Archives for November 2023

American Legion Adamson-Lane Post 287 members this week will place American flags on the graves of 250 veterans buried in the Rowe Cemetery in Hedley.

The flags will be placed on the graves on Friday November 10, at 9:00 a.m. in honor of departed veterans who have served this country’s military. Then, on Monday, November 13, 2023, at 10:00 a.m., the Post will hold its annual Veterans Day service at the Hedley Lions Club building.

The program will be led by members of the post and will include the raising of the colors, the National Anthem, the Pledge, and honoring the missing in action and prisoners of War still unaccounted for. The key address will be given by Will Thompson. The program will be concluded with the playing of taps.

An historic church building will begin a new chapter this Sunday when the Arena of Life Cowboy Church holds its grand opening in the former First Presbyterian Church at Fourth and Parks this Sunday, November 5, at 10:30 a.m.

With their congregation dwindling, Presbyterians recently made the decision to disband and donate their 1929 building to the Cowboy Church.

“I was surprised but extra excited,” Cowboy Church Pastor Bunk Skelton said of his reaction to the offer by Presbyterian Pastor Nancy Ruff. “I’m not one to all at once get real gung-ho about something, so I asked for time with the Lord. But the more I sought the Lord, the more I thought we couldn’t say no.”

Ruff said the Presbyterian congregation had just gotten to a point to where it was no longer viable to continue, but they had hope that they could bless another church.

“It’s not easy to close a church,” Ruff said. “But in dealing with those emotions of closing our church, we are richly blessed that God gave us the opportunity to give our building to the Arena of Life Cowboy Church. We are so excited to be a part of God’s blessing. We’re really thrilled they accepted our offer and that our legacy will continue.”

While the Presbyterian Church had a long history in Clarendon dating back to 1899, the Cowboy Church is relatively new for the community. It was founded January 5, 2013, and moved into the former Eads’ Furniture building on Kearney Street in May of 2014. Since that time, the church has been dreaming of building their own church and has even had six acres donated to it east of town on US 287.

“We’re not trashing the idea of our own new building,” Skelton said. “We’re still working toward that. This will just make it easier as we can put our lease payments into our building fund now.”

Speaking of renting their previous location, the pastor had kind words for their landlord there, saying Virginia Patten had been extremely good to the church through the years.

Skelton said his congregation first thought of making changes to the Presbyterian building but changed their minds.

“The first impulse was to make changes to make it fit us,” he said, “but then we didn’t really want to. We just make small changes to make it work for us, which mostly has amounted to running some electricity.”

The new owners are also opening up previously covered over windows on the front doors of the Presbyterian building.
The Cowboy Church held its first services in the building last Sunday, October 29, but it’s official grand opening is this weekend.

“We’re very, very excited and grateful and thankful that they have allowed us to carry on the ministry of the gospel in this church,” Skelton said.

The Presbyterian building will give the Cowboy Church more room and allow it to offer more Sunday school classes. The church has been having its youth meetings on Wednesday nights and its adult Bible study on Thursday nights, but now those activities will both be held on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m.

Skelton is inviting the community to join them as they celebrate the new location of the Cowboy Church this weekend with Sunday School at 9:30 and the service at 10:30.

Also, the Presbyterians are not completely gone from the building. Ruff said Skelton is allowing her to continue her women’s Bible study in the building. It’s a testimony to how close the community of faith is in Clarendon.

“We’re in a super good community,” Skelton said. “When He calls you to a place, He provides for you; and we’ve seen that over and over.”

The Donley County Community Fund is now accepting applications from qualified non-profit organizations for up to $1,500 grant to be awarded this fall.

Those eligible to apply for the grants include local governments, schools, and non-profit organizations holding a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service. All grant applicants must be from Donley County.

Grant applications for any amount up to $1,500 must be received by Friday, November 24, at 5 p.m..

To receive a grant application and determine your organization’s eligibility to apply, contact Jacob Fangman 806-206-5737 or jacobfangman@yahoo.com. Applications are available from Fangman at Herring Bank or at the Clarendon Visitor Center.

The Donley County Community Fund is an affiliate fund of the Amarillo Area Foundation (AAF) with the focus of building an Endowed Legacy for the entire county for the benefit of future generations.