Seventy Years of Church Memories and Service

Perk’s long memory begins with a young teacher coming from Virginia in 1957, landing at FMS, later Penn View and now Dock Academy, without a car and with Irene Benner as transportation. The church family first looked like a house with three floors and a new auditorium added on, crowded enough that three adult Sunday school classes met in the same space with no curtains between them. Even the sound of “Job and Jacob” in Dutch country speech made clear that this was a new place, with its own people, habits, and stories.

The old church life carried a lot of simple, hands-on ways of serving. Tracts were rolled in colored cellophane till they looked like stick candy, then tossed near people’s feet in town to see if they would pick them up. Men and women sat on opposite sides, church and Sunday school felt like two separate services, and a five-minute bell told classes to close up. The congregation also kept a writing schedule for people who were away, including Linford Gayman, who went to Vietnam with MCC, and prayer went with him as the plane took off.

The life of Perk shows a church family made by meals, housewarmings, Bible school, sewing circle, retreats, and work weekends. Housewarmings had homemade ice cream in the garage, visits through the new house, “Bless This House,” and a prayer of dedication. Bible school meant canvassing, barking dogs, rented buses, and more than a hundred children plus staff. Sewing circle even became part of family memory, with one little boy found asleep in a closet after a big search.

The church family is remembered honestly, not as a place without trouble. Like biological families, Perk had struggles and disagreements along the way. Jesus’ command to love each other stands at the center, and prayer belongs right beside that love. Prayer may change the praying person, or it may change the other person, but church life cannot go without it.

God’s work also changes shape as strength changes. A woman who once served meals, banquets, retreats, and church activities finds a new mission in little boxes made from greeting cards. A box that says love is unseen but real becomes a “box ministry” with dove chocolates for residents in memory care, health care, and personal care. The Lord still gives quiet opportunities to work for him, and he sees what is done and hears what is said.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Church family takes time. Perk is remembered not as a perfect place, but as a family with struggles and disagreements along the way. The depth comes from staying long enough for shared service, funny stories, hard moments, and prayer to become part of one life together. Jesus’ command to love each other is not sentimental here; it is the work of remaining faithful when family life gets complicated. [43:14]
• 2. Prayer keeps love from hardening. Prayer is not treated as a quick fix or a way to manage people. Prayer may change the one praying, or it may change the other person, and sometimes that mystery is exactly why it is needed. Love without prayer can become tired, but prayer keeps love open before God. [43:27]
• 3. Service can change shape. God’s work does not end when public strength, speed, or mobility changes. The same servant heart that once helped with meals and church events can later make small boxes and carry them room to room. Hidden service still matters because the Lord sees what is done and hears what is said. [50:28]
• 4. Small gifts carry real presence. The little box becomes a sign that love may be unseen, but it is still real. A greeting card, a piece of chocolate, and a remembered name can reach a person who feels forgotten or low. In memory care and health care, such small acts can bring back dignity, laughter, and a sense of being known.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [30:03] - Nearly Seventy Years at Perk
• [30:35] - Coming From Virginia to Teach
• [31:10] - The House Church and New Auditorium
• [32:18] - Rolling Tracts Like Stick Candy
• [33:10] - Old Sunday Morning Patterns
• [34:07] - Letters to Linford in Vietnam
• [36:29] - Housewarmings and Homemade Ice Cream
• [37:23] - Bible School, Canvassing, and Buses
• [38:38] - Sewing Circle and the Missing Boy
• [39:27] - Senior Luncheons and Church Retreats
• [41:19] - Work Weekend at Spruce Lake
• [42:39] - Church Family, Love, and Prayer
• [45:41] - The Little Box of Love
• [48:04] - Birthday Boxes as Ministry

1. What ordinary practices helped build life together in the church family—things like letters, housewarmings, Bible school, sewing circle, retreats, or work weekends? [36:29]
2. What details showed that loving one another was needed not just in happy times but also in times of struggle and disagreement? [43:04]
3. What did the little birthday boxes include, and who received them? [48:08]
4. What happened when one resident was remembered personally and spoken to with care? [49:15]

1. Jesus commands his people to love one another as he has loved them. How does that kind of love go beyond friendliness and require faithfulness during disagreement? [43:14]
2. Prayer may change the one praying, or it may change the other person. What does that suggest about why prayer is so necessary in church life, especially when relationships are strained? [43:23]
3. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord” can apply to both public and hidden service. How does that truth help explain why small acts of care still matter deeply before God? [50:28]
4. Jesus says that what is done to the least of these is done to him. How do simple gifts, remembered names, and personal visits help a group see Christ in people who may be overlooked? [48:38]

1. Church family life includes struggles and disagreements, not just warm memories. Is there a relationship in the church where love has grown tired or guarded? What would it look like to obey Jesus there in one concrete way this week? [43:14]
2. Prayer keeps love from hardening. When a person is difficult to love, is the first instinct to argue, withdraw, or quietly pray? How might regular prayer for that person begin to change the heart? [43:27]
3. Service can change shape in different seasons of life. What kind of service fits this season right now—hospitality, visiting, writing notes, making meals, encouraging youth, or something small and hidden? [50:28]
4. Love is sometimes unseen, but still real. Who might need a small but personal reminder this week that they are remembered—perhaps a call, a note, a short visit, or a simple gift? [46:14]
5. Small acts of kindness can lift someone who feels forgotten. Is there someone in personal care, memory care, illness, grief, or loneliness who would be helped simply by being noticed and spoken to by name? [49:02]
6. Writing to those who were away was once part of church care. Who is “away” from daily fellowship right now—a missionary, college student, shut-in, recovering friend, or discouraged member—and how could care reach them in a practical way? [34:41]
7. Much of church life is built through simple shared work and presence. Which setting tends to help connection happen more naturally—meals, serving, children’s ministry, visiting homes, retreats, or work projects—and is there a next step to join in more fully? [43:45]