Tag: Ed and Fleeta Sunday

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National Sunday School Teachers Day

Today is National Sunday School Teachers Day, so in honor of this I will tell you about several that influenced me.

Not surprisingly, they are all from Owasso, not that the ones that came after them were bad, they just couldn’t really hold a candle to those that came before them.

Let’s get started, first up, Caroline Hall, this amazing woman realized she had a bonafide nerd in her classroom. She worked at the Baptist Book Store in Tulsa, she would bring me books on all sorts of topics. She taught me why Freewill Baptists believe the way they do, she brought me books not only regarding our denomination, but others, and other religions. She knew how to get through to the nerd in me, she was amazing and after all of these years I still remember her fondly and remember the things she taught me.

I will also say this, she gave me my first piece of OU swag, which I still have to this day. She was also the first to come to my house after my son, Michael, passed away.

Next up, Grace Wimberly, this woman was incredible, I remember the first day of the new year of Sunday school she stood in front of the class and said this is the same stuff we learn about year after year. I have to teach from the lesson plan, but we can get through that in about 5 minutes. What do you all really want to learn about? My hand shot up so fast it would have made your head spin. My bestie Tammi sighed in exasperation, she new that the nerd in me was coming out full force. I said Revelation, I want to learn about everything in that book. She said ok, and she accepted the challenge, she made charts, little books for all of us, hand made, this was the days before computers were ubiquitous, handmade pie charts, graphs and the book was put together by her and her husband Al. I’ll never forget how she made me feel, like what I wanted to learn was more important than a cookie cutter lesson, created by people who didn’t know us. She was caring, she was straight to the point, said what she thought and meant what she said. I learned asking questions and doing research was the way for me to delve deeper into the Bible.

Ed and Fleeta Sunday, they taught as a couple to young 20 somethings. Fleeta said something one Sunday that really hit home for me. She said that with everyone concerned about what was on television that they forget about what they are consuming when they read. Me being a huge reader, well that hit home, because at that time I would literally read anything. That is not always a good thing, I learned to fill my mind with things that would propel me closer to God and also expand my capacity for learning. This includes fiction, I do love fiction, but I am picky about what I read.

Thank you to these Sunday School teachers that helped form who I am today. You gave me the resources to understand why I should have the courage of my convictions. You taught me to question, and to search out the answers to my questions. You taught me that God had made me exactly the way I was supposed to be.

If you know any of these (except Grace, she’s in heaven now) please tell them I said thank you.

Who are some Sunday School Teachers that influenced you?  And why? I would love to know other peoples experiences.

As usual, any comments, questions or criticisms can be left here or sent to me at angie@angieworld.com.

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First Freewill Baptist Church of Owasso

Watching the Andy Griffith show this morning reminded me of the church I grew up in, The First Freewill Baptist Church of Owasso. Now it is called Rejoice Freewill Baptist Church of Owasso, or maybe they took the Freewill out of the title, I’m not sure.
I know someone who has put down the church recently, saying they didn’t learn anything there. I found that shocking as I learned so many life lessons in the church in Owasso.
I learned humility, they practice feet washing, something I believe has been lost, I remember when I was a teenager and the feet washing ceremony was going to happen. In my snotiest voice I told my mother there was no way I was doing that, it was disgusting. My mother looked at me, raised her eyebrows and said “Angie, do you think you are better than Jesus Christ himself?” I said no ma’am, she said Jesus himself washed his disciples feet, how could I put myself above Christ. It drove the point home, we are no better than the other, I happily participated after that.
I learned giving from Al and Grace Wemberly, they were not native Owassoans. They moved to Owasso when Brother Al retired. I never found out what he did or how they came to choose Owasso. I’m simply blessed that they did. They were couponers before it was all the rage. However, they would add up how much they had saved and put that money in a jar. In late May they would bring the money to the church and tell them to use it to pay for a child to go to church camp that could not afford to go otherwise. I was the recipient of their generosity one year, as my parents were retired and their budget did not allow for that. I never knew we had a budget by the way, as I had everything I ever needed. The designer clothes and shoes I wanted, my parents told me to get a job and work for those, it was a good lesson.
I gained knowledge of other religions and learned Catholicism was a different denomination not a different religion thanks to Caroline Hall. She worked at the Christian Bookstore in Tulsa and insisted we study other thoughts and beliefs so we could better understand why we believed the way we did. It was a revelation to read about other religions in the world, she told us that to understand how someone believes is to respect them. When you respect someone they are more open to listen to how you believe and respect you in turn.
I learned that what I put into my mind was just as important as what I put into my body. In a class taught by Ed and Fleeta Sunday, as a young adult, they led a class on the importance of filling your mind full of good things as opposed to worldly things. Your thought process is shaped by what you put into your mind. If you only fill it with negative and unclean things what will your view of the world be like? It changed the way I choose my reading material to this day.
The First Freewill Baptist Church shaped who I would become. From Leonard Pirtle’s sermons, filled with life lessons laced with humor, to watching adults serve others, to  Sunday School teachers that cared enough to go beyond the surface lessons. I am fortunate indeed to have grown up in that place, in that time.
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Monday Thoughts

I wear a lot of hats, first and foremost is mother, then grandmother, I write a blog so everyone can see what goes on in my head, I do a radio show with my good friend Shanon Jay of KHVN, then there is my J. O. B. where I help people with their Internet. And the hat that sits above all of them is Christian. That’s the hat that I hear irritates some people. Well then I consider it a hat well worn.
People have the erroneous tendency to think of Christians as meek, mild, complacent creatures. I guess those people have never read the Bible. If they had said individuals would realize we are indeed radicals, free thinkers given free will to decide for ourselves how we believe and why we believe the way we do.
I spent my childhood learning the bible, reading it and as I matured, understanding it, as an adult applying the principles to my everyday life.
I had the great fortune to have some of the best Sunday School teachers in the world. Grace Wemberly, Caroline Hall, Ed and Fleeta Sunday, simply the best. There in Owasso, Oklahoma not only did I receive an amazing secular education I received the best religious, Christian education as well.
I believe it was by Devine intervention that I arrived in Owasso, there is no other explanation. I will be forever grateful that I was adopted by my mom and dad and raised in a place I could expand my mind and my soul.