Leaving the flock (1 July 2006)

BLOGGER'S NOTE: This was one of my favorite pieces to work on. Just the feeling I got when I left Menard after working on this story showed me this was exactly what I wanted to do with my life.

BLOGGER'S NOTE: There is an error (one that is pointed out in the comments in this story as currently seen below). Methodist worshippers do not celebrate Mass, of which I was unaware prior to final editing of this story. One of the managing editors at the S-T pointed this out to me as she was reading the page. She fixed the error on the page, but the corrections did not make the online version. I have asked why, so I expect the error to be fixed soon in the online version. Once I get back to San Angelo, I will scan and post the images of the newspaper's corrected version. Good eye, Anonymous.

-------------





Standard-Times photos by Patrick Dove

I didn't copy all the captions over. If you want to see them, click the headline and you'll go to the page.

-------------------

By JOE RUIZ
jruiz@sastandardtimes.com or 659-8262

MENARD - Rusty Williamson, a long-time parishioner of First United Methodist Church, stood at Mass last month and admitted he was wrong.

Nearly nine years ago, Williamson complained about the appointment of Suzanne Brantley, the first female reverend in the history of the West Texas town.

He was told the church would have to wait one year to replace her, but he only needed one week to see he made a mistake.

''Do you forgive me?'' Williamson asked Brantley.

''I never held it against you,'' she said.

''You blessed us,'' Williamson said. ''But I promised I wouldn't cry, so I'll sit down.''

In mid-June, the 69-year-old Brantley stepped down from the pulpit here and called it a career. Her final Mass on June 11 was filled with tender moments of respect, admiration and friendship.

For Brantley, ''it's just time.''

After years of tending to her parishioners, the reverend decided it is time to focus on her own one-on-one relationship with God.

''I want to sit out in my backyard, read the Scriptures and pray,'' she said. ''I just need to do that.''

Brantley said her entry into the Methodist Church and acceptance by its leadership was ''scary.'' Her rocky start at the Menard church was a byproduct of the struggles some women face when they take a leadership role in doing God's work.

Her first appointment as a reverend was in Menard, some 66 miles southeast of San Angelo.

''I had that call in my life,'' Brantley said. ''I went to the district superintendent and said, 'This is what God has called me to do,' and he said, 'Okay, what took you so long?' ''

Brantley said she was a born-again Christian at 42. While the Victoria native had some spirituality before, it didn't really manifest itself until she watched the movie ''Jesus of Nazareth,'' she said.

''I just became totally in love with God,'' she said.

In Menard, she went to work proving herself to her new parish. A corkboard in her near empty office shows her connection to the community. It has many dark rectangles on it and only a few pushpins, the remnants of a board that displayed ''her children.''

The spiritual offspring were in photographs of baptisms, graduations, football uniforms and Christmas cards; now all that remain are sun-darkened memories on the old corkboard.

For years, the work in the church's two buildings at the intersection of Gay and Canal streets was, for the most part, a one-woman show. Brantley worked the phone, greeted office visitors and held Mass on Sundays.

Brantley's pastoral work wasn't all blessings and baptisms.

''I focus more on the people than the paperwork because that's what's important,'' Brantley said. ''That's what God sent me here for, not for the paperwork.''

When she arrived in Menard, the church had a 20-year note to pay off its new building. Brantley mobilized the churchgoers to pay off the debt in only seven years.

''We sold a lot of chicken spaghetti dinners,'' she said.

The final Mass of Rev. Brantley's began in the early morning, just as it did many Sundays before. She arrives at the church three hours before Mass to bless nearly everything on the church grounds so that ''the Lord is here.''

She blesses the white sign out front calling youths to Sunday School and everybody to worship. She blesses the doors to the church so God can bless those who walk through them; she also blesses the pews that people will eventually fill and the pulpit, so that she can help bring the word of the Lord to those who enter the church.

Around 10:30 a.m., there were already a number of people at the church and inside the offices. On this Sunday, people brought cooked hams, drinks, desserts and other plates of food to help celebrate Brantley's retirement.

After the Sunday Mass, nearly all of the 60 parishioners stayed for the retirement luncheon.

Louise Jennings, a churchgoer who has been teaching Brantley how to quilt, organized more than 35 people to help create a quilt for the retiree.

The quilt consists of 40 squares on a green background with red trim.

''I will treasure it,'' Brantley said. ''If there's a fire, this is the first thing I'm going to grab.''

At one point she wrapped herself in the quilt as people took pictures. Her husband Paul then helped raise the quilt so that everybody could admire the work.

Brantley, as well as many of others on hand, couldn't help but let the tears flow as she received well-wishes and hugs.

Earlier people walked toward the church. The parishioners showed the same welcoming personality as Brantley.

Occasionally people grabbed the rope that held the bell between the office and chapel and gave it a few tugs.

Everybody loved the bell.

Brantley eventually gives it her own tugs to call people in, but most had already showed up to honor God.

The talk of the church wasn't only about Brantley, but also about the early morning announcement that Lindsey Thigpen and Sandy Crisp, both of the Menard High School softball team, were named to the All-West Texas softball team. All three women receive the hugs, handshakes and congratulations of this tight-knit church.

Brantley's final Mass was a little different than normal. That was by design. After the usual prayers and sermon, Brantley had something fun planned.

Hymnal books were passed out before the start of worship. She loves to sing from ''The Cokesbury Hymnal.''

After choosing one song, she opened the floor to requests.

Even though the singing ability might not be there, Brantley said, ''It's still fun.''

As Williamson did before, parishioners shared their stories of Brantley.

At one point in the final Mass, parishioner Edna Louise Jacobson read aloud from the book of John:

''Let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and truth,'' she said. ''Suzanne does that, she doesn't just preach to us, she shows us.''