This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: marysday Surnames: Watson, Hall, Classification: biography Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.oregon.counties.lincoln/5459/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The News Guard, Lincoln City, OR 97367 June 16, 2010 PASTOR LEAVES PULPIT AFTER 35 YEARS WATSON LEAVES LEGACY OF UNITY AMONG CHURCHES If Pastor Ron Watson of the Lincoln City Evangelical Church has left a lasting impression on his congregation during his 35 years behind the pulpit, it's that those who pray together stay together - and not just within his church's boundaries. It's a message he has promoted throughout the area since arriving in town on Aug. 1, 1975. Perhaps more than any other pastor on the coast, Watson, 67, has championed the idea of worshipping as one. "I've purposely chosen to overlook each other's differences and to be loving together, and to do that was an unusual thing," said the retiring Watson, whose many years of service will be celebrated on Saturday, June 19, at his church at 4406 Highway 101. Rev. David "Marty" Hall from Park Place near Oregon City will be introduced as Watson's replacement at the reception, which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Watson pioneered the idea of worshipping among churches and congregations that embrace theological differences during his time of service by beginning a ritual of celebrating with Agape Fellowship, a Pentecostal Charismatic Deliverance church located at 1089 S.W. 50th St. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2000, and extending through Pentecost in May 2005, the churches conducted combined services. "It was something unusual that hadn't happened in this community," Watson said. "We chose another church theologically different from us. It is my opinion that when churches split apart and there's dissension, that God is not pleased but Satan is. So we chose to get together instead of doing the opposite. We had services together every week for five and a half years. The churches worked together. It was really neat." Then there was the time on a Saturday night that Watson helped rally more than 1,000 people - primarily from Lincoln City but also from Tillamook, Newport and beyond - at the old Taft High (now Taft Elementary School) and got 200 decisions to accept Christ - mostly first-time commitments and some renewals. "Let's say God loves the Baptist people," he said. "So, if I'm to be like God, I'm going to love them, too. God loves other churches as well. If I compete against them and try to take away their people or try to hurt them in some way or try to look better than them or anything that competes with them, then that's going to displease God because He loves those people and, therefore, anything I can do to help or bless somebody that God loves and blesses, then I'm on God's side." Watson came to Lincoln City from the Western Evangelical Seminary in the Portland area with his wife, Linda. He quickly joined the Kiwanis Club, the Builders Club and the Key Club. He became a member of the North Lincoln Ministerial Association and Pastors Prayer, where pastors have met at Cannon Beach for four days in February for the past 20 years. He's also been involved in events such as Handel's Messiah, Mexicali missionary trips, Promise Keepers, Billy Graham's Portland Crusade, Jericho on the Coast, Luis Palau Crusade and Prayer Walks with the Cross, among others. Watson and wife Linda had two children when they arrived here - sons Eric, now 39, who works for Microsoft in the Redmond area, and Timothy, 37, who works on a Web page, green-energy project in Brooklyn. They had a daughter, Annaliese, now 35, shortly upon arrival. She is studying to become a midwife at Oregon State University. While all three children went through the Taft school system, Linda stayed involved with local kids in musicals, choirs and plays. Three churches were available to the Watsons when it came time for Ron to leave the seminary, but he was indecisive on which one to choose. "I knew I didn't know how to pick a church," he said. "All I knew is that I didn't care about the outside structure. They said, 'Where would you like to go?' I said, 'I don't know, you pick one."' With Linda's parents residing near Cloverdale, the Lincoln City option seemed most plausible. When health issues caused Linda to have to spend more time with her mother, now 96, at their farm near Mt. Hebo, the congregation of approximately 30 has allowed the Watsons to live nearly 30 miles away from the church for the past several years. Watson was influenced to become a pastor by his father-in-law, a pastor in Beaver who suggested he attend the Western Evangelical Seminary in Portland. "I had no clue what kind of seminary it was and this was one of the brands they had, one of the denominations," Watson said. "Linda's brother and wife went to be in the Portland area, so we went to an Evangelical church with them while I was in the seminary and it just naturally fell into place." Born in Buffalo, N.Y., Watson later moved to Pueblo, Colo., where he graduated from the University of Southern Colorado after spending five years in the Air Force. He was prevented from fulfilling his dream of becoming an astronaut due to high blood pressure. Once out of the military, he considered becoming a high school math teacher "but went into preaching instead of teaching." "It's just like in war time," he said, "where the Navy was off doing its thing and the Air Force was off doing its thing, and then you see how [then-General] Eisenhower got these different armies and navies [from different countries] working together on D-Day. They were effective because they worked together. That's what I see in the effectiveness of people loving each other and loving God together and worshipping together. It makes sense to me that if the churches are working together, they're going to be more effective." Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.