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300 seniors praise God and country
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
© St. Petersburg Times, ST. PETERSBURG -- The generation for whom Pearl Harbor was a personally searing moment and not simply a story line for a movie gathered from churches around Pinellas County this week to celebrate the nation's independence and to pray for its salvation. Theirs was no half-hearted muttering of the Pledge of Allegiance or forgetful mumbling of the national anthem. Instead, robust recitation and song filled Clearview Baptist Church. They even sang the second verse of the national anthem and pledged allegiance to a red, white and blue Christian flag "and to the savior to whose kingdom it stands." Billed as "America the Beautiful Senior Adult Praise Celebration," Tuesday's program drew more than 300 people. It was a gathering sponsored by the senior adult coordinators of the Suncoast Baptist Association, an organization of 65 Southern Baptist churches in Pinellas and west Pasco counties. "We just sort of started this out as a lark," said Bill Hastings, a member of Clearview Baptist who organized the event with Mickey Burroughs of First Baptist Church of New Port Richey. Though the men joked as the event got under way Tuesday, there was an underlying solemnity to the program. "We're thanking God for this country," the Rev. Paul S. Elmore, pastor of Clearview Baptist, 4301 38th Ave. N, said the day before the celebration. "We are thanking God for the freedoms we enjoy and we're praising him because we feel that all good things come from him." Hastings, 75, led the opening prayer. "Folks, we need to get back to the basics again," he said in preface to his petition. "Today, as we gather here in thanks for the Fourth of July," he then prayed, "we want to pause and thank you so much for your gifts and love. We have a problem. This nation is declining, and your people need to get back to you." Burroughs introduced guest speaker Dr. John Thompson, 77, clinical professor of neurological surgery at the University of South Florida school of medicine and a longtime member of Fifth Avenue Baptist Church. Thompson, who also is in charge of the neurosurgery clinic at Tampa General Hospital and on the active staff there, was 17 when Pearl Harbor was attacked. In his speech this week, he recalled the anguish that Americans faced that day. "Everybody my age was very much changed by the announcement of Pearl Harbor, because we knew we were at war," he said during an interview. "At that time, there was tremendous patriotism. Men and women, boys and girls were very patriotic at that time. Many of my classmates were killed in the war," said Thompson, who was a cadet colonel in the Hillsborough High School ROTC and went on to serve in World War II. Dressed in the naval uniform he bought in 1950, he told the audience at Clearview Baptist Church of his experience serving in a MASH unit during the Korean War. He went on to draw a parallel between America's hard-won freedom and the freedom Jesus brought to mankind with his death. At the end of his talk, Thompson, an honorary member of the staffs at Bayfront Medical Center and St. Anthony's Hospital, received a standing ovation. Sitting toward the front of the sanctuary Tuesday were several members of Keene Terrace Baptist Church in Largo. Garnett Meyers had made the trip especially to hear the afternoon concert by John Wilson of WTVT-Ch. 13 and his wife, Mary K. Wilson. "I watch John on the news every night," she said. Phyllis Dowdna, who moved from Akron, Ohio, less than a year ago, had traveled to St. Petersburg because she wanted to learn more about the Tampa Bay area. Sitting next to her, Yvonne Stahl was there "to take part in the celebration." "To praise God for our country," added her husband, John. "There are those currently who are out to destroy what America stands for," he said, adding that he abhors what he sees as America's current culture of death. "The USA does not stand for the United States of Abortion," Stahl said. Rather, he said, Americans should "affirm life, liberty and the pursuit of Godly happiness." Later the crowd, many clad in patriotic colors, ate a traditional Independence Day meal that included hot dogs, hamburgers and baked beans. It was a successful event, said Hastings, Clearview Baptist's director of senior adult ministries. "Everybody wants us to do it again next year," he said, adding that the Independence celebration is just one example of the activities his church offers senior citizens. Not all events have a religious theme, Hastings said. "There are a lot of needs for seniors. No. 1 is companionship. In the fall and spring, we have a meeting once a month and have a speaker. So many people come here and their families are up North . . . and by the fellowshipping you become a family," said Hastings, who has been married to his wife, Maxine, for 53 years and has two sons and four grandchildren. Additionally, said Hastings, "There are a lot of seniors who have not received the Lord and it is a good ministry to find some of these people and bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ." Elmore, Clearview Baptist's pastor, said his church, which averages 125 in attendance at Sunday services, has a good mix of senior citizens and younger families. An occasion like the Fourth of July gathering serves an important function, he said. "We desire to minister to all age groups and to let them know that God loves them," Elmore said. "We especially recognize that having friends and having someone to spend time with is important. There is a lot of loneliness in this society, and we feel that we have an answer with the love of Jesus Christ." For Hastings, a World War II veteran, there is little distinction between loyalty to his faith and that to his country. "Most of us are old enough we remember back when the Fourth of July really meant something," he said. "This country was founded on God. We have it on our money. . . . I am concerned about the moral and social decay of this country. If you search history, you will find that so many of the powerful nations had moral and social decay. The British Empire. Look at the Roman Empire. Look what happened to it. They decayed from within. That could happen to this country. We are on the verge of it. Morality is in the past. The only answer is God."
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
