Monuments
By Gloria Garner
September 2010
Recently my husband and I were privileged to visit Washington D.C., and Williamsburg and Jamestown, Virginia. It was the first time either of us had experienced these historically significant sites, and we were grateful for the experience.
Some of the most impressive structures we saw in Washington were the monuments to individuals and events important to our nation’s history. We visited the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Smithsonian museums, and saw the White House and the Capitol Building. Some of these were larger than life and grand edifices to the memory of those who have served our country well.
We went to Arlington National Cemetery and viewed row upon row of memorials, some for famous military leaders, and some for those less known but no less loved and appreciated - those who gave their all in the many battles of the many wars our nation has experienced. Most of these graves were marked by a simple white headstone bearing the individual’s name. A section was dedicated to those whose stones bore the simple epitaph “Unknown”, and yet they are remembered.
In Williamsburg we visited restored homes and government buildings established by the early colonists and were reminded of the sacrifices they made in the early development of our nation.
At Jamestown we visited an archeological site at the location of the first permanent settlement of Englishmen in what is now Virginia. In the first year over half of them died from starvation and the brutal winter weather. But they refused to give up. A nation was established, and we are grateful as we recall their persistence.
In the history of Kansas-Nebraska women’s ministry there are three spiritual giants, women we commemorate for their dedication and commitment to the cause of Christ in our two-state convention, and for whom three missions offerings have been named.
The first is Viola Webb, first Executive Director of Kansas-Nebraska WMU, for whom the annual State Missions Offering, observed each autumn, is named.
The second is Yvonne Keefer, Mrs. Webb’s successor who served in that capacity many years, and for whom the Touch Tomorrow Today Fund is named. This fund helps facilitate social ministry, language ministry, new work, and a number of other ministry projects.
The third is Kelly Shelton, a young woman who served for six years as Kansas-Nebraska WMU Women on Mission Consultant. In 1999, while serving as a North American Mission Board Mission Service Corp volunteer Kelly was injured in a boating accident, and later died. The Kelly Shelton Women’s Leadership Fund, established in her memory, helps provide leadership training for Kansas-Nebraska women.
The ministries supported by the monies from these funds are a living memorial to the faithfulness and service of these outstanding women.
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