Hebron Crossroads 7-27-03
By Jeff Gill

What a sight, what a sound: about a dozen couples standing at the close of a worship service, all in unison renewing their wedding vows.

Along with Sherman and Evelyn Clay celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, we had everything from a couple with 59 years of marriage under their belts (thanks Forrest and Ginny Sands!) to a couple getting married next year sitting among all these veterans standing, whispering the words to each other for practice.

That was way cool, to use a mildly unministerial term, and I just hope to get to do it again someday!
It was also good to have Randy Clay back to preach; he’s a Timothy of our congregation, as we call those who go into the ministry after being raised in a particular church, and also the head of Suran Systems, which is one of the leading computer software companies focused on congregations. Randy has built quite a business up from scratch, which relatively few people succeed in doing. . .let alone clergy! Hebron has good reason to be proud of Randy.


While I’m talking church, let me note that this weekend is Vacation Bible School for pre-K through 5th grade co-sponsored by the United Methodist Church of Hebron and Hebron Christian Church, hosted this year at Hebron Christian, 610 W. Main St. We’re having an opening program Friday night at 6:30 pm for “What Did Jesus Do?” with an introduction to life in Bible times, and then all day Saturday, from 9 am to a family picnic at 4 pm. (Children in K or pre-K need to have an adult staying with them through Saturday to participate.)

We’ll be collecting an “offering” of light housewares and paper products for the Licking County Housing Coalition, to help furnish their transitional housing units. Saturday morning and in the closing program, as well as in worship Sunday, we’ll gather up paper towels, tissues, and toilet paper; also kitchen utensils, dishdrainers, liquid soap dispensers, and similar items.

The Coalition is always looking for these items because they go with the family as they leave transitional housing and re-enter the housing market, and each unit has to be refurnished. New sheets and towels are also welcome!

Come on down and join us in our “WDJD?” theme, and if your church still has a VBS in August, let me know through the contact info at the end of the column.


A regular health and safety note for everyone around this time of year: remember that our landscape is changing as the corn grows. Driving up to intersections you may be used to “coasting” through is a very different experience, with the stalks now roof high even for pickups and minivans. Lines of sight are blocked, and even stop sign intersections require an extra measure of caution.

This lasts only a few weeks a year, but in our otherwise level or rolling rural landscape, we’re not used to treating every corner like the intersection of two streets in downtown Columbus. For a little while, they’re all that, and with school out and kids about on bikes, we all just need a little more care.


Last weekend there was a very nice wrap-up cookout for all the Bicentennial Wagon Train participants down US 40 at Herb-and-Ewe, which hosted a lunch stop for the “Path To Statehood” caravan. We enjoyed the glow of a job well done, and also just plain done. Everyone was intrigued to hear that at the closing day in New Paris, which Marcia Phelps attended on our behalf, the wagoneers had a meeting about doing two weeks next summer crossing Indiana along the old National Road. Some of us may just have to do a road trip in summer ’04 to see how those Hoosiers do with hosting a wagon train.

Anyhow, I hadn’t been to Herb-and-Ewe since long before their new building went up. Barb Wade has a wonderful business there with herbs and myriad scented products and garden plants and ornaments, which can be seen most days from 10 am to 6 pm, with lunch from 11 am to 2 pm served in their roomy dining area or on the porch overlooking a stretch of the old US 40 road bed.

The food is great, as I can now testify, and even my Little Guy enjoyed running all over the terraced gardens and landscaped areas all around.

Barb is also hosting the stray murder mystery dinner and other special programs; keep your ears open for the next event at Herb-and-Ewe. . .i know I will!


Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and grower of a few pots of basil, sage, and rosemary; if you have thyme to tell a garden story, e-mail disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066.