Career change

Leaving pulpit was tough, but Curington ready for something new

Jeff Kaley

WAURIKA — Noel Curington had been considering a life change for several months and had even made it known that he’d retire some time in 2009.

Still, as he continued to ponder the decision to resign after 21 years of being minister at Waurika Church of Christ, Curington was torn.

Was it really time to start something new, especially at age 66? How would his family react, especially his wife Kay, who’s been a source of support throughout Curington’s adult life?

Equally important: How would the parishioners at Church of Christ accept the news? After all, some in the membership had been Curington’s friends since childhood, and he’s been a spiritual guide to many in the congregation for decades.

Would they understand the decision to step aside was nothing against them or that Curington was not wavering in his faith; that the motivation to retire was just his desire for personal growth and a change of pace? And after all these years, how well would the congregation make the transition to a new minister?

These were some of the considerations Curington weighed, the things that gnawed at him and made the decision to retire difficult.

Then, along came Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, and Curington knew “it was time for me to move on to something new and let someone else” take over as minister at Church of Christ.

“I was watching Charlie Rose on ‘PBS Late Night,’ and he was interviewing a woman (Lawrence-Lightfoot) who’d written a book called ‘The Third Chapter’. The book is about people in the 50 to 70 age range, who decided to make a life change,” Curington related, less than a week after delivering a final sermon at Church of Christ and being feted by the congregation at a retirement reception.

“She was talking about how she came to make the decision about changing careers, doing something new; how difficult it was, and how some people had reacted when she left her job. Even though she received some criticism when she left, she said she learned you have to give up something before you can do something else.

“Even though I had been talking about retirement for some time, I know it’s still kind of sudden for some of the congregation. But listening to (Lawrence-Lightfoot) reinforced the ideas in my thought process, kind of validated what I’d been thinking.

“The congregation (at Church of Christ) has been wonderful to me and to Kay and my family, but I knew it was time to move on. Since I became sure it was the right thing to do, the only regrets are that I could have done some things better or more wisely.”

Still, it was a circuitous journey from being born in Oakland, Calif. to spending 21 years as a minister in Waurika.

Opal and Darrell Curington brought their only child to Jefferson County in 1950, when Darrell bought a farm south of Hastings on the Red River. Noel’s childhood mirrored that of many youngsters growing up as farm kids in rural Oklahoma in the 1950s, although as an only child, he was a bit shy and withdrawn.

“One thing I liked about being a minister was that I liked being around people, and preaching gave me that opportunity. But I had to grow into it, because I was an only child and I was used to doing things by myself,” he noted.

As a teenager, music became an outlet for Curington to become more socially out-going and to tap a talent.

“I love music and my parents liked music,” he said. “There were no FM radio stations around when I was young, all we had was an AM radio. We’d get the weather and the farm reports, and at that time there were groups in Wichita Falls that would sing live on the radio, so we listened to that a lot.

“Mother loved to sing and Daddy had a good voice. They gave me a guitar when I was 13 and I’ve been piddling around at playing one ever since.”

Some of that “piddling” would lead Curington to join several other area musicians in a band called Leon & The Cow Chips, which endured several years beyond it’s anticipated shelf life.

“‘Leon’ is my name spelled backwards, and Leon & The Cow Chips was supposed to be a one-time thing. We were supposed to play for the Golden Age group at the church, but we ended up doing several gigs over the years and had a lot of fun.”

Music also played a role in Curington’s journey, when he became song leader at Church of Christ at age 15.

He graduated from Waurika High School in 1961 and spent a couple years in college, which he admits “was mostly against my will. I was not a very good student, and then Kay and I got married after the second year.”

In 1968, the Curingtons moved to Gallup, N.M., where Noel and Kay spent over seven years working as house parents for children’s homes. When the minister of their church became ill, Noel was one of several in the congregation who filled in as preachers.

But with their children — son Gregg and daughters Chereece and Sherry — beginning to get older, the Curington’s felt it was time to return to Jefferson County. Although Noel didn’t have a job, they moved to Waurika and within three days, Noel was working at Waurika Lake.

In time, Kay opened a day care center that became a consistent source of income as Noel continued on his spiritual journey.

“When we first moved back here, it was ‘Noel and his wife.’ But then it became ‘Kay’s Day Care and also Noel,’” he said, with a chuckle. “None of what I’ve been able to do would have been possible without Kay. She had the day care business for long time, and it’s one reason some younger people around here refer to us as ‘Mama Kay’ and ‘Papa Noel.’

“She’s had a tremendous influence on a lot of kids — and on me.”

For his part, Noel worked at Beaver Lumber for a couple years and also had a brief stint at Halliburton. He worked as a service manager at Richardson Auto and spent five years as a hand for Jefferson County District 1.

Those jobs were to supplement the family’s income, because in 1980, Curington’s progression to the ministry began to come full circle.

His parents had been raised in Charlie, Texas and Noel was well known in that small community. When the minister at Church of Christ left, the congregation asked if Curington would be willing to become interim pastor.

“I thought I could do it for six months, and it lasted seven years,” he said.

The tenure in Charlie was just the beginning. By the time the fill-in job ended, Church of Christ in Waurika needed an interim minister. Although he was working for the District 1, by 1988, Curington had taken the preaching job full time.

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Twenty-one years later, Curington said, “I wasn’t trained to be a minister by formal education, but I look back and I think I was on a journey to that end.

“I’m not an evangelist or a motivator, I’ve just been content to be a local preacher. I believe strongly in the providence of God, and I think that was what he had planned for me.”

Although he now feels there’s a new leg of the journey coming up, Curington also plans to remain close to the congregation in Waurika and to continue ministering in a different form.

“We’ll be taking a little while away from the church, which I think will help them make a transition. Bob Harris is coming in as minister, and he was minister here before for seven years, so I think having someone people know will help in that process,” he said.

“In time, I’d like to teach a class (at Church of Christ) and I hope to do some singing. This congregation has been a tremendous encouragement to me all my life, so I’ll always be part of it.”

And it hasn’t taken Curington long to get back to work. He’s already returned to an old job, working part-time at Beaver Lumber while owner Darrell Beaver recuperates from surgery.

When the 2009 Waurika Chamber Christmas Parade was held in December, Curington’s familiar voice was heard on the public address system, as he continued a long-standing task of being an announcer for a variety of community activities.

There are also eight grandchildren for Noel and Kay to dote on, including Chereece’s five children living in Arkansas.

Most of all, Curington is looking forward to seeing what’s next on the journey,

“My parents had a ‘servant-type’ attitude and taught me that we were supposed to serve others,” he said. “I plan to keep making hospital visits and visiting with members of Church of Christ.

“Even though I’m retired, I still look at myself as a minister. I’m just going to find a new route to continue ministering.”

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