Knox Presbyterian Church

Congregational life for Knox Wanham remains fairly stable in 2008. Phillip Yancy’s books What is so Amazing About Grace and The Bible That Jesus Read provided great material for our bible studies. We had a six week Community Children’s Outreach Program in the spring, and the community’s Tiny Tot’s Preschool Program continues to take place in our building from October to April on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We were not able to have a Youth In Mission Team this past summer to run a vacation bible school, as there were no applicants, but God provides! We organized our own VBS,
using the Cokesbury Curriculum "Beach Party". When it was discovered that Bethel Chapel, another Church in the hamlet, was planning to hold their VBS at the same time, we combined forces and had a wonderful week together here at Knox, with over 30 people participating. We have ecumenical participation through the World Day of Prayer, June Plowing Match Church Service and, for the first time, we took part in an area-wide Good Friday Worship Service. In April our congregation hosted an area-wide Women in Ministry Luncheon. During the Christmas season we hosted our 3rd annual Afternoon Tea, the 23rd Annual Candle Light Service and a late evening Christmas Eve Worship.

It was a long hot dry summer. Three counties, including the one where we are situated, declared drought disaster due to the lack of rain. Many farmers had about half the normal yield of their crops this past summer. The cattle market continues to be uncertain, so it has taken its toll on the surrounding communities in the Peace River area. Nevertheless we count our blessings with a large amount of gratitude, and are thankful for God’s providence. We look forward to the coming year and the continuance of God’s grace.

Our biggest challenge was replacing rotting substructure that was discovered in late 2007 in a routine building inspection. Sills and floor joints had a lot of rot around the outside walls. Moisture in the crawl space has been an ongoing issue for a number of years. Obtaining the services of a contractor proved almost impossible, so two men in the congregation took on the project in the fall. With the occasional help of others from the congregation, the work was completed in mid November. The first step was to dig around the Church and install drainage tile. Then they went into the foundations by cutting through the lower portion of the walls, removing the damaged wood, and replacing it with treated wood. Their dedication was very much appreciated by the congregation. On December 14th we had a special worship service to re-dedicate and bless the building.

Fundraising continues to be a part of our ongoing activities, much of it through catering to community events and luncheons for funerals and memorial services. We sold fire wood to a local camp ground. We also host a Spring and Fall Community Supper and Silent Auction. Both events are well attended and the community looks forward to them.

It was a long hot dry summer. Three counties, including the one where we are situated, declared drought disaster due to the lack of rain. Many farmers had about half the normal yield of their crops this past summer. The cattle market continues to be uncertain, so it has taken its toll on the surrounding communities in the Peace River area.

Nevertheless we count our blessings with a large amount of gratitude, and are thankful for God’s providence. We look forward to the coming year and the continuance of God’s grace.

—The Rev. Shirley Cochrane