Both agree it is “fun to do” and “a blessing” as they are already at work on the next Springmaid Senior Beach Retreat set for Sept. 10-14.
Clyde and Jayne Porter, members of Washington Baptist Church, Pelzer, assumed leadership of the ministry for seniors five years ago, and they’ve not looked back except to see how the retreat has continued to grow.
Clyde and Jayne Porter“For the last couple of years,” observed Clyde, now retired after 35 years with Bi-Lo, “we’ve about filled our meeting room at Springmaid Beach to the maximum. We’ve even considered doing two retreats – one in the spring and one in the fall – or even moving it to another site, but getting reasonable rates for our seniors can be a problem.”
The 2011 retreat attracted well over 700 participants for a well-rounded program of Bible teaching and music, with lots of time tossed in for “doing whatever they want to do,” according to Clyde, who said with a smile, “they don’t even have to come to the meetings if they don’t want to.” But they do, and this year’s program includes sermons by the Porters’ own pastor, Stan Candler, and Rhett Wilson, pastor of Spring Church in Laurens. Bobby Ramsey, a deacon and Sunday school teacher at Washington, will lead the Bible study. Music will be presented by the Mountain View Quartet from upstate South Carolina and Chuck Auten, who is Washington’s minister of music.
At the end of January, Jayne – a former dental assistant who became a stay-at-home mother to their two daughters – sent out a letter alerting churches that have participated in the past to register for the 2012 retreat.
The majority of participants in the annual retreats have been there before, but the Porters are always looking for seniors to experience the ministry for the first time. “Sometimes,” Jayne said, “when we’re just riding along and I see a church with a bus or van parked there, I write down the church name and contact them about the retreat. We’re interested in reaching all churches that have ministries for their seniors.”
The spring retreat was the brainchild of Howard Wimmer when he was pastor at Unity Baptist Church in Simpsonville. When Wimmer accepted the pastorate of Augusta Heights Baptist in Greenville, a Unity layman, Bruce Clark, led the ministry for 25 years. Illness forced Clark to bow out of the work and the assignment returned to Wimmer.
Wimmer later looked to retreat-goer Clyde Porter as a logical successor to lead the ministry. Porter, who was a member of Reedy Fork Baptist Church, Greenville, at the time, wanted to pray about it. “And the more I prayed about it,” he said, “the more I believed that this was what I was supposed to do.”
Attendance has nearly doubled each year since the Porters began to lead the retreat. Most of the attendees are widows or widowers, but married couples fit into the mix as well. “Older people,” Clyde mentioned, “need a group, they need friends to be with them, and the retreat offers that opportunity. I know of many seniors who simply will not, or maybe cannot, travel alone.”
Clyde and Jayne Porter – both of whom are “so blessed and have good health” – declared that they have “no plans to give up this ministry as long as we are able,” and Clyde added, “The Bible says nothing about retiring.”
The Porters can be written to at 380 Alverson Road in Pelzer 29669. Or you could just email Clyde at yarddawg101@gmail.com; he’ll get the message.