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| Eternal Flame given to Ebenezer in Honor Of Mr.& Mrs. John Marion Newell By Their Children |
| " A Tribute to Mr. John Marion and Mrs Tulah Newell" |
| Ebenezer Church
was truly blessed to know strong leadership during the years following the unification of
the northern and the southern conferences of the Methodist churches ( 1939 ).Many members
in the south, not knowing what to expect from the new United Methodist church, left their
home churches to worship elsewhere or to help organize Southern Methodist Church. Ebenezer
was among those whose Membership drastically reduced, but fortunately a strong group loyal
to the church remained, led by the superintendent of Sunday school, Mr. John Marion
Newell, who was equally dedicated to preserving Ebenezer. Mr. Newell, who was a descendant
of the former educator and minister, Reverent Ebenezer Newell, was a devout Methodist who
was willing to give time prayer, and his best effort to this task. His sincere, humble, but
eloquent prayers easily identified the source of his faith in the future of his
church. With the support of the congregation, he recruited Sunday school teachers, visited
delinquent members, and encouraged remaining members by the example of attendance and
dedication set by him and his family. His personal character and high moral standards won
for him the respect and admiration of the community as well as his church; these
principles were passed on to his family of eight girls and one son by him and his equally
devoted wife, Tulah Hughes Newell. The eternal flame placed in the Ebenezer sanctuary expresses his family's love and appreciation for their parents who by example and teaching in the home and church prepared them to carry on the tradition of support for the churches where they worship today. This flame also reminds the congregation , young and old, of the valuable contributions this one member made to Ebenezer in a time of crisis, to preserve the strong, viable church which we enjoy today and which MR. Newell, through the eyes of faith, must have envisioned during those lean years. Additional evidence of his continuing spiritual influence can be recognized in his three grandsons who are ministers, one of whom was nurtured and sent out by the church he did so much to keep alive. ( Mrs.Mildred Johnson ) |
