: Mr. and
Mrs. Harold Richmond and Mr. and
Mrs. Dwain Friend.
Loaves and Fishes
Campaign Off To
Great Start
Loaves and Fishes had received
$1,740 in donations during the first
two weeks of its 2003-2004 fund
raising appeal. Its goal is $6,000•
Director Ron Neely reported that as
of December 11, 2003 14 donors had
made contributions. Fund raising
coordinator Jane Duffield
commented that this year's
donations are on par with past
campaigns: It makes me hopeful
that we'll soon surpass our goal. "It's
heartening to know that even during
tough times people remember their
neighbors in need."
The annual fund raising appeal
helps Loaves and Fishes provide an
array of services in Summers
County. They include a summer
camp, emergency food and utility
assistance, the Lost 'N Found thrift
store, the SHARE food buying
cooperative and a home gardening
project• All funds are fully tax-
deductible and are restricted to
helping persons in need in Summers
County• All donors giving $50 or
more receive a 2004 Wolf Creek
calendar• Those wishing to make
contributions may send them to
Loaves and Fishes, P.O. Box 56,
Hinton, WV 25951 or bring them by
the 127 Ballengee Street storefront
during regular office hours (Monday,
Wednesday, Friday from 10 a.m. - 2
p.m.).
Corner of 2nd Ave. and Ballengee St.
(Basement of HRDE McCreery Center)
Hinton Ruritan
Club
Mon., Tue., Thurs., Fri.
5 to ??
in the
HINTON AREA COMMUNITY CENTER
The members of the Hinto
Ruritan Club are in the process of
wrapping and taggging gifts in order
to be ready for Santa to give these
gifts to the boys and girls enrollea
in the Christmas Toy Fund gift
program. These gifts will be giveb
to the recipients Saturda:,
December 20th.
Many groups and individuals wi
meet with the members of the
Hinton Ruritan Club this week to
help wrap and tag all gifts. This
week is the culmination of all the
many weeks of preparation for th
event. Many children will haw
sponsors for their Christmas. May
children do not have sponsors. F
these children, the members of th'
Hinton Ruritan Club have bed
trying to raise the money to finan
the gifts. When wrapped and tagge
these gifts along with the others wffi
be given to the children for
Christmas.
Additional contributions will be
needed in order for the Hinton
Ruritan Club to pay for these gift§
:Donations may be mailed toi
Howard Creed, Chairman;
Summers County Toy Fund, Hinton
Ruritan Club, Box 477, Hinton, W.
VA. 25951.
Success is simply a matter of
luck. Ask any failure.
, --Earl Wilson
"Thank you Hinton and 00urrounding area
for making Southern Redb a 00ucce0000. We
couldn't have done it without yoM"
Tailgate - or Family Special
Dec. 18, 2003 - Jan. 31, 2004
1 Full Slab of Ribs
1 Pound Pulled Pork BBQ
1 Whole Smoked Chicken
2 Quarts of any Sides
6 Rolls, or an 8 pack of Buns
Only $29.05!!!+tax
Call 466-2233 to
Reserve Your Order
and Guarantee
Product Availability
Or
Come visit us Thurs. - Sat.
10:30 a.m.- 7:00 p.m.
We look forward to
serving you in 2004
"Southern Red's BBQ"