Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Old School: Reverend Neville Tinker

And in the dream I knew that he was goin' on ahead. And he was fixin' to make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark and all that cold, and I knew that whenever I got there, he would be there..."

- No Country for Old Men

During the tenure of Nevill Tinker, Gethsemane came for the first time to be on the border of an underprivileged neighborhood. There were several break-ins, as a result of which Tinker stepped up the community welfare program. He hired a director for the new Downtown Foundation and its recreational programs and basketball games. Finally, the church joined the Displaced Persons Project, and adopted a 17-year old girl from central Europe.

For the church itself, Tinker added a 9:30 service and enlarged the choir. He also taught adult education classes, and added an extra Friday Lenten service. Inspired, the Women's Guild increased their pledge. The whole congregation liberally contributed to missionary funds and church memorials.

In 1950, Tinker hired one Reverend Harlan Coykendall as curate, and it was Coykendall who took over Tinker's position as rector when he moved East one year later.

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