Ooowee! Stay tuned as we will all learn something from her example.
Bishop Speaks
Tribute to a Church Mother EloisFergusonMoore
Wow! Where do I start? How do I start?
At 3:47.am., Monday morning, what made me get up out my bed, fix a cup of coffee, and head upstairs to my office to put on paper, in words, as best I can, hopefully, to share with each of you my readers how this great woman “WITHOUT A TITLE” made an impact on my life and this grassroots ministry.
She and her husband James Moore Sr., who stuck with her to the very end, started out with this In Touch forChristChristianCenter’s Ministry in June of 1996. She along with him has been faithful until the Lord called her home on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2012 at the Holy Family Home inParma,Ohio.
She was installed from Sister Moore of the church to Mother Moore a few months ago at In Touch. Church Mothers are very important to any church as a Christian example to the young women of the church. But, Mother Moore’s love for God showed in her faithfulness to her pastor, God’s spiritual leader and to her church family, to her own family, extended family and friends, and co-workers where she worked at theFederalBuildingas a taxpayer advocate with the IRS for over twenty-seven years.
Not only was Mother Moore always in the church with her In Touch Church family each and every Sunday, not only was she the church administrator for years and a mentor and personal advisor to this bishop, not only did she always go beyond call of duty for the church in her tithes, offerings and weekly love offerings to this pastor, but even on her job her colleagues, whom she often referred to as her “work family,” loved and respected her.
Most individuals needing assistance with their tax questions asked for her. One visitor who stopped by the church shared with me how her voice calmed his nerves as she explained to him what the IRS needed for him to do to get it right. Her exact words to him was, “Don’t worry, you’ll be alright.”
He said to me with a smile, “Bishop, she was right. It turned out alright for me.”
Let me ask each of you, my readers, a few questions. How many of you can smile and trust God through the storms of life, be faithful to God in sickness going through pain 24/7 yet continue to be there not only for your church but family and friends as well? How many of you can see death is right around the corner or looking you straight in the eyes yet continue to walk by faith and trust God?
Like many mothers, Mother Moore was the foundation and pillar, not only for her husband James but for her children, grandchildren, a host of other relatives, and friends as well. She didn’t have a title of service but served and listened and gave the best advice she could with the Word of God as her foundation.
She often made me a proud pastor.
She was the kind of church member and church mother any pastor would treasure. She’d call me just about every day asking, “Bishop, you ate today?”
“What did you eat?”
She loved my mother and often told me, “Take out more time with your mother and give her a call.” She and my mother talked often.
Mother Moore loved her God, her church family, and oh did she love her husband, James. They’d often dressed in the same colors for Sunday church service as both outfits would often match. She could wear those Sunday hats as she often moved from side to side clapping to the music with her husband right next to her. Since her death, I still look over where she and her husband would often sit and see her smile with joy of the Lord on her face and in her spirit.
She loved her children. We often laughed as she shared things with me about all of them over the years. She treasured her grandchildren and bragged so much about them as well.
But something happened and things took a change as her health began to take a toll on her. She took an early retirement and I attended the beautiful event at theFederalBuilding. So many pictures from that event were taken. I have well over five hundred photos of her and her husband from years back when they joined me at In Touch forChristChristianCenter.
Quickly, her body went from flesh to bones but she continued to dress up, show up at church, and Praise the Lord. She knew the difference between happiness and JOY, and the JOY of the LORD was her strength. Her body got weak. Her voice got weaker and I’ll never forget this experience that left me speechless.
After missing two Sunday Services, a car pulled up in the church driveway on the first Sunday of the month, Communion Sunday. I ran out the church door and there she was weak, sweating, leaning toward the door, yet dressed up looking at me with that beautiful smile. She was too weak to even get out the car. She reached out the car window with her two weeks tithes, two weeks offering envelopes and two weeks love offering envelopes to her pastor. Her exact words to me, “Bishop, I had to get here to get Communion and bring my tithes and offering envelopes.”
Tears came to my eyes. I could not believe what I saw. MOTHER MOORE. She was more faithful than many of us so called spiritual leaders, deacons, reverends, etc with titles. Even once she retired, on a fixed income, she never stopped giving. In fact, she increased her love offering to her pastor. She often said to me, “You’re not on salary and you need things too.” She always kept it real, yet in a spiritual way.
Stay tuned to next week as I break down how this woman of God looked death dead in the eye, got her affairs in order when she was finally given the word that her days were numbered. She still didn’t give up on living. She was preparing to make that move to a place of no more pain, pain she experienced 24/7 as the doctors told her they had done all they could do.
What will you learn next week? How she handled her earthly business getting things in order. How she prepared all those years of working, paying into her life insurance policy. I still remember her saying to me, “Bishop, there will be more than enough to not have to ask anyone for a cent.” She was proud yet private, humble yet grand in handling her business. Her children did right by her in sending her body to the grave until the Lord returns to meet her in the sky.
Ooowee! Stay tuned as we will all learn something from her example.
You can email the Bishop at bishopspeaks@aol.com. Write him at the church 969 E. 140 St. Cleveland, Ohio 44110. Call the church at (216) 761-7100 or visit for worship service 11a.m. each Sunday and also join them for 6 p.m. Bible class each Thursday night at the church.
