24
October 2015 SR
SR
The dictionary says that commitment is a
promise to do or give something, a promise
to be loyal to someone or something, the atti-
tude of someone who works very hard to do
or support something.
Does commitment still exist today? Can we
still find people today that we can call committed
people? Are you and I committed to the Lord,
to our church, to each other? Many times we
look around and see a world that has thrown
this word out the window — with the exception
of being committed to self. Even in our
churches, many times we attend the Sabbath
service, yes we become a member, but are we
committed to being a vital part of its ministry?
Are we committed to putting God and the work
of His Church first in our lives, ahead of our
personal desires? If you say that you are going
to do something, do other people know for a
fact that it will be done, or do they see you go
off and do something else that strikes your
fancy, leaving God’s work undone? Psalms 37:5 says, “
Commit
your ways to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will
make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the jus ce of your
cause like the noonday sun
.” Proverbs 16:3 says,
“Commit to
the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
And in
1 Peter 4:19 it says,
“So then those who suffer according to
God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator
and con nue to do good.”
Commitment is not a word that we should take lightly.
When we commit ourselves to a task, we need to put our all
into it and be sure that we complete it to the best of our ability.
When we commit ourselves to the Lord’s work, we have a special
responsibility to succeed — through that commitment we are
representing not only ourselves but we are representatives of
the Church and the Lord himself. He has told
us that He will never leave us or forsake us.
He will be there with us each step of the way
if we commit ourselves to Him.
I would like to tell you of someone who
made a commitment and then stuck to that
commitment even though everyone would
have agreed that it was above and beyond
the call of duty. When we were asked to host
the 2015 Conference in Lancaster, PA, I knew
that we would need a bus driver to transport
the youth from PreCon at Jersey Oaks to
Lancaster; to transport the kids to youth
activities at Conference; take a busload of
people to
Sight and Sound
. In 2009, we had
two people who could do this. This time we
had only one. I asked my sister-in-law, Jan
Moncrief, if she would be willing to drive the
bus and she said yes. Fast forward to this
spring — I found out that Jan had to have an
ankle replacement on her left foot the first
week of July. My thought was, “What will we
do now?” Well, the surgery was completed
and she rested. She told me that she didn’t use her left foot to
drive and that she had committed to driving the bus and that
she would still do it — with God’s help she did. You didn’t see
her around much because she had to go back to the motel in
the evenings and put her foot up and rest it. I didn’t know until
after we were home just how much that was hurting her and
how nasty-looking the incision was. But through it all she had a
smile on her face and a praise for the Lord.
Commitment
. That is commitment. Are you and I ready to
complete our commitments under conditions like that?
Thanks Jan for showing us what real commitment is like.
God is good!
— Steven Moncrief
Shiloh SDB Church, NJ
TANNEY
– Donna Jeanne Spooner Tanney passed away
Sunday, July 19, 2015, at the Presbyterian Home, after a
brief illness. She was 12 days short of her 91st birthday.
The daughter of Jean and Verah Honer Spooner, Donna
was born July 31, 1924, in New Hartford, NY, where she spent
her early childhood. Most of her life was spent in Brookfield,
NY. She was predeceased by her husband, Charlie Tanney;
her parents; and three brothers, Robert, William and Mac
Spooner. She is survived by six children, James Elliott
(Sharon), Thomas Elliott (Barbara), Debra Lattimer (Roger),
Nancy Elliott (Jim), Douglas Elliott (Terry) and Daniel Lum, as
well as 21 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.
As well, she is survived by her stepchildren (Charlie's seven
children), many of whom have continued their contact with
and caring for her. Donna was a member of the Seventh Day
Baptist Church in Brookfield, NY, where she enjoyed teaching
Sabbath School and performing special music. She labored
over distant family history to the beginnings of the Town of
Brookfield to author a book of local interest, The Eternal Hills.
Donna and Charlie owned and operated The Gates Hill
Homestead, an area favorite for sleigh and stagecoach rides.
She was also very active in the Brookfield Historical Society
and the Travellers Club in Waterville. In recent decades, her
passion was genealogical research with a focus on the early
families of Brookfield Township. She was very proud of the
part she played in acquiring an historical plaque for Mertilla
Miner in the township.
Calling hours were on Thursday, July 23, at the Brookfield
First Baptist Church, followed by the funeral service. Interment
following the service was at the Brookfield Cemetery. Funeral
arrangements were under the personal care and direction of
Jeffrey T. Paul of the Paul Funeral Home of Brookfield.
OBITUARY
Commitment
