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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
October 2001 |
Windsor
UMC:
A story of hope, invitation and cookies
By Matthew Oates
Hoosier UM News Correspondent
- Windsor UMC, Muncie District
- Pastor: The Rev. Bob Sellers
- Members: 27
- Average Attendance: 28
- Location: 616 South County Road 1250 West
WINDSOR, Ind. -- The Rev. Bob Sellers was fixing coffee and praying that his members and their baked goods would be at Windsor UMC by 1 p.m. to talk to the Hoosier United Methodist News. And during that wait, Sellers told of how he had beaten the odds and done the exact opposite of what everyone has told him to do.
When Sellers was about 40, he was fighting cancer. It was beating him so badly that doctors gave him about six months to live. After several conversations with God ("He and I had quite a few talks," recalls Sellers), Sellers decided to enter the ministry when he recovered. Eventually, he retired completely from serving the Ball State University and Muncie police forces and got his license to preach.
One of his assignments brought him to Windsor UMC in Randolph County, where he was told he most likely would be the last pastor there.
Like the cancer, that idea was scuttled. The church has brought more joy, healing and help to its neighbors than anyone ever expected. "The Lord has his hand in everything that goes on in this church," says Sellers.
The church members reach out and help their neighbors on a frequent basis. They've helped find emergency housing for residents, pay heating bills and pay for school supplies. They even visit a Parker City nursing home and have services once a month. "They pack the dining hall," says Sellers.
"This is a typical country church. It's here for the people," says Sellers. But the people are working for God and the church. When asked why they go to Windsor UMC, they all reply that they were invited. "We were invited when we first moved out here," says 52-year member Bob Ulrey.
"It's just always been home to us," says Cathy Peperak, who has been attending the church since she was a child. Peperak's great-grandfather, Walter Huston, used to take care of the church building and grounds. And every Sunday, no matter if the church was packed or not, he would sit in the same chair in the middle of the main aisle along the back of the church. To this day, that spot is sacred, as the old pulpit has been placed to rest there.
Shirley Gullett recalls how long-time member Lee Chalfant went door-to-door in the community, inviting people to Sunday worship. "I started going myself with Genie (Lee's wife) and Lee and gradually through God, got (husband) Brian going. I'm not sorry that I've done it."
Hazel Tyler is the church's long-time piano player. She started coming to the church in April 1944 and the next week she became the permanent piano player. She's gone through one piano and is working on number two, which was bought about three years ago.
The activities are diverse: there's Sunday worship, where drama and liturgical dance occasionally appear; a Tuesday night Bible study; choir practice on Wednesday; and an active UMW unit. Also, there are the annual gospel sings where the church becomes packed for the music and the home-cooked food. "You'll find some activity around here every day of the week," says Sellers.
Virginia Sellers, the pastor's wife, even talked about the power of prayer in tiny Windsor. People who don't go to the church even want to be on the prayer chain, because they know the church will pray for their needs. Every Sunday night there is a prayer meeting where the joys and concerns of the church, community and world are brought together. "It's a very close-knit time. We're just really reaching out to the Lord in prayer," says Virginia.
The white clapboard church sits a house away from the corner of the main intersection. It's near the headwaters of the White River and is home to the Windsor Mound, where Native Americans settled around 70 B.C.
Rich red carpet runs at a slight slant from the top of the main seating area and then rises a step over the chancel. Red-padded pews await a community that has worshiped in some way, shape and form at the church since 1850.
The two-story church houses a full kitchen that is known community-wide as helping to nourish people's physical hunger. When someone in the community dies the UMW starts cooking and invites the family over. A recent expansion was completed in 1995, with many of the church members chipping in, painting and other construction tasks.
Hollis Griffey was preparing to have surgery and remembers Sellers coming to visit and praying with him. Griffey and his wife, Louise, commute almost 20 miles to the church. "That's why we're here -- the love and the outreach of this church and their members."
Last updated on 01/14/2004