Lay speakers called to Harwood

 

By James Huet
Harwood is one of those whistle-stop towns that dot the Central Texas landscape, following the westward expansion of the railroad in the 1800s.
Harwood UMC was officially set up Oct. 7, 1876. The building was a large, two-story meeting hall where the Methodist Church and local school gathered.
The second floor was used by the Masonic Lodge No. 468 until it joined the Hopkinsville Lodge at Waelder.
The original building is no longer there. The story goes, and photos attest, that members had services at a severe slant for a long time before they finally decided to tear the building down for the sake of safety.
Yet this congregation refused to surrender. Members dismantled the old building with much difficulty and built the facility that stands today.
Numbering less than 50, with an average age in the 60s, the people at Harwood UMC are as progressive and stubbornly independent as the early pioneer churches in which the laity managed their affairs.
When Pastor Leonard Shanklin was incapacitated for several weeks by a car accident, Lay Leader Ken Flukinger called on Austin District Superintendent Kim Cape. The congregation needed someone to fill the pulpit.
Cape forwarded the request to Emmett Eary, director of lay speaking ministries for the Austin District.
The response was immediate, and we had a schedule of speakers for six weeks. They included Myron Remington, Eben Files, Bill Cain and Jim Huet.