When our oldest child, Jesse, was just a
toddler, we began a tradition at birthdays: we would tell “the story.” We would
tell the story of the day/night our child was born. Jesse’s begins, “Your Nana
was visiting to help Mom with the new baby. That Monday evening, Mom was
upstairs, tired from cleaning the kitchen all day....” Meg’s begins, “Dad was
at work at the college, and Mom was getting her morning shower when all of the
sudden....” And, Andrew’s begins, “We decided to go out for supper because Mom
had determined that all the shelves in the kitchen needed to be re-papered...that
day! The kitchen was still a mess when we left for Cracker Barrell...” Now,
even though our children are all adults, after we’ve had the cake, they will
urge us, “Tell the story, tell the story....” And we do.
Joshua and the people of Israel are about to
take up permanent residence in the Promised Land. They have come through the
wilderness. They have battled hunger, thirst, depression, and armies. God has
brought them to where they are, and Joshua reminds them of this. You see, they
are about to make it to their goal. They are about to settle in. And, if they
don’t remember where they’ve come from, they won’t remember who they are. If
they don’t remember how they got to this place, they may not remember who to
worship in the future. So, Joshua tells them the story...again. Listen to the
story:
Joshua 24:2-13
They are where they are because God has been
with them. They are free from the slavery of Egypt because of what God has done
for them. They are in this new land—new to them—and they are taking up
residence without having to build, reaping harvest without having to
plant...all because of the work of God. Then must remember the story if they
are going to live well in this land.
How often do we remember our story—our story
as a congregation? Where did we come from? How did we get to where we are
today? What and who made possible this congregation, this sanctuary, the
ministries of this church? Listen to a story:
1749 – The
city of Camargo is established on the southern side of the Rio Grande by Jose
de Escandon.
1751 – A
flood ravages the town of Camargo, and many residents move to the north side of
the River. This new settlement is first called Rancho Carnestolendas, then
Rancho Davis...and eventually Rio Grande City.
1848 – The
north side of the River becomes territory of the United States after the
Mexican-American War.
1859 – Henry
Clay Davis, founder of the newly established Rio Grande City, requests a
minister from the West Texas Conference, and Rev. Oliver Adams is appointed to
the “Brownsville-Rio Grande Circuit.” Methodists meet in homes for prayer,
singing and Bible-study.
1875 – The
first Methodist pastor is appointed to Rio Grande City—Rev. Clemente Vivero.
Methodists continue to meet in homes for services.
1878 – Land is
purchased for a sanctuary--$75!
1882 – A sanctuary
is built; an identical sanctuary is built for the Mexican Methodists in
Camargo.
Doors – Left for the men to enter
and right for the women to enter!
Bell – forged in 1856; purchased
for the congregation by Mr. J.P. Kelsey
1917 – First
parsonage built next to church.
1943 –
Two-story annex constructed (during WWII) – educational space.
1947 – First
bilingual Methodist service initiated – English-speakers still meeting in homes
are invited to join Spanish-speakers.
1950 – Brick
parsonage built next to church.
1972 – Dr. M.J.
Rodriguez dies and his family (members of the church) sell the Rdz. Mem. Hospital
to the church for $8000 – Education Building.
1974 – Third
parsonage built (the “old parsonage.”)
1979 –
Congregations splits—primarily Anglo members leave to form new congregation in
the Southwest Texas Conference. St. John UMC is born.
2007 – Church
purchases Palm Circle home—fourth parsonage.
2009 –
Congregation celebrates sesquicentennial – 150 years.
2015 –
English-language conference (Southwest Texas Conference) and Spanish-language
conference (Rio Grande Missionary Conference) unite to form the Rio Texas
Conference.
2016 –
Administrative Council closes the Methodist Day Care and converts Education
Building into the Methodist Community
Center
· Wesley Nurse
Program – serving the underserved
· Community
Counselor – counseling services for individuals, couples, families
· Nuestra
Clinica del Valle – health-related services for community
· Driskell
Health Care – program for first-time mothers
2019 - ....?
Two things strike me as I look over this
history, a history compiled by our beloved Mrs. Olga Saenz. First, our
ancestors in the faith did whatever was necessary. They built the Annex during
WWII because there was a need for educational space. This was during a time of
rationing, a time of scarcity. But, the need was there, so they built it. In
1974, they built the ‘old parsonage’...and do you know how they paid for it?
They held a big dinner every November—someone donated a small cow to be slaughtered
and cooked; members brought all the veggies from their gardens—and by selling
these food-plates, they paid for it.
The second thing I see (or don’t see) are all
the years that aren’t mentioned, all those years when nothing ‘notable’
happened. Very important things were happening in those years. On our timeline,
we have 14 or 15 years mentioned...of the 159 years of our history! What
happened in those other 144 years? I’ll tell you: the people called Methodist
gathered, and they prayed, and they worshiped, and they gave, and studied
Scripture, and they encouraged one-another, and they invited friends and
neighbors to know God and to know this congregation, and they worked, and they
painted, and they repaired, and they witnessed, and they loved, and they cared.
In short, they were the Church...everyday, everywhere they went. Oh...and they?
They is we. This is our story.
Joshua called the people to remember who they
were because they were about to dive into the daily business of life. They
needed to remember who and Whose they were. Before they got there, they needed
to make a conscious decision about their identity. Before the tribes separated
and when to their assigned holdings, they needed to remember their common
identity.
Before stepping out into any grand endeavor,
it would do us well to remember who we are and where we have come from. Before
that young person goes off to college, maybe Mom and Dad should sit down and
tell them the story. Before that young man or woman goes off to serve in the armed
forces, parents should sit down and tell the story. Before that little one gets
on the bus for that first day of school, that would be a good time to tell the
story. Then evening before that son or daughter makes those wedding vows, that’s
a good time to tell the story. And, today, as we stand before 2019, it was a
good time to tell the story.
While there is no assigned time in the church
calendar for remembering our congregational story, what if we determine that on
second Sunday of October every year we will tell the story; we will remember
who we are and Whose we are? And then, on this day each year, the minister will
read aloud the words of Joshua—those powerful, decisive words:
“Now fear
the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your
ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the
Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for
yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served
beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are
living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
And all the people will respond:
“Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! It was
the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from
that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He
protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we
traveled. And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the
Amorites, who lived in the land. We, too, will serve the Lord, because he is
our God.”
We will honor and remember our story and all
of those who have gone before us.
Still, my brothers and sisters, this story—the
Joshua story—is only the beginning. We have another story to tell as well—the story
of our encounter with Jesus, like the story Paul told that we heard in our New Testament
reading this morning (Acts 26:1-18)—but, that story must wait until another
day.
Let us remember today what God has brought us
through and this moment that God has brought us to. And, let us endeavor to go
forward faithfully in this place of promise as God’s people. Someday, years
from now, someone will be here telling our story...and it will be their story. Let's give them a good story to tell!
~Amen~
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