St. Paul Shelby is near Fayetteville, Texas. One of the joys of serving as Bishop is rising with the sun, and sometimes a little bit earlier, then driving to congregations around Texas and Louisiana. Today worship began at 8 AM in Shelby, so I left a little bit before 6 AM.

Five confirmations today, one in Shelby and four in Round Top.

I was delighted to see four Fayette County congregations raising $20K to refurb the road at Lutherhill.

This pianist, Ms. Nancy Richardson, played by ear. Her left hand effortlessly hit bad-chord-chord without looking, while her right hand played melody with harmonies. She played with a decidedlay Baptist flair. After worship, I asked her, and sure enough she plays at her own Baptist Church as soon as she leaves St. Paul.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Round Top, Texas, may be the oldest church building with a continuously worshipping community. If not, it’s one of the oldest. The congregation is 153 years old. Click here to read some history of Bethlehem Round Top.

The day we confirmed four young men, including Pastor John David Nedbalek and Melissa’s son Austin. I presided and preached so that John David could be a dad.

More pictures will follow.

You learn a bit about the history of a place from the gravestones. the first here is the grave of the founding pastor: