Wimberley Presbyterian Church

   Do you know anyone who has run 13.1 miles to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado and then run the 13.1 miles back down again! Well now you do! Please welcome new member and marathoner Susan Junkin to our fellowship!
    Having recently moved here from Colorado Springs, Colorado, Susan joins us by letter of transfer from the First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs. Susan is a graduate of the University of Texas Law School and is the sister of David Junkin, longtime member of our congregation. In contrast to David, Susan much prefers behind-the-scenes legal work, including editing of law books, wills and estate planning. She and David share a law office here in Wimberley.
    Susan has a special place in her heart for animals. One of the joys of her life is her Border collie “Crawfie” who is always by her side during her legal research work. (Crawfie does skip the marathon running!) Susan’s love for animals also extends to her diet, where she follows a strict vegan diet, eating only food derived from plants.
    Susan has completed 6 marathons and besides the aforementioned Pikes Peak marathon, she has run marathons in both Chicago and Washington D.C. There were actually over 40,000 runners in the Chicago marathon she completed! Susan is managing well the transition from Colorado Springs and is enjoying Wimberley. She does admit to occasional trips to Whole Foods in Austin to sample their vegan food. Susan has now sold her house in Colorado Springs (yippee!) and is looking for a permanent place to live in Wimberley. We are delighted the Lord has called her to WPC!
    

 Please give a big welcome to new members Ron & Nita Bagby! Nita and Ron join via letter of transfer from Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kansas. Both Ron and Nita were very active at Eastminster, where Ron was an Elder and Deacon and Nita specialized in coordinating small groups and the all-church retreat (no small feat for a church with 2500 members).
    Ron is retired from the railroad industry, where he had a very active career in marketing. Nita has retired from working for CPA firms, the last of which was headed up by her son-in-law. If you want to assess Nita’s matchmaking skills, please know that he was not her son-in-law when she started with the firm! Ron and Nita’s daughter Stacy along with her CPA husband live in Andover, Kansas along with four of the Bagby’s grandchildren. Son Craig and his wife Anna and granddaughter Sophie (3 in July) live in Austin!
    Ron and Nita both grew up in Slaten, Texas and were truly childhood sweethearts. “There never was a time when we did not know each other!” They started dating in high school and got married after Nita graduated and Ron was a junior at Texas Tech. That was 46 years ago!
    Ron and Nita both love Bible study. Ron likes to hunt and fish and Nita likes both music and reading. They are enjoying the many activities available in Wimberley. Ron also appreciates the fine medical facilities in our area as he had successful open-heart surgery last fall. Nita has joined the Nurture Committee and is a regular attendee at the Thursday Morning Bible Study. Now that Ron has recovered from his surgery, we are negotiating with him regarding his “assignments”! We are delighted to have this warm and talented couple in our midst!

Bio to be provided. 

     “All three of our children are in the church youth program and are really benefiting. Sydney and Kelsey had great experiences on last summer’s mission trip. David and the youth program are a big reason why we joined Wimberley Presbyterian Church!” An unsolicited testimony from new members Donnie and Mary Jackson, speaking of the involvement of daughters Sydney and Kelsey and son Davis in our WPC youth program. Please welcome this wonderful family to our fellowship!
    The Jacksons recently moved to Wimberley from Henderson, Texas. Donnie works for KW Construction, headquartered in San Marcos, and travels the country managing the construction of food courts for institutions and businesses. Ask him to tell you about his work at the Pentagon following 9/11 – a moving experience indeed!
    Mary spends almost all of her time keeping her kids on schedule and in the right location. Sydney is a high school freshman, is in the current confirmation class and is active in soccer, volleyball and softball. Davis is an eighth grader, is also in the confirmation class and loves football, basketball and video games. Kelsey is in the seventh grade, loves softball and is a cheerleader for both her school and her older siblings! The Jacksons also have a son, Derek, who works in construction in Henderson and is married to Trish and proud father of their beautiful baby daughter Jayden.
    The Jacksons have built a beautiful new home in Saddleridge and they are busy with final landscaping. Please welcome this very friendly family to our congregation and also tell David to keep up the good work with our youth!

New members Mose and Ina Hale met in Houston while taking country & western dance lessons and were married 4 years later in 1998. Ina and Mose have Baptist and Methodist backgrounds and, after their marriage, decided to try the Methodist church in the Museum District in Houston. While searching for the church, they instead found First Presbyterian Church and worshiped there that Sunday morning. After a wonderful worship experience, they decided God’s providence had been working and they soon became Presbyterians! And the Hales were very happy to find our congregation upon moving to Wimberley and have continued as Presbyterians.

Mose has an education degree from West Texas State (he played basketball there also) and has had a very productive career in coaching, school administration and teaching, with his first love really being teaching math to middle schoolers. He is now a part-time math teacher at St. Stephens. Ina has had a very enjoyable 37-year career in the banking business. She loves to walk, read, listen to Pastor Anne’s sermons and talk to Mose!

The Hales love the Texas Hill Country, not only for the climate and beauty, but also because Wimberley is not too far from several of their grand-children. When Ina is not in church on Sunday, chances are she is in LaPorte enjoying her two grandsons who are 6 and 10. Mose has one grandchild now matriculating at Texas State and who gets a good home cooked meal from Ina and Mose every Sunday night. Mose also has a grandson who works for Apple in Austin, in addition to two granddaughters who are going to school in Denton and California.

Upon talking to the Hales, one easily decides one would like banking at any bank Ina works at or having their children or grandchildren taught math by Mose. If you haven’t yet had the opportunity, please welcome the Hales to our fellowship. God’s providence is good!            
 

    New member Anne Sloten comes from a very active Presbyterian family. Her grandparents were charter members of the First Presbyterian Church in Roanoke, Virginia. And this is the same church where Anne was baptized and grew up, as her parents were also long time members of First Presbyterian Roanoke!
    After high school, Anne attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia and then graduated from Roanoke College with a degree in Sociology. Anne’s early career was spent in social work, including work with the VA in Psychology Services. Anne met her husband Bryant in Dallas through a friend in 1979 and they were married in 1985. In 1989, Bryant and Anne formed their own business, principally serving as manufacturer’s representatives for resort and tourist wear.
    Anne and Bryant moved to Wimberley in 1994, after having discovered our wonderful community through their sales to the 7A ranch. Bryant has now retired from their business and Anne has reduced her workload back to handling only a very few accounts. Anne and Bryant both travel frequently, including regular monthly trips to Florida to check in on Bryant’s dad who lives in a retirement home there. And, of course, there are also frequent visits back to Virginia to visit with family and friends there.
    Anne hopes to be able to start singing with our choir soon. We are very pleased that her Presbyterian roots have led her to WPC! Please welcome this gracious lady to our fellowship!
   
 

    Thank you Noah Frederick! This two-year-old “evangelist”, also the son of members Amy and Bruce Frederick, “persuaded” his grandparents to make the move from Houston to Wimberley. The “warm and friendly nature” of our church completed the “conversion” and we are very pleased to welcome new members Dorothy and Jim Tapp to our fellowship!

     The first thing one notices when you visit the Boles family in Canyon Lake is their bright and beautiful newly built home. But after getting settled inside with all the family, one senses something even more special present. Ben and Louise Boles have been married 46 years and have 2 children, 9 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. And they have the special blessing of having three of their grandchildren living with them – Drake, Kayla and Morgan! Please welcome this very loving and warm family to our fellowship.
     Ben and Louise are both native Texans and childhood sweethearts from Nacogdoches, Texas, the oldest city in our state. Ben served our country for 29 years in the military, including tours of duty in Panama, Korea and Vietnam. He retired in 1988 as Chief of Operations for the U.S. Army Pacific Command, stationed in Hawaii.  Ben has a Bachelors Degree in Education from Oklahoma State University and a Masters Degree in Education from Texas State University. He followed up his military service by serving as an R.O.T.C. Instructor for 16 years in San Antonio, retiring from that career in 2003.
     After focusing on raising family, Louise had careers in both the banking and travel industries. Both she and Ben were long time members of John Calvin Presbyterian Church in San Antonio. Louise served on the Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) that called Malcom McQueen, the current pastor. Ben was an Elder at John Calvin, specializing, no surprise, in Christian Education. When she is not taking care of grandkids, Louise loves to read and sew.
    Drake is a freshman at the brand new Canyon Lake High School and is enjoying playing on the freshman football team. He is also in this year’s confirmation class. Both Kayla and Morgan are attending Rebecca Creek Elementary; Kayla is in the 6th grade and loves music, particularly playing the flute and piano. Morgan is in the 4th grade and loves reading and playing soccer.
     Ben and Louise get our award for the most conscientious visitors, as they actually stopped by our church office to meet Pastor Anne and pick up information on our church several months before they moved into their new house. And a big plus was that all the kids already knew Pastor David from their summer camp experiences at John Knox Ranch. We are delighted to have this energetic and talented family in our congregation!