Remembering Bill Evans
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” – 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
Some of you have never heard of Bill Evans. Others will never forget him, even though he’s been gone for nearly a quarter century.
That’s because, every year, he had a mission to call every member of GPUMC in advance of the annual CROP Walk for world hunger. He was searching for donations. And, like a Doberman with a pork chop, he didn’t let go easily. The plaques on the wall outside the church office bear tribute to his talent.
His success earned him a full-length feature article in the Detroit Free Press 25 years ago this May. The story touted 87-year-old Bill as the top fund-raiser in Michigan. It described how he took up the cause decades earlier, after the death of his wife, Kittye, as a personal memorial to her. He’d even schedule his annual check-ups around CROP Walk time, so he could pester doctors and nurses for a few bucks.
He traced his sense of compassion to his childhood, growing up poor on Detroit’s East Side.
“It’s just how I was raised,” he told the Free Press. “When I was a boy, some days all we had to eat was a bowl of soup and a chunk of bread, but we knew that there were neighbors next door who had nothing at all. So, before we were allowed to touch our meal, my mother would set aside a pot of soup and some bread and we’d carry it over to the neighbors.”
I thought of Bill this past January, during a Sunday sermon.
“Each and every one has a gift,” Rev. Eardley said, summarizing the day’s message from the Apostle Paul. “Each and every one has a part to play.”
Bill Evans played a most unique part well into his 80s. He did it humbly. And the CROP Walk gifts he collected each year rippled from 211 Moross all the way around the world.
Dave Versical
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