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It is with sadness that we report the death of Bob Milford's brother Murray. Please keep the Milford family in your prayers. Murray Milford, Ph.D., professor and former associate head for academic programs with the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University, died Aug. 20. Milford retired in 2001 after more than 32 years of service at Texas A&M, but remained in the department as Professor Emeritus. While teaching, he touched the lives of more than 17,000 students in Agronomy 301 and 1,100 graduate students who passed through the department with Milford serving as their graduate adviser. Julie Howe, Ph.D., former student ’95 and now Texas A&M AgriLife Research soil chemistry and fertility associate professor at Texas A&M, said she owes her career to Milford through his ability to show how soil science was at the intersection of many different disciplines. “I’m a soil scientist because of him, as I would have never considered a career in soil science before his class,” Howe said. “Also, when I tell former Aggies what I do, invariably they respond with ‘I took this soil science class with this guy. He was amazing. Do you know him?’” Something she and others recall is that he never forgot his students – he remembered everyone’s name long after they left the university. “It was sometimes a little spooky how he’d call you out by name in a class of over 100 students only a few weeks into the semester,” Howe said. Cristine Morgan, Ph.D., former Texas A&M soil scientist and now chief scientific officer for the Soil Health Institute, agreed that Milford touched the lives of many of the department’s alumni and also piqued her interest in soil as a profession. “He changed my stereotypes of soil science,” Morgan said. “My reverence for what he did for soil science at TAMU is overwhelming to me right now. We have so many loyal alumni because of him. I witnessed that any time I called a farmer and needed to grab a soil sample or dig a pit. They knew Dr. Milford and would always ask about him.” Milford and his wife, Marsha, established the Marsha and Murray Milford Graduate Endowment in Soil and Crop Sciences to benefit students pursuing graduate degrees in soil science at Texas A&M in 2002. So far seven students have benefited from this endowment, with several students receiving it more than one year. “Receiving the Milford endowment was a great honor for me, and I am grateful to their contribution as it was a tremendous help to my Ph.D. program,” said doctoral student Aditi Pandey, a graduate research assistant and the most recent endowment recipient. “Meeting both Dr. and Mrs. Milford was a joy. They both were warm and welcoming, and even invited me to their family’s Thanksgiving dinner. I feel blessed to have been part of their endowment and am deeply sorry for Mrs. Milford’s loss.” The Murray H. Milford Teaching Auditorium in the HEEP Building was dedicated to Milford after his retirement. (Texas A&M photo by Beth Luedeker) Milford so endeared himself to his students that they named for him a Texas A&M University Fish Camp, which introduces incoming freshmen to Aggieland in a summer-camp setting. Also Room 101 in the Heep Center was named The Murray H. Milford Teaching Auditorium by the Texas A&M to honor his service. “Dr. Milford is one of the most recognized soil science instructors in the world, known not only for outstanding teaching, but also for his recognition of students and their hometown by the third class each year, and then recognizing family members who attended his class a generation or more later,” said David Baltensperger, Ph.D., Soil and Crop Sciences Department head. “His legacy in soil science will live for many generations.” Milford earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agronomy from Texas A&M in 1955 and 1959, respectively, and a doctorate in soil science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1962. He began his professional career at Cornell University in a postdoctoral position. While there, he advanced to assistant professor and then associate professor. He returned to Texas A&M and the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences as an associate professor of soil science in 1968, earning promotion to professor in 1974. In addition to teaching, Milford served the department as the associate head for academic programs and was the interim department head from Sept. 1, 1999 through Jan. 31, 2001. Milford was a member of several professional societies in which he held a variety of offices. He earned the designation of Fellow in the American Society of Agronomy, the Soil Science Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He also received numerous honors and awards, including being the first individual to receive three university level Distinguished Achievement Awards from the Texas A&M University Association of Former Students – two for teaching, 1972 and 1994, and one for student relationships, 1988. He also received the Agronomic Resident Education Award, the Soil Science Education Award and the Southern Region Teaching Award. Memorial services for Milford will be at 1 p.m. Aug. 31 at First Presbyterian Church on Carter Creek, Bryan.

Sylvia, Cindy Askew, Alyson, Tammy, and Cindy Baker Burnett met at the church to assemble sack lunches for the Honey Grove Warriors to enjoy before their football scrimmage. Tucked inside each sack is a message and Scripture from Main Street Street Presbyterian Church.

What an awesome group of kiddos who participated in the “Yee-Haw” Vacation Bible School, orchestrated by Main Street Presbyterian and McKenzie United Methodist churches in Honey Grove! Brittany Whitlock and her sister-in-law Tori Whitlock headed up the crafts portion of the VBS. Brittany’s son Carson is pictured with one of the crafts-for-missions projects. Each “heart-windowed” sack contains soup beans and spices. The recipe for the HEART-Y SOUP is on the back of each sack. The prepared sacks will be delivered to Honey Grove’s food pantry.

Charles Yarbrough attended his granddaughter’s wedding on Saturday. Carol’s daughter Sara was the bride, and Charles looked quite spiffy with his sport coat folded neatly in his lap.

Today is Pentecost Sunday, the (approximately) 2,000th birthday of the church. Main Street Presbyterian Church had a birthday party, complete with cake & ice cream and presents! We even sang “Happy Birthday” to the church and blew out the candles on the cake. The potluck lunch was enhanced with guests sitting at tables of their birthday months. “...and many more.”

This Sunday, June 9th, is Pentecost Sunday. It's the birthday of the church. Let's wear RED to celebrate! To commemorate our recently renovated and enlarged building, we're having a shower. If you'd like to participate, bring a gift for the church (kitchen utensils, cleaning supplies, paper products, copy paper, etc.). You may place the unwrapped gift(s) on the floor in front of the altar in the sanctuary. ALSO, we're having a potluck lunch, and the birthday cake will be provided. The tables in our sanctuary will be designated by months. You simply find your birthday month and sit at that table. Come and worship God!

It’s Memorial Day bingo at Spring Lake in Paris today. Charles Yarbrough is quite the competitor, so says the lady to his right. “He wins a lot of the time!” Actually, they win points, rather than prizes. Once a month, residents cash in their points for an array of essential items: soap, towels, paper towels, etc. cool, huh. I have learned to gently nudge Melba Joyce if I enter her room and find her in bed with the covers pulled. Chances are that she’s just “soaking.”

We honored our Honey Grove High School graduate Makenzie Harper with a church luncheon after worship today. Mary Snell presented her with a beautiful study bible, and Mary expressed Main Street’s love and well wishes in the next chapter of Makenzie’s life. Pastor Cindy Baker Burnett gave Makenzie three letters from Presbyterian USA churches in Lubbock. Each church reached out to Makenzie and offered to welcome and nurture her while a student at Tech.

The Lenten and Easter season has brought a myriad of gatherings to our new fellowship hall—-Lenten Suppers, Fifth Sunday Singing, and several Methodist-Presbyterian youth fundraiser luncheons. Easter morning spotlighted a long-standing tradition at Main Street—-breakfast and Easter egg hunt. We dined on Tammy’s sausage & biscuits, Alyson’s cheesy scrambled eggs, Gina’s hash-brown casserole, Zach’s sausage casserole, Brittany’s cinnamon roll casserole, Rudite’s grapes, Sylvia’s Danish pastries, Latresia’s juice & coffee, and Cindy’s homemade cinnamon rolls. Our worship service was highlighted with our choir’s features: “Why Should He Love Me So?,” “The Tomb is Empty Now,” “My Savior’s Love,” and “Let Us Break Bread Together.” Alyson Askew sang a solo: “Rise Again.” The Children’s sermon centered on the stone being rolled away from the tomb. Each child was given a baggie with Rolo candies and a card that read, “The stone was Rolo-ed away! He is Risen!”

Main Street members Mark Askew, Sylvia Askew, Mary Snell, Alyson Askew, Tammy Whitlock, Cindy Askew, Latresia Prowse, Lanny Burnett, and Cindy Baker Burnett traveled to Spring Lake Assisted-living facility in Paris on April 18th to observe Maundy Thursday and Holy Communion with the residents. Carolyn Buzbee brought her mother, Melba Joyce of Main Street, from Brentwood Terrace in Paris. Spring Lake resident Charles Yarbrough enjoyed seeing and visiting with his church family. Communion was served to the 25 residents. The Main Street choir sang a medley of songs and Lanny Burnett read Scripture.

Today is the first day of Holy Week. We will hold a Maundy Thursday service on April 18th at Spring Lake Assisted-living Facility at 4p. That evening we’ll attend Maunday Thursday Service at 7p at McKenzie Methodist. The next day, Main Street will conduct a Good Friday service at 7p. On Easter Sunday, Main Street will serve breakfast at 9:30a, followed by an Easter Egg hunt. There will be no Sunday school. Worship begins at 11a.

Main Street enjoyed hosting the 5th Sunday Singing service in their recently-remodeled building at 404 E. Main Street in Honey Grove on Sunday, March 31st. Following performances by Main Street Presbyterian Church, Honey Grove Cowboy Church, Westside Baptist, and Diane Wilson, guests were invited to the newly-added fellowship hall for pound cake and coffee. Pastor Shawn Bronson of the Christian CME Church led the group in the closing prayer.

Come to our Lenten Supper tonight. Rudite is serving her famous tortilla soup, and our Methodist friend Rhonda Grubbs Cunningham will share her story of recently meeting her birth mother for the first time. Food at 6P. Story at 6:30p.

We invite you to Main Street Presbyterian Church in Honey Grove, where the Lenten colors are vibrant. Each Sunday we extinguish a purple candle as we approach the Cross at Calvary.

Lenten Supper Tonight! We'll enjoy pizza and fellowship at 6p and then have reflection and sharing at 6:30p.

Main Street Presbyterian Church of Honey Grove invites the public to join in the observance of Ash Wednesday on Wednesday, March 6, 2018, at 6 pm. This day will begin the season of Lent, a time of reflection and prayer that lasts 40 days. As is the custom, ashes are made by burning the palms from Palm Sunday of the previous year. For those who wish, ashes will be marked on each observer's forehead in the shape of the Cross. Although there is no Biblical reference, this tradition dates back to 325 A.D. The program of worship will include a Corporate Confession of Sin, Assurance of Pardon, Congregational hymns, Scripture reading, Imposition of Ashes, and Holy Communion. The Main Street congregation is eager to showcase the recent renovation, enlargement, and updating of the church building, located at 404 E. Main Street. The metal Presbyterian Cross on the front of the building was built by the FFA department. The completion marks the sixth year since the 100-year-old historic building was completely destroyed by fire. The current building became home for Main Street on February 10, 2013, the day of the fire.

Several Main Street members met today to clean, sort, and organize the church contents in our newly-finished renovation and building expansion project. Thanks to Lanny Joe for clearing the brush on the west side of the church. Tammy, Alyson, and Cindy Penn arranged and organized the new classroom and office. Sylvia sorted through old photographs and church paraments, in an effort to determine the most practical use, going forward. The contractor Jay Don O’Neal discussed the furnishings with Sylvia.

Our updated and enlarged sanctuary, as well as our brand new kitchen and fellowship hall, are finally completed. Come and see us at Main Street!