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Johnson Temple’s children enjoy a story
telling session led by Crystal Tharpe during the church’s
May Day celebration this year. The church has grown from
seven children to 25 since beginning an active youth
program designed to appeal to youngsters. |
It was almost losing her own grandchildren and one of her
daughters that Roberta Taylor of McKenzie says makes her
"more determined than ever to save children."
She had already set out on her mission to help bring more
children into the Johnson Temple C.M.E. Church when she
received a call at the Methodist Hospital where she worked
in McKenzie.
Her daughter, four grandchildren, and several cousins had
been en route to the carnival following the Fish Fry
Parade in Paris when they were broadsided by another car,
knocking them into the side of a building.
When Roberta got the call, details of injuries were still
uncertain.
"When I left the hospital going to Paris I didn't know
what I was going to find," Roberta says in a dread-tinged
voice as she recalls events that seem to have happened
just yesterday, although two years have passed.
"They didn't tell me how bad it was, just that they had to
transport them. When somebody calls and tells you that you
could possibly lose all four of your grandchildren and
your daughter at the same time, it takes you to a
different level," she says with thankfulness mingled with
a greater appreciation for life and love.
With the prayers of family and friends providing a firm
foundation of support, Roberta set out for the Vanderbilt
Hospital in Nashville where grandsons Keenan and Corey had
been transferred among fears that Corey could lose his
eyesight.
The long trip to Nashville was made easier by co-worker
and friend, Nancy Crossett, who, Roberta says "dropped
things like they were her grandchildren and took me to
Nashville. I'll always be grateful to her; she stayed with
us and cried with us and prayed with us."
Although Corey endured days of uncertainty regarding his
eyesight and plastic surgery from cuts caused by flying
glass, Keenan escaped with less serious cuts and abrasions
and the other children were unhurt.
"I was overjoyed!" Roberta declares. She returned to the
work of her church with greater resolve, her mission of
bringing children into the fold made more precious by new
awareness.
The Johnson Temple C.M.E. Church's mission for children
began under Reverend Henry L. Cunningham. Originally from
Jackson, Roberta says he came to the church a bright and
ambitious young man with a great zeal for God."
"He stressed very often that the church was in us, not the
building," Roberts recalls. "He told us that the church is
in your heart. He also told us that the Bible warns us
that when God returns, he is coming back after 'His
Church'."
Reverend Cunningham noted, says Roberta, that the church
family had a strong line of "God-fearing people" dating
back to the late 1800s when the Collins Chapel Methodist
Colored Church was organized under Reverend A. F. William.
In 1941 the church had relocated to its present location
on Walnut Avenue near Webb School and changed its name to
Johnson Temple C.M.E. (Christian Methodist Episcopal)
Church.
For well over 100 years, the church thrived as generation
succeeded generation, with many of the original names in
the church represented throughout the years: Key, Nolan,
Allen, Haynes, Jones, Wells, Curtis, Moore, Puckett,
Barham, and Cole, with one key name personified in the
church's oldest member, Mrs. Ida Hughes, who recently
celebrated her 100th birthday.
Roberts recalls other older members of the church who were
a great influence in church and community, including "the
smiling and inspirational Mrs. Marion Harris" and others
who "are either in nursing homes or have passed on."
Roberta mentioned names special to her like Mr. Albert
Curtis, Mr. Theodore Glenn, Mrs. Thelma Marshall, Mrs.
Arnetta Haynes and "two very special women" in her life,
her mother, Nellie Howard, and Mrs. Eddie M. Horton.
Despite the fine lineage of members, the attendance of
young people was very low at the time Reverend Cunningham
entered the scene. With plenty of children in the
community to draw from, the reverend's question was "Why?"
"He reminded us that most times if you wanted (something),
you had to go and get it - it just didn't come to you,"
Roberta recalls. "He quoted the scripture, "Ask in the
name of the Lord and it shall be given. Seek and you will
find."
The words hit home and members began contemplating ways of
bringing children into the church, confident that if
attempted "in the name of the Lord, it would be
accomplished."
The group knew attendance had not always been short among
young people; the church had been an important part in the
lives of many outstanding adults.
Roberta outlines the importance of the church in the youth
of previous years, saying, "Johnson Temple has helped in
the rendering of a dentist, Dr. Deborah Woodard, and
teachers Sarita Oglesby and Ruby Hillsman. Many of our
former youth chose occupations in the medical field, like
Janice Hartsfield, Judy Johnson and others. Some choose
jobs that weren't of the professional nature, but they
were vital to the well-being of others, such as military
careers; it takes all kinds of people to make the world go
round."
As each generation arose, some chose to travel in
directions away from McKenzie, pursuing their dreams in
larger cities. The livelihood of the church - its children
- was eroded. Roberta herself had once been a part of this
exodus, having returned to McKenzie in 1965 from
Milwaukee, Wisconsin after the death of her father, as her
mother had relatives here.
Undiscouraged by the low level of youth involvement,
Reverend Cunningham reminded his flock "the youth of today
will be the church of tomorrow."
"We knew we must put our hearts, minds and willingness to
trust God to work," says Roberta. "With God's will being
done, we would soon have the 'pitter-patter' of little
feet back in our sanctuary. We knew that to have children
in the church, we had to have something to offer them;
there had to be ways to keep them interested."
With the guidance of "the Holy Spirit, Reverend Cunningham
and Mr. James Barham", a member who returned to the church
after living in Florida for several years, the church
brainstormed ways of enlarging the youth department.
"We weren't naive to the fact that even though we wanted
to keep our children's interest, we couldn't neglect the
real reason for wanting the children back into the church;
we want to plant into their minds, souls and hearts, at an
early age, that no matter what road they choose in life,
following the map that God has drawn will make their
destination a lot easier to reach. We also wanted them to
realize that building your life on a solid foundation will
give them something firm to hold on to. Learning about
Christ at an early age is like riding a bicycle, once you
learn the fundamentals, you never forget them."
Mr. Barham was appointed Director of Young Adult
Ministries and Roberta became Director of Children and
Youth Ministries. The first item on their agenda was to
pray and ask God for the "know-how" to bring young people
into the church. They counted as strength the children and
grandchildren of present members, with around seven youth
and eight young adults active in the congregation. Knowing
"charity starts at home and spreads abroad," the children
were encouraged to bring friends and classmates to church
with them.
Roberta's inspiration for seeking out young lives came
from the timeless wisdom of the Biblical verse Reverend
Cunningham had proffered, "Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find" (Luke 11-9), as well as that of
previous first-lady of the church, Mrs. Jeannie Haney, who
was the wife of Reverend Charles Haney who had immediately
preceded Reverend Cunningham in leading the church.
"Whenever we were a little slow about something that
needed to be done, Mrs. Haney would sweetly remind us
that, 'Whatever you are doing for Lord, we needed to give
it our all,' Roberta recalls affectionately. "You are not
supposed to 'half-step' on anything that you are doing in
the name of Jesus."
Thus guided, Roberts prayed for the right words to say as
she began visiting children and parents in her
neighborhood.
 "I
asked the parents if the children could please come to
church with me. I went from door to door wherever I saw
children. I even went to houses where I didn't know if
they had children or not. Some of the adults accepted my
offers with open arms, some said they would think about it
and some just plain told me they weren't interested. They
wouldn't have time to get the children dressed for church,
they said. Although I got many rejections, I didn't let
that hinder me. I kept praying, seeking and asking, all in
the name of Jesus. If they told me that their child would
be there on Sunday, I would start on the weekend reminding
them about what they had told me, always remembering that
persistence pays off and that anything worthwhile requires
a lot of hard work and determination. You can't quit at
something you want when the chips are down - if at first
you don't succeed, try and try again!"
Far from judging the parents who didn't feel they had time
to get their children ready for church on Sunday mornings,
Roberta understood. "Parents are so busy with their lives
and there are a lot of single parents," she relates,
appreciating the extra challenge of single parenthood.
True to her motto, when rejected, she simply waited awhile
and tried again. Light-hearted and personable, she teased
parents about seeing her phone number on caller ID and not
answering the phone.
Without a church van, as numbers of youth attending the
church grew, members made several trips by car to pick up
children needing transportation.
"That is where the hard work and determination comes into
play; you have to do what it takes to get what you want
done. Because God is the great and powerful God that he
is, today Johnson Temple C.M.E. is truly blessed," Roberta
says, glowing as she speaks of the children.
As a part of their commitment to children, the church
"rediscovered the joy of Vacation Bible School" after
several waning years, while Mr. Barham helped young adults
learn to use their "talents for the Lord" through the
Johnson Temple Community Improv Team and Mrs. Haney
inspired a "great angelic choir" of young ladies, ages
four to 13, in forming the "Johnson Temple Heavenly
Angels", programs that continue to encourage and delight
young and old members of the congregation.
"With the help of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we
have been blessed with 24 children, four of which we
received in last two months," Roberta declares
enthusiastically. "They all haven't joined church, but we
are working on that."
Seeds planted unawares soon began to sprout as growing
needs were met by people like Demetria Strayhorn who asked
if she could teach Junior Sunday School Classes. Her
initiative sparked increased interest as others became
involved in helping with the children, including some
their parents.
"Our goal is to get them all to help us," says Roberta.
"When Mrs. Sharon Weatherford's schedule permits, she is
there - and where would we be without the love and
guidance of Mrs. Annie Buchanan and others," she
continues, mentioning several names while being conscious
of inadvertently omitting important workers.
"To all those who have contributed, I say 'thank you',"
she states sincerely, counting herself as just one of many
who contributed to the blessing the church has received
through its children. She stresses the importance of the
church's success as an illustration of "the power of the
Almighty God."
"I just want people to see that all things are possible if
you only believe, trust and put God first. God's work will
stand until the end. With all that is going on in today's
times, we need to brag and boast about the Lord to
everyone we see. The Bible reminds us not to be ashamed of
knowing the Lord. If there is one thing that you should
have a desire to forget, Please don't let it be Jesus."
Her plea to all churches is, "love the children. Not only
your church," she stresses, "but children everywhere. Let
them know you care about their future. Most of all,
remember to tell them often, 'When all else fails, try
Jesus. He is never too busy for us. He will be there until
the end."
She is passionate in her insistence that adults "be there
for all of our young people, whether they are in church or
not.
"Your word of encouragement may be just the word that will
bring them to Christ," she says. "Be persistent in being a
part of young people lives and insist that they let you be
there."
Plans are underway to begin a mentoring program at the
church that is part of Reverend Cunningham's dream to
bring the entire community together in helping to make
youth grow into productive adults.
As for Roberta, who has also initiated a ministry at the
Carroll County Jail and spends enjoyable time assisting in
the care of an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Milton
Strayhorn, she says, "I think if I can do this the rest of
my life I'll be content. There is so much that needs
doing; I just hate I waited so late in life to get going."
While her current enthusiasm may feel new to Roberta, she
has always been involved in some aspect of helping others,
working at Head Start as a cook and assisting with the
children early in life, then working with the Northwest
Tennessee Elderly Nutrition Center where she helped with
the preparation and delivery of meals for senior citizens.
She worked at Methodist Healthcare - McKenzie Hospital in
food services for 21 years, also functioning as a
dispatcher for Emergency Medical Services for a time.
Her jail ministry evolved after corresponding with nephews
who were incarcerated. Her offer of consolation, guidance
and Biblical teaching through letters to the young men
soon branched to others who had become their friends in
prison. "We're so quick to judge people who have made
mistakes," Roberta laments, her positive focus remaining
on the future.
Her "lifelong dream" is to become a funeral director in
the capacity of consoling families, and she is currently
seeking funeral homes where she may apprentice, with an
eventual goal toward obtaining a funeral director license.
"I'm just about God's business," she sums up.
Roberta is the mother of two children, Radreka Taylor and
Crystal Tharpe, both of whom are active in the church.
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