OAKLAND HERITAGE CHURCH OF GOD: Article by Noreen Hyslop of Dexter (MO) Daily Statesman

The Little White Church On The Hill

THE LITTLE WHITE CHURCH ON THE HILL

The old oak tree still stands on the hill, it’s branches spreading wide;
The cedar trees with their perfume, lined up, still stand beside
The cemetery, with tombstones old, so peaceful and so still,
But the centerpiece of this rural scene is the little white church on the hill.

Since 1883 it has stood there, a lighthouse to show the way,
A haven for the weary, a place for the burdened to pray.
Jacob Blickensderfer designed it, but God set the dream in his heart.
Oakland needed a churchhouse, where people could draw apart

And come to a place of worship when they needed sweet peace and rest;
A place where they felt God’s presence, when they needed to be blessed;
A place where they sought His healing when the physical body was ill;
Jacob built them this House of Worship, this little white church on the hill.

The bell tower guards the southern side, the bell rings loud and clear
Proclaiming the time of worship has come, as it’s done for many a year;
And the little white church with its doors open wide still welcomes God’s people in
Where the music rings out and the gospel is preached that you can be saved from your sin.

Weathered stones now compose the old library walls where ivy has grown through the years -
A memorial built more than a century ago in honor of one held so dear
Who wrote in his diary that family and business meant so much to him, but still
He was leaving a legacy for others to use– the little white church on the hill.

The old wooden cross which was hand made with love still beckons the weary to come;
It’s the first thing you see when you enter the church and you know that at last you are home
In the little white church which was built long ago for families who wanted to pray,
Where the altar is blessed and stained with the tears of those who were seeking the Way.

Sometimes in the silence of this sanctuary - I sit and it seems I can hear
The laughter of children from days long ago, the memories that now seem so near
Of Jacob, Louisa, and their children, too, who worshiped in this very place.
These walls heard their songs and echoed their prayers as they came to partake of His grace.

And then I can see their caskets, draped with sadness and flowers of mourning
Being carried away from this chapel outside to await the final dawning.
When their graves on this hillside will open and this building will be no more,
But the church will all be together on that happy golden shore.

And we will all share our precious memories of the times we gathered here
As we sang and prayed and worshipped in this place we all hold dear;
And I think even heaven will listen, and the angels will all be still
As we remember the blessings of Oakland, and the little white church on the hill.

Written by Pastor Joan Hart on July 26, 2002 in honor of the Oakland Heritage Church of God, formerly the Oakland United Methodist Church, and originally the Oakland Moravian Church, and in memory of Jacob Blickensderfer, who designed and built the church in 1883. Copyright 2002

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Article by Noreen Hyslop of Dexter (MO) Daily Statesman

An Essex native, currently residing in Poplar Bluff, recently learned all about angels on earth.
Elizabeth Sagharichi, formerly Elizabeth Black, has an angel of her own named Roya. Roya was stillborn six years ago. In a family of four boys, Roya would have been the only sister of the group.

The loss of their daughter at 20 weeks cessation came as a devastating blow to Elizabeth and her husband, Mahmoud, one for which Elizabeth says there seemed to be no closure.

"At 20 weeks, the baby was not saved to have a burial. We never got to hold her. I felt that a part of me died with her and it was very difficult to grasp when we had nothing tangible to hold on to."

An autopsy was performed on the baby, and a letter containing its findings was mailed to the Sagharichis some time following their loss. So devastated were they that they left the envelope sealed until after the birth of their next son two years later.

"That's when we realized we had a daughter," Elizabeth explains. "That doesn't, of course, make us love our boys any less. It just hurts a little worse to know we lost our only girl. I would never have believed it was possible to miss someone so much who you never really got to know, but it is."

A couple of years after their loss, the Sagharichi couple became acquainted with an organization called SHARE. Affiliated with the March of Dimes organization, SHARE holds annual campaigns, much like Relay for Life and the MS Walk held locally, but with a totally new concept at the heart of their efforts.

The group encourages parents of lost children to participate in activities that help to understand and to accept their loss, at the same time allowing them to share their experiences and feelings with others who have similar circumstances. For the Sagharichi family, the group has been "a God-send."

"My husband is a runner," says Elizabeth, "and the group holds a 5K run each August, so it provides him an added opportunity to get involved. I take part in the walk that is also part of the event."

Another event, and the one that has led to this story, is the annual release of balloons at the SHARE event. Each balloon holds a small card with the name of a child who left its parents too soon. The card also depicts the name of a sponsoring agency that helps to make the event possible.

On a hot August day in 2009, a white balloon was released with a brief message of its intent. The balloon carried the name of Roya skyward, and with that sending Elizabeth Sagharichi was content in knowing that the spirit of her daughter had been lifted up. She couldn't have imagined the response that sending would generate a short time later.

A resident in the state of Mississippi, finding the deflated balloon and its message, tracked down the sender by notifying the sponsor listed on the card. Southern Missouri Bank at Poplar Bluff then forwarded the response to the Sagharichi family. The letter would restore her faith that Roya was indeed, in good hands and that miracles do happen. The letter read:

"Dear Sagharichi family,

My name is Peter Nichol. I am writing you from my 50-acre farm located in rural Benton County, Mississippi, a lush, peaceful, rolling parcel of land very rich in history. Part of that history includes a small family cemetery dating back to the 1800s located on a secluded wooded bluff overlooking a wet weather creek. The site was overgrown and essentially lost to the wilderness when I purchased the land seven years ago, but I have recovered the area and attempt to maintain it with the dignity it deserves.

This morning was cloudy and warm with the threat of rain on the horizon. I took the opportunity to mow the grass and do some general cleaning around the cemetery. As I did this, I contemplated the sadness that must have once weighed heavily here. There are a number of very young children buried at this site. Yellow fever, I believe, was taking a heavy toll at that point in history.

Shortly after finishing my work, I noticed a small card and ribbon resting in the grass not far from the cemetery fence. It was the note that had been tethered to a balloon and released in memory of your daughter, Roya. I was very touched by the symbolism of this find and am truly saddened by your loss.

If part of Roya's spirit traveled so far and so high to find this place, she surely was a brave little girl. I know that the gentle breezes that brought her here at one time carried the joyful voices of these small children that now rest in silence, and this soil contains the tears of those who mourned the passing, I want you to know that your child's spirit and memory are safe, cherished and among friends on this small part of God's green earth.

Thoughtfully,

Peter A. Nichol"

And so the Sagharichi family considers themselves blessed, in so many ways.