I like to think God smiled after reportedly saying, "Let there be light," because God knew that one day a guy in Longview, Washington, would take that concept and run with it.

And run with it.

And run with it.

Not only that but surely it delighted God to know that this man's wife would artfully splash color and design throughout our part of the kingdom.

God may have had a few other thoughts percolating as well but that's another story.
In their 25 years with LUMC, Gale and Willis Williams graciously enriched the spiritual life of the church. Now they are off on a new venture: Willis was named director of Ocean Park Camp and Retreat Center. He starts April 21.

I can see it now -- the two of them inspecting the buildings and grounds, Gale wearing her comic grimace because she knows Willis is thinking up backlighting ideas, among other enhancements.

Remember the lighted birthday cake on the church roof, adapted later to an award-winning float, and the lavishly decorated women's appreciation dinners? The decorations at a Walk to Emmaus retreat inspired these creative bursts and led to the yearly dinners, Willis said in an interview. Over the years, the projects have gotten more elaborate, he said. As camp director, Willis undoubtedly will think up a project and trip all over himself while rushing to the phone to call Gene Fosburg.

In no time at all, these guys will decide not whether but how it can be done, bring others from "Mylar Methodist" into the scheme and then half the church will leave for Ocean Park to make the project happen.

Lessons of ministry

"As a member of the Camping Board of Stewards, I'm very excited for Ocean Park Camp," said our present pastor Bruce Smith. "Obviously, we're going to miss Gale and Willis in our church. Hopefully, the lessons of their ministry with us will continue to grow in each of us."

Gale and Willis have devoted hours and hours to the life of the church. “If we’re going to be there, we’re going to be there a lot,” Gale said. “We just can’t keep our fingers out of it, I guess. "You know, you start with your children.”

They and the three youngest of their four sons drove from West Virginia to Longview in 1979. “We literally made the 2,500-mile trip to buy a business -- pretty scary stuff,” Willis said.

Twenty-five years later, they have a successful paint-manufacturing business behind them. They also have “lots of friends, a lot of good friends,” he said.

“When we moved here we didn’t know anybody,” Willis said. “The first Sunday we hit town we looked up churches in the phone book and came here.”

When they first arrived, LUMC was about the size it is now. It was full at Easter and “packed” on Christmas Eve. “After we came the church started to decline -- maybe we’re the reason,” Gale joked. “The pastor left after we had been here a few months. Now he tells us we ran him off.”

A supportive church

Willis said he first “skimmed the surface” of spiritual life but his experiences with this church “formed the foundation of my spiritual growth. Here, I’ve really gone in-depth.” Some 20 years ago, a spiritual growth group started, which provided support. “I think it was a factor in keeping the church going during hard times. We were all leaders at one time or another.” An adult class in studying the Bible “was very informative to me and I think everyone else in the group,” he said.

The people of the church rallied behind them -- and their son Mark -- three years ago when Mark, now an ordained minister, revealed at General Conference that he is gay. “We weren’t really surprised,” Willis said. “There were enough signs over the years. Our concern was what would happen -- what it would do to his professional life.”

The Sunday after Mark came out, Willis explained it to church members. “They were pretty much totally supportive,” he said. “They were wonderful. They did a lot of study and discussion over the next two years. Not at our instigation. We took a back seat because we didn’t want to be perceived as pushing the issue. It had to be a church decision (to become a reconciling congregation), not for Mark, not for us.”

Mark is entering the University of Washington school of social work in and taking time off from his pastoral ministry.

On May 16, LUMC is celebrating the first year of becoming a reconciling church. “We’ll be back for it,” Willis said.

At Ocean Park, they will probably "jump in with all four feet," Gale said. “We work well together. I just agree with everything he says.”

Not so, said Willis. “The truth is that a lot…of the ideas are Gale’s.”

“Well, I just try to tone yours down a little bit,” she told him.

Why does she do that? "Oh, my goodness, there’s just not that many lights to be had,” she said.

Gale was asked to compile a list of the work she does before they leave for the beach, a difficult task for someone who likes to stay in the background. She said she once told Bruce, “I’m a drone not a queen bee.” “The hardest part will be trying to find someone with enough energy to keep up with Mona (Petersen),” she said. They have worked together for 10 years.