Senior Adult Ministry: Senior Spotlight

Bill Flatt

Interview By: Hannah Walters

The great William (Bill) Perry Flatt was born in Newburn, Tenn. on June 17, 1931. He grew up on his family’s cotton farm where he regularly attended the local Methodist or Presbyterian church (wherever the pastor was that week) and he spent his childhood summers making rounds to the four surrounding churches. His chore was to draw water which he claims was his “ambidextrous talent.” Not only did he grow up in a church and family-oriented environment, living within five miles of his grandparents, he was also was surrounded by what would end up being his life career: agriculture.

His love for agriculture started when Bill was six years old and he began working on his family’s farm picking cotton. Most of us pray for fluffy white snow to let us get out of school. In Bill Flatt’s childhood, kids got out of school for fluffy white cotton! School kids would get several weeks off to work on their parent’s farm and they got paid by the pounds of cotton picked. Devoted to the church at an early age, Bill began tithing with his first earnings as a cotton picker because like his grandmother would tell him, “Billy, the first ten percent you earn goes to the Lord!” The other money he earned, that he didn’t give to the church, Bill saved for college.

First, Bill attended Bethel College, a Cumberland Presbyterian College where he met his lovely wife, June. They married when he was just seventeen years old. He was later a Deacon at Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Knoxville after they transferred there to attend the Univ. of Tennessee. June was editor of the campus newspaper. With no more cotton fields to pick in the city, Bill worked as a traveling salesman to make money to pay for both his and June’s tuition. After receiving his undergraduate degree, Bill attended Cornell Univ. in Ithaca New York, where he earned a PHD in Animal Nutrition, Biochemistry and Physiology.

Being a triple major doctorate-degreed man, or as one could say, the Agriculture Guru, Bill and June moved to Beltsville, MD just outside of D.C. to work. There he was head of an energy metabolism lab where he worked to increase the efficiency of dairy cows to produce as much milk as possible with the least amount of feed.

Finally, in 1969, Bill and his family moved to Athens. At first, his daughters wanted to attend the Tuckston Methodist church. After they graduated and moved out however, Bill and June began attending Athens First Presbyterian Church in 1973. As he says, “Sunday, it was time to go to church. It was something we did, you know.” He describes this devotion to attending worship as enabling him to question his fundamental faith in a good way so that he can grow and really understand and strengthen his beliefs.

As clearly an avid church-goer, Bill has many favorite practices. His favorite verse is the classic John 3:16 and his favorite hymn is “Amazing Grace.” In fact, in a year he spend working in Scotland to verify the agriculture research he’d done here in the States, Bill says he heard “Amazing Grace” performed many times on the bagpipes. Not only is Bill Flatt a great Christian, he is also a great athlete! When he was in his sixties and taking care of his wife, June, who had tragically developed a debilitating disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome, Bill realized he needed to get active because, in his words, “I needed to be healthier so I could live longer to take care of June.” He achieved this by working out devotedly to Richard Simmons “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” workout video. Bill works hard at everything he does, he even got a call from Richard Simmons himself on Bill’s eightieth birthday and Richard sent him his newest workout video for free!

Obviously we can all look up to Bill Flatt on how to live our lives. Devoted, hard-working, intelligent, kind, and always happy, Bill Flatt is a beacon of light to strive towards, fellow Christians.

Pre-race Worship Service Draws a Crowd

Attendance doubled at our second annual 6 a.m. pre-race worship service before the Athens Half Marathon. Close to 100 people huddled together in the Atrium to keep warm on chilly morning to enjoy a brief time of singing, prayer, and inspiration.

Many runners who attended came from other cities, and expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to enjoy a worship experience before tackling the hilly 13.1 mile course.

Elders Bertis Downs, Kitty Donnan, Denise Horton and Drew Brantley served as readers. Julie, Sam and Claire Thompson led the singing and accompaniment. Parish Associate Bob Googe inspired us all with a timely message. After the service, participants enjoyed Jittery Joe’s coffee and access to clean bathrooms and free parking.

Here are comments we received from runners who attended:

“It was simple, meaningful and helped me throughout the race, and the day in general.”

“It was a great way to start a great day.”

“It was a terrific service and a great way to start the Half-Marathon.”

“The service this morning was wonderful. Thank you, again, for perfect start to race day.”

First Presbyterian had 24 members or relatives of members complete the race. Two members came home with age-group winner awards – Mary Catherine Smith and Carol Robinson.

Here’s the order in which they crossed the finish line:

• Mary Catherine Smith
• Jessica Ward
• Andrew Whitehead
• Julie Osborne
• Julie Thompson
• Christina Iwane Dunn
• John Dunn
• John Eric Schleicher
• Richard Williams
• Denise Horton
• Bob Googe
• Tommy Jackson
• Madie Fischetti
• Daniel Thompson
• Steven Havick
• Sam Thompson
• Chuck Toney
• Dan Horton
• Ashlee Schleicher
• Katie Pinson McNeil
• Kielly Dunn
• Carol Robinson
• Sarah Latimer
• Bertis Downs

Thank you to coordinator Megan Sperr, co-captain Drew Brantley and Jessica Owens, Elizabeth Brantley, Kitty Donnan, Addie Downs, Chuck Hunt, Jimmy Klein, Bryan Owens, Claire Thompson, Leslie Trier and Allison Shelton who represented First Presbyterian Church at the mile 12 water station.

Let's Cheer On Our First Presbyterian Runners!

On Sunday, October 23 at 6:00 a.m., our church will host a community pre-race worship service before the 7:00 a.m. second annual Athens Half Marathon. The Rev. Julie D. Thompson and The Rev. Bob Googe will lead a brief 15-20 minute worship service in the Atrium before they line up to run the marathon. All runners, volunteers, and fans from the community are invited.

Proceeds from the race will benefit AthFest’s music and arts education programs in local schools. The race begins at South Thomas Street behind the North Campus Parking Deck. It will wind through the UGA campus, through several of Athens’ distinctive neighborhoods, and along the North Oconee River before returning to downtown for the finish on Clayton Street.

More than 25 First Presbyterian Church members and relatives of members have entered to run, including:

• Bertis Downs
• Christina Iwane Dunn
• John Dunn
• Kielly Dunn
• Madie Fischetti
• Bob Googe
• Steve Havick
• Dan Horton
• Denise Horton
• Tommy Jackson
• Sarah Latimer
  
• Katie Pinson McNeil
  
• Julie Osborne
• Carol Robinson
• Ashlee Schleicher
• John Eric Schleicher
• Mary Catherine Smith
• Daniel Thompson
• Julie Thompson
• Sam Thompson
• Chuck Toney
• Jessica Ward
• Andy Whitehead
• Richard Williams

The Invisible Community

We all have done it. We have all walked right past and averted our gaze, sometimes pretending to talk on our phone, sometimes pretending to dig in our purse or bag, sometimes pretending to not even notice. This is how they received the moniker "The Invisible Community." Of course, I am talking about the homeless.

On Wednesday, we received a firsthand experience of this. We volunteered at an organization called Street Sense, which produces newspapers, written by the homeless containing news on current issues and topics. The paper is produced every two weeks. Vendors (homeless people who choose to work to earn money) purchase the paper for 35 cents from Street Sense and in turn sell the paper for $1. The profit is kept by the vendor and used to purchase more papers the next day, food for the day and shelter for the night. Vendors stand on a street corner and sell the paper to passer-bys. Most people ignore the vendors and walk right past, assuming they are dirty street people.

On Wednesday, we became vendors for the morning. We paired with Michael, a gentleman who is currently down on his luck, but has a plan on how to rise above his situation. During rush hour traffic, he normally sells the paper. In the afternoon, he buys and sells water outside. The money he makes that day helps put a roof over his head and food in his stomach. For two hours, our group stood on four different corners selling Street Sense. Many people walked right past, never even glancing at us. Some people pretended to talk on their phone, or crossed to the other side of the street so they did not have to engage us, or found a reason to not notice us. Some people looked us in the eye but kept walking without a word. Some acknowledged us with a brief head nod or even a kind word. Some even engaged us in conversation about what we were doing and why.

After two hours of selling newspapers, we only sold roughly 20 papers. In two hours. As profit, we only made $13 for Michael. We talked about how we would survive if we only have $13 to spend on the necessities for the entire day. It was a tough conversation. Thankfully, by the grace of God, many people gave a donation to us and did not want to take a paper from us. In total, we were able to give Michael $228 (including a very generous man who gave a $100 bill to one of our youth). Michael was beside himself. He had enough money for the day and told us he was going to put some of it aside to help put a deposit down on an apartment. He was many days or even months away from that dream, but with God's help, we moved him in the right direction.

We experienced firsthand what happens when we are ignored, when people intentionally walk right past us and do not engage us at all. On Tuesday evening, we had a discussion with two current homeless people who are trying their best to earn enough for a place to call their own. Andre, a very passionate and energetic man, told us the most hurtful thing in his day is not being acknowledged as a human.

The biggest thing we learned from Tuesday's seminar and Wednesday's experience was to speak, say "Hello," and smile to the homeless we see. This is something we will forever hold with us. We are all God's children and we all need other human interaction.

High School Mission Trip to Washington, DC -- Happy Memorial Day

After two days of traveling from Athens to Washington, DC, we arrived safe and sound. We woke up really early Monday morning (5:30 a.m.) to prepare for our first work site: So Others May Eat (SOME). We helped to prepare, serve, and clean up from serving over 400 people breakfast and 400 more for lunch. The work was hard, but very rewarding.

Those we served were genuinely pleased to see us and our smiles. For six hours, we worked in a hot kitchen alongside other volunteers and SOME staff members. What we did today, they do every day. SOME does not close for holidays, bad weather, or to take a day off. Hundreds of people, men and women, rely on the hot meal provided by the "five-star restaurant" that is the SOME dining hall.

While discussing the needs of the clients of SOME, it was mentioned that men's underwear is a particular need. If you would like to help fill this need, please contact Adrian Martin at amartin@firstpresathens.org. While SOME primarily deals with feeding people, they also have career counseling, clothing services, health services, and much more. Check out their website at http://www.some.org/.

This first day has made quite an impression on our young people. With four more days serving in our nation's capital, I anticipate many more positive experiences similar to ours today while serving SOME. Please continue to pray for us and the work we are doing. Pray that lives are transformed, not just those we have come to serve, but the servers themselves, too.