| 2004 Layman of the Year
Sunday, January 23, 2005, was a special day
for the congregation at First Christian Church in Marietta. Not only
was it a day to come and worship the Lord, it was a day for a special
presentation to a member of the congregation. The Georgia Region,
Disciples Men Commission was there to present the 2004 Layman of the
Year award. The recipient Mr. James B Farris.
Jim, as he is known, was born August 30,
1917, and raised in Lexington, KY. He attended school in Lexington and
then the University of Kentucky. Jim and his wife, Anita have been
married almost sixty years and have five children, Jim, John, Jean, Joe
and Judy. Obviously The letter “J” is popular with them. They have
nine grandchildren and five great grandchildren, and a retired
Bloodhound named “Pickles.”
Jim was raised in the First Christian Church
in Lexington, and later was a charter member of Anderson Hills Christina
Church in Ohio. In 1964 Jim and his family moved to Macon, GA, and
became members of Woodland Hills Christian Church. In 1967 they
relocated to Marietta and joined the First Christian Church of
Marietta. Jim has held the offices you would expect, Elder, Deacon,
chairman of committees, and Sunday School Teacher.
Although Jim had a couple of jobs early in
life, his career was mostly in the railroad industry. He was employed
by Southern Railway and retired after forty five years. He began in the
bridge department but soon transferred to the engineering department.
Jim was one of the forerunners in the study of Geotechnical Engineering
in relation to railroad construction. He is still active in American
Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association, AREMA for short.
Jim has also been active outside his
congregation. He served several years on the CMF Commission, including
one term as Vice President. He was instrumental in the construction of
the caretakers house at Camp Christian. Jim was one of the founders and
co-owner of the “Dipsy Doodle Construction Company.” The other owner
Smutt Merritt was also a recipient of the Laymen of the Year Award. The
two of them performed a lot of work together for their congregation and
at Camp Christian. Jim is also a regular attendee at Men’s Retreats and
other regional and general church activities.
I think the nomination form for Jim says it
best, “Jim is a quiet reserved gentle man with deep convictions. He is
loving and tolerant of others, supportive and nurturing. He is loyal to
his church and seeks to live the Christian life in his daily
activities. Jim has had a long life of dedicated service to the
Disciples of Christ, and has given of himself unstintingly.”
Jim admits to slowing down a little lately,
but believe me, he is far from inactive.
The Georgia Region
Disciples Men are proud to honor Mr. James B. Farris as the 2004 Layman
of the Year. We pray that Jim will provide leadership to the
congregation of First Christian Marietta, and to the men of this region
for many years to come.
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Milt Summeral presents the award . . .
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. . . during worship at First Christian of Marietta
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Jim poses with his wife Anita . . .
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. . . and with his family who also surprised him
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Members of the Disciple Men's Commission were on hand
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