Page 68 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2017- Online Magazine

June December
A Beacon on a Hill
Mt. Vernon United Methodist
Church sits high on a hill as a
beacon in the community of
Lubbock. Located at Cedar and
23rd, Mt. Vernon UMC has been
the church home for many
of Lubbock’s most prominent
African-American leaders for
over 91 years. The church met
in homes in its infancy, and
survived a devastating fire
just before Easter in 1965. The
current building was erected
in 1968 right across from the
old Chatman Hospital and in
between two cotton mills. The
members call Mt. Vernon a
spiritual home because they are
able to be themselves and bring
their gifts of music, leadership,
graciousness, and service to the
altar of God. Many have served
our country and now are proud
veterans of the US military. In
the next few pages, we will
highlight Clarence Priestly,
Leslie Cross, James Braxton,
and June December, as well
as recall the 2015 Senior Link
article on Don Jones. These
amazing people are still living
witnesses to the red, white and
blue. They are bold, calling
on God now, as well as when
they wore uniforms, asking for
strength and courage and one
nation with justice for all.
Kara Leslie serves as a chaplain with
Interim Hospice as well as pastor
of Mt. Vernon UMC. She is a Board
Certified Chaplain and an Episcopal
Priest. Her unique ministry offers
spiritual support not only to her
congregation, but also to patients
and families facing death and grief.
68 Lubbock Senior Link
Big Dreamer
by Kara Leslie
t 31 years of age,
June Virginia
ACampbell
December joined the Army
Reserves to provide a stable
job for her family. She had
two children of her own,
four more by marriage and
even some grandchildren.
Her life was very full, but
she wanted more. June said
“I always wanted to belong
to something and make a
difference.”
In 1962, the young lady had
dropped out of high school, and didn’t receive her high school
diploma until ten years later. June remembered thinking, “If I
can get my GED, then I can dream even bigger.” She knew the
Army could help her to fulfill her dreams.
Boot camp for a 31-year-old
might seem insurmountable, “
I always wanted
but June said, “I made up my
mind I was going to be tough, to belong to
and it turned out to not be as something
hard as I had imagined. The and make a
young 18-year-olds had it much difference.
tougher, and some didn’t make it
through.” “
After basic training, June became a repair part specialist and
was sent to AIT school. Then in 1975, when she went active,
she was sent to cooking school. After being stationed at Fort
Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, June went to computer school in
South Carolina and learned to “read holes in the IBM hard
cards.” From there she was sent to Kaiserslautern, Germany.
In Germany, June delivered supplies to bases and hospitals.
She recalls how narrow and twisty the roads were, but
getting lost allowed her to see much of the country, while also
enjoying some of the best coffee she has ever tasted. Serving
in the Army gave June the opportunity to experience another
culture and make new friends.