|
Return to the Brooks Main Page PART IV THE CHURCH
Jennie Mable Ensign Brooks, a Presbyterian, shortly after her marriage became involved with "The Mission" in Woodhull, New York. Pastored by Reverend Lines, it was a branch of Aimee Sample McPherson's Pentecostal movement. Several of the older children were baptized by Reverend Lines and when "The Mission" closed, Jennie took her family to the Baptist Church. All of us were brought up by a Bible reading, home praying mother. The Christian values instilled within us were never lost. As the years passed by, the family became involved in many other denominations, including:
The Bible that Jennie used all those years in bringing up her family almost fell apart. It is now in the possession of William Edward Brooks, who sat many times upon her lap as a little boy and listened to her read to him. It is one of his most prized possessions. I am sure the values instilled by her and all of our other family members have stood us well in our lives and has been passed on to the younger generations. I have looked hard in my research and have found no black sheep in the family. Bob Hughes asked me if the animal shown in the crown at the top of the Brooks' Coat of Arms was a rat. I could not resist telling him that I found no rats in the Brooks' family. It is an otter, a sly, industrious, trusting and loyal aquatic mammal and is greatly concerned with the rearing of it's young. I am sure that if each of us searched our lives we would find many things that we would not be proud of. Perhaps there are some of those things which I could have included, but if you will allow a bit of the old preacher showing up, I want to tell you about a man I met forty-some years ago at the time I assumed the pastorship of a new parish. After a few weeks there, I got a letter from an 84 year old Christian man and in it he pointed out some of my areas of weakness, but with the love that only a man of his experience could do. He ended the letter by admonishing me to build my life on two Bible verses in particular. I want to share them with you. The first is taken from Paul's letter to the Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 8, "Finally, Brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think of these things." The second is taken from the Book of Micah, Chapter 6, Verse 8, "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God." In other branches of the Brooks family, there are many famous names, i.e., those who left their marks on the world's history. Perhaps none of us in our branch will be long remembered. Perhaps, though, we might leave a footprint here or there in the sands of time so that someone later might find it and say, "It's is good that this man or woman passed this way." The Latin motto on the Coat of Arms reads, "Ut amnis vita labitur." Translated, it is "Life glides away like a river". So it has and so it will be. Nevertheless, hopefully, fortunately or otherwise, there will always be a
"WILLIAM". |