The Journey Continues: Fred Barnard
My journey this week takes me to the ministry of visitation and its importance during this pandemic. In my Pastoral class at Seminary, I remember two points about hospital visitation: “Don’s sit on the bed and don’t stay longer than 15 minutes.” When I was hospitalized years later, I understood the importance of this guidance when a friend of mind came in the room with a coffee pot and a bedroll!
Visitation does not depend on wealth, ability, or intellect; everyone should do it. (Overheard at church one Sunday: “Cannot remember the words shared but I will always remember who came to visit me.”) The pandemic has produced a challenging opportunity to care by personal contact through emails, Zoom, letters and cards, phone calls to our neighbors, friends, family, church members. We need to encourage people by visiting them. In Matthew 25, Jesus admonished us to visit the sick and those that are in prison. What we do to others indicates what we really think about our Lord. Enter Fred Barnard, who represents for me a man who genuinely cares through his visitation ministry. Fred estimated that over the years, he has shared with about 40 contacts each week.
Born in 1933 in Haysville, N.C., then immediately upon graduating from High School in 1952, Fred enlisted in the United States Air Force which ultimately placed him at Bergstom Air Force Base, Austin. It was there he met his future wife, Connie Landrum, of Taylor, and they married in 1955. To this union two daughters and one son were born.
In 1957, upon discharge from the Air Force, Fred began working as an optician for Texas State Optical. Fred moved his family in 1977 from Victoria to San Marcos to assist in opening a new Texas State Optical office. Soon after the move, he left TSO to join forces with the Transportation Department of the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District. He worked there until his retirement in 2005. Fred and Connie joined First Baptist Church – it became the hub of their family life. He served as choir member, youth leader, bus driver, and deacon.
If you ask Fred to look back over his life and talk about the tough times, he would mention just two things: the loss of his wife, Connie, after 50 years of marriage; and his battle with death in 2018 which really challenged his faith. However, it was his faith that brought him through both challenges. He was reminded of the Lord’s promise —“The Lord is my Shepherd; I have everything I need.” He recalled the compassion of the Lord when “Jesus wept” over the death of Lazarus just as he wept over the death of Connie. These verses and many others turned Fred’s thought to the needs of people facing tough times. At present, he helps with the Senior Adult Ministry at FBC, attends Bible Study Class on Sunday morning, and meets on Wednesday morning with a group of men for prayer and to encourage each other through devotions.
His favorite verse is II Corinthians 5:20: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
