Residents@JV

Pastor & Mrs.Sloan's Farewell Dinner Party

Sunday, Feb 11, 2007, at 5:30pm, Westwood General Baptist Church celebrated Pastor John and Gladys Sloan’s 30 years of devotion to Westwood. He is retiring from the pulpit after leading Westwood General Baptist Church since 1977 for thirty years. Pastor and Mrs. Sloan are moving to Poplar Bluff, MO. where Pastor John will become a Minister to and oversee other Baptist Ministers working out of the General Baptist Headquarters. The Jacob’s Village bunch of Mike, Michael, Scott, and home coordinator Joe arrived at Westwood shortly after 5:00pm. They were to meet Debbie and her mother Mary there for the celebration. The Schnitzelbank German Restaurant of Jasper, IN, catered the meal of smoked pork-chops, fried chicken, roast beef & gravy, mashed potato’s, green beans, corn, roll, white and chocolate cake, tea and lemonade. Held in the Fellowship Hall, there were approximately 260 friends and family in attendance to bid farewell to Pastor John and Gladys. Bob Hammonds was the speaker for this evening’s event and he kicked it off with an invocation prayer blessing the food and evening. After the tasty and satisfying meal, Pastor John and Gladys was called up to the stage where a big poster of all the Peanuts’ characters, John’s favorite, was hanging on the wall that stated ‘Farewell to John & Gladys’. Bob was also the emcee for a ‘This is your Life’ type of Roast held in honor of John & Gladys. Next to the stage, he was standing at a podium that was decorated up like Lucy’s .05 cent psychiatric help booth. Bob had done his homework and conveyed many humorous tidbits of personal info about the honored couple and on the many special guests that had anecdotes themselves to tell on the VIP’s. John and his family moved to Evansville when he was in High School and began attending the General Baptist Church when it was located on 12th Ave. Gladys was already a member of the Baptist Church when the two met and she favored John’s blue eyes, charismatic demeanor and his humor. Gladys began showing the new kid on the block the way around the Church, to clubs and events. John liked what she presented him with at the Church causing him to choose serving the Lord as a life-long ambition. He wanted to spread the good news of the word so he enrolled and graduated from Oakland City College. Gladys also attended and graduated from Oakland City College with a PW, Pastor’s Wife Degree. Pastor John Sloan began his career leading the First General Baptist Church in Dixon, KY, and he led another First General Baptist Church in Owensville, IN, for his second stint. For the party, many friends wanted to share a few happenings of their times while Pastor John and Gladys served The General Baptist Church. Among them were Mary Lou Howard, Brian Cook, Billy Grub, and Lloyd Yeager. Lloyd, being the oldest of the elders and longest serving member in the General Baptist congregation, was invited up to say a few words on Pastor John’s behalf. Lloyd misunderstood it as two words and all he said was ‘Thank You’. Bob corrected his error and Lloyd continued on with an anecdote. As the stories of past occurrences were told, many laughs were had. Each story was a surprise and not everyone knew what was up next, there are a few that are worthy of retelling. All are in good fun and right down the honored couple’s alley. Pastor John used to ride a motorcycle while totin’ Gladys. A shirt he would sometimes wear had a statement on the back, ‘If you can read this shirt, I better find out what happened to Gladys’. On a clear night in Missouri, while on one of their first overnight stays at their new home overlooking a valley and a lake, admiring the view, Gladys asked Pastor John, “Which is closer, the Moon or Florida?” “Well duh!!!” exclaimed John, “You can’t see Florida from here.” A gentleman passed the Sloan’s sitting in a local McDonald’s one day. They were sitting across from each other with only one sandwich, one bag of fries, and one drink on one tray. Pastor John was the one eating while Gladys was staring at him. Knowing the Sloan’s were a thrifty, conservative couple he asked if everything was alright and offered to buy an extra meal for them. They declined and said no thanks, but Gladys seemed some what more fidgety than usual and he watched’em for a little while longer. Pastor John continued eating while allowing Gladys a drink from time to time. What a poor sight to see he thought; Gladys getting the short end of the stick. It went on and on…so he stepped up again an asked’em,” Is there something wrong, anything I can do to help?” Gladys spoke up this time in disgust and said, “Oh… John’s just taking a little longer to eat this meal an…I’m waiting til he’s done with the teeth.” Pastor John and Gladys had a pair of black Labrador Retrievers when they first got married. Pastor John had a hard time keeping appointments an was always a bit behind schedule. Being the dogs were constantly at John’s side, Gladys thought it was a good idea to name the pair Rolex and Timex, they were his watch dogs. Time to move on…this is the kind of farewell that was given to Pastor & Mrs. Sloan and they will be greatly missed. They have been involved with many community affairs and activities. There has been a renaissance at The Westwood General Baptist Church under his leadership. The Church is strong; let’s turn the page and welcome a new leader with open arms. Everybody wishes Pastor & Mrs. Sloan good health, good times, and Love, Peace, and Joy. We hope they find their fortune in their future endeavors in their new calling. The evening came to a wonderful close and Kenny Mears agreed to lead everyone in a Benediction closing prayer.

posted by J V Resident Blog @ 7:35 AM