TRIUMPHANT DAY WITH THE WHIPPO SIDE OF THE FAMILY

Like most families, we have two sides to ours: the Haire side and the Whippo side. I’m going to talk about the Whippo side today.

Debbie and I created this merger in August, 1973.  We immediately established our independence by moving eight hours away from both families for three years while I attended seminary in Kentucky.

Debbie is the ‘first-born’ of a family of nine children: Debbie, Danny, Laurie, Cathy, Janie, Wally, Ginny, Tommy and Barbie.

I was the ‘baby’ of the Haire family with a sister fifteen years older – Jeannette.  I have no memory of ever living with her in the house, Then my brother, Ira, was twelve years older. I barely remember sleeping in the same room with him until he graduated from high school and left home for New York.  Beverly was seven years older and I’m sure I was an absolute pest to her!  From the age of eleven on, I was raised like an only child.

When we returned from Kentucky I was ordained and appointed to my first church in Harrison City, PA.  Somewhere in and around that time, my father-in-law, Ken, gathered the family in the living room and explained that Debbie and I were going to be in the ministry. He explained the pressures we would be under and suggested that the family should always be a safe zone for us. If we talked about our church, the family should keep our confidence!  The farm was to be  a safe place for us where we were treated normally.

Although Ken and I were not close [he was still Mr. Whippo to me at that point], I deeply appreciated his intervention and understanding!

That was fifty years ago, and the Whippo family HAS ALWAYS BEEN A SAFE PLACE FOR US!  Debbie’s brothers and sisters and their wives and husbands have added untold value to our lives! They have served as a circle of friends, a prayer group and a source of encouragement and help over and over again! We have vacationed together and shared meals at one another’s homes.

Our three T’s grew up with Charlie and Laurie’s kids almost like they were all siblings! Camping trips at Pymatuning Lake took place summer after summer!

For ten days every July we shared the experience of being together at the Tri-State Free Methodist Family Camp where Debbie and I first met!  For ten days all of us ate, played, went swimming, and worshipped together! 

In more recent years we’ve camped with a gang of the family (and some camp friends) every Memorial weekend and Labor Day weekend!  Even now, when we worship on Sundays, we see three of Deb’s sisters and two of her brothers in church and Sunday School nearly every Sunday!  

____________________________________

This Friday, we drove to Owego, NY, to attend the wedding of a great niece: Alexandra Senko [Danny’s daughter Mandy’s (and Scott's) oldest child]. It coincided with the town of Owego’s Annual Strawberry Festival, so many of us came on Friday to enjoy the festivities.

Owego outdid itself with a downtown array of vendors, concerts, fireworks and on Saturday a parade that went on for an hour and a half!  Totally enjoyable!

Then, Saturday at 3:00 PM, we gathered at Tioga Gardens for Jacob Dove and Alexandra Senko’s outdoor wedding! It was a stunningly beautiful setting and was clearly and carefully thought through from beginning to end.  No flaws or faux paus – just perfection!

Then we walked a short distance to a large, shaded pavilion where we found our seats and enjoyed the reception for the new bride and groom!  Music, hors d'oeuvres, the bridal dance, the cake-cutting, dancing, a luscious meal and tables full of cookies filled the next several hours!

Whippo family members were present from New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, Illinois, Alaska, Ohio and Connecticut.  Hugs were exchanged. Introductions of new members were made! Conversations filled the afternoon!  Love was evident everywhere you looked!  A family that values relationships and looks eagerly forward to celebrations that occasionally bring us together! 

Congratulations to the new Dove family!  May they enjoy their honeymoon and the true beginning of their life together!  Also to the Senko family for a job well done! I think anyone present would declare that it was A PERFECT DAY! 

Watch Night Service

New Year's Eve, when I was a kid, was marked not only by the preparation of sauerkraut and pork, but also by the traditional 'Watch Night Service'.

What is a 'Watch Night Service'?

It was a worship service that was intended to end one year and begin a new one.  It was typical of a traditional worship service, with music, singing, worship, preaching and prayer.  Most were characterized by testimonies.  In these testimonies, people would confess shortcomings and commit themselves to more faithful lives in the new year.

Every 'Watch Night Service' I ever attended ended with everybody gathering at midnight around the altar to bring the new year in with prayer.

When I was a teenager, my home church (New Brighton, PA Free Methodist Church) coordinated a 'Watch Night Service' with several other area Free Methodist Churches.  One of these was the Rochester, PA, FMC.  My future wife and her family attended this church - although, at the time, we were merely acquaintances.  I particularly remember that night because her father, Ken Whippo, was delegated to bring the message.  Ken was a layman and a relatively new believer who was growing fast under the biblical tutelage of his pastor, Fred Schreffler.  I don't remember the message - after all, I was a teenager - but I remember being impressed with him and his delivery.

During my younger years, I sort of liked these 'Watch Night Services'.  Most people attended as families, so there were plenty of other kids to be with. These services often began at 9:00 PM, and went on till a little past midnight.  Occasionally, we would have refreshments, although that kind of thing was not as common in the 1960's as it is now.

But, gradually, the popularity of these services began to wane.  As a teenager, I recall being the only young person in a crowd of much older people.  Then, even the crowd began to dwindle.  If I'm honest, I have to admit that I came to dread these services.  The last place I wanted to be at midnight on New Year's Eve was around an altar, holding hands with a bunch of old women!

I think I was 16.  The 'Watch Night Service' had come to travel from church to church since no one church could rally up a significant enough crowd. That particular year, the service was scheduled at the Aliquippa FMC.  As I recall, there were about thirty people present;  I was the only young person.

I had asked permission to leave a few minutes before midnight to go outside to hear the bells ringing, the fireworks and the horns blowing.  My mom quickly refused.  However, my dad took me out to the car and handed me a road flare.  He over-ruled my mom and told me I could leave the service at 11:55 PM.

WOO HOO!

I brought 1969 in waving a road flare at 1301 Davidson Street, all alone - but happy!  And with a renewed appreciation for my Dad (who I think was smiling while he prayed at the altar).  Somehow, I think God was OK with my not being at the altar that year...