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 Wellington
Earl Watts was the second of five children born to Edgar and Vera Watts on July 30,
1918 in Ontario, Canada. The first 2 years of his life were spent
in Canada. Born and raised in a preacher's family, he felt the
call to the ministry and graduated from Bible college in 1941.
He was a minister of the gospel for 45 years. In November of
1986 he under went open heart surgery surviving 11 days after
the operation. This is a small part of the sermon delivered on
the anniversary of his 44th year of ministry.
It
was on June 8, 1941 that I stepped into the pulpit of the Brookdale
Pennsylvania Pilgrim Holiness Church (now Wesleyan) to preach
my first sermon as pastor of this small congregation. The church
was just 2 miles from the New York State border in a little village
consisting of three gas stations, combined with a grocery store,
a dozen houses and possibly 50 deer. I stayed in the home of
the treasurer until the cottage was purchased that became the
parsonage. On August 29th of that same year, I married and brought
my bride (Anna Mengel) to Brookdale with
the few earthly possessions we had. We set up housekeeping in
the parsonage with a table and 3 chairs bought at an auction
along with a bed and dresser. My salary was $10 per week. The
parsonage had no electricity, no phone, no furnace, and no bathroom.
During winter, the inside walls were coated with a layer of ice.
While living in Brookdale,
Anna and I had two children. Wellington
Earl was born in 1942 and Marilyn
Ann in 1945.
We moved to Schenectady, New York in January of 1946 and lived
above the church. Our family continued to grow and Ronald
Bruce was born on May 25, 1950. Beverly
Elaine joined the family on June 13, 1951 making the Earl
Watts family complete. After seven years, the severe northern
winters and other conditions aggravated my asthma, demanding
a change of climate and therefore a change of pastorates.
February 22, 1954 we moved to Milton, Delaware
and began 9 years of pleasant, enjoyable ministry. My family
was of school age and so Anna and I started a children's Bible
Club. Children urged their parents to attend and the congregation
began to grow rapidly. The possibility of a new church was explored
but it became clear to Anna and I that it was time to follow
God's plan and move to Glassboro, New Jersey. In 1962, I began
the most successful period of my ministry. December of 1970,
our family took its first tour of the Holy
Land. These trips greatly impacted all of our lives. I was
privileged to take 13 more trips as tour host and Anna accompanied
me on 11 of the trips. I was thrilled that I was able to take
all of my children, my grandson and even my 2 daughter-in-laws
to the places where Jesus lived and walked. We moved to Vineland
in September of 1975 when health problems of a serious nature
began developing. Worsening health problems brought retirement
when I was 65.
In December of 1982, I began as supply pastor
in Millville. In 1984, I was able to take a missionary trip to
Guyana. It was the dream of a lifetime. By 1984, I had two more
grandchildren. My three grandchildren are my pride and joy. During
these the 45 years of ministry I have not kept record but I am
sure there will be a considerable welcoming committee over on
the other side to joyfully glasp my hand. The anticipation of
that meeting makes the toils of the road seem nothing.
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| Earl
with his brothers before their only sister Marie was born. |
| Earl
and Anna with their four children in 1952. |
| Earl
and Anna with family in 1982. |
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