A Senior Moment
Seniors Speak on What Keeps Them Rooted in the Adventist Faith
Oftentimes, seniors in our churches are rarely heard from, or acknowledged as having a wise voice. But at Southeast, there are three senior women who have a voice that is worth hearing. These are the voices of the McKinney sisters, better known as Helen Brown, Mary Chapman and Verdais Johnston.
I met with these three sisters, who were born in Kellyton, Alabama, and were raised in Cleveland, OH. Their parents had eleven children, and Mary is the oldest of the three. They had a Baptist upbringing, and enjoyed going to church as young people. What led them to the Adventist faith?
Verdais, the most conservative of the sisters, was the first to accept the Adventist faith. She attended a tent effort lead by Pastor R.T. Hudson, on E.130th Street and Abell Avenue, over 50 years ago. The tent drew me like a magnet and I was just overwhelmed. After attending a few nights, she told her mother, “boy oh boy, those people are really preaching the truth down there. They are telling us what the Bible says and I don’t even own a Bible.” Verdais continued to attend, brought more guests and won herself a Bible. Later she became a member and has been an Adventist for about 55 years.
Helen, the quiet sister (much like her mother) spoke about how her sister Verdais “kept bothering her.” Verdais told Helen, “You’re alright, but you just don’t keep the Sabbath.” Helen, on the other hand, felt she was o.k. At the time, Helen was caring for some children, and was visiting her brother-in-law in the Lee-Harvard area. She stopped to see what was happening at a tent effort that was being held by Pastor King Solomon Smallwood around 1977. She attended a few meetings and later joined the Adventist faith here at Southeast and has been a member ever since.
Mary, the most outspoken of the sister, stated that although she en-joyed the Baptist church, she felt that “something was missing.” She said, “Lord, there is something missing and I’ve got to make a change. One sister goes here and one goes there, but I’m not satisfied. Something was really in my heart to make a change.” So she attended the tent effort with her sister Verdais on East 75th Street and Kinsman, held by C.D. Brooks. Mary says she enjoyed the meetings and after much prayer, she was baptized and joined Glenville SDA Church. She has been an Adventist for about 50 years.
My second question to the sisters was what keeps them rooted in the Adventist faith, as some things have changed? Helen’s response was, “regardless of what is going on, I try to always do and say the right thing. If you call yourself a Christian, you do what the Lord says to do regardless of what someone else is doing.”
When asked what they see as the major challenges for new members, the sisters agreed that things are not the way they used to be. According to Verdais, “I really thought when I joined the Adventist church that I was next door to glory. I just felt like eve-ryone in the church was doing what they were sup-posed to do. When I looked around and didn’t see a soul wearing earrings, I just removed my earrings and said, “Lord I’m not wearing this anymore and I deleted that from my life. I went to Bible classes and learned the Adventist doctrine, and things I was supposed to do. Men wore suits and ladies came with the best they had. When you come to church, you want to give the Lord your best.”
Upon comparison, Helen’s good friend, who was a member of the holiness faith, loved to praise the Lord at her church, and Helen loved that. But Helen noticed that upon joining the Adventist church at that time, it was extremely quiet and reverent, “you couldn’t even say Hallelujah.”
The final question I presented to the sisters was, “What advice can you give the youth in our churches to help them overcome struggles in faith and remain in the church?” Verdais answered, “Prayer and parents should spend quality time with their children.”
- Leslie Anderson
