Our History

When the church was first re-opened Don came up with the idea of giving scholarships to local students. He helped develop the coin above and they were sold in support of the scholarship fund. Due to limited supply the coins are no longer available.

The modern history of Abbott Methodist Church cannot be told without four people who quietly carried the town’s heart: Don and Joyce Reed, and Jackie and Faydell Clements.

When the Abbott Methodist Church was nearly lost in 2006, it was longtime resident Bernice Pope who first sounded the alarm. She contacted Don Reed, Willie Nelson’s closest friend, and Don immediately called Willie. Willie told Don to make an offer, and the church was saved from being sold, moved, and turned into a wedding chapel.

At the same time, Willie also purchased the Abbott Cash Grocery, wanting Abbott to still have a store. He asked Jackie Clements to run it, and the store became known locally as Willie’s Abbott Cash Grocery. Jackie and his wife Faydell were beloved in Abbott — steady, kind, and part of the fabric of the town. Jackie kept the store open for the community just as Don kept the church open.

Willie charged Don Reed with managing the church. Don and his wife Joyce, who had been married in the Abbott Methodist Church over 60 years earlier, cared for the building, the grounds, and the people with quiet devotion. Don managed the church faithfully for Willie until his passing.

Before he died, Don asked Stephen L. Girsh Sr. to take over the management of the church — a responsibility Stephen accepted and continues to carry out today, preserving the legacy that Don, Joyce, Jackie, and Faydell helped build.

Don Reed was instrumental in the reopening of the church and for many years he always had the doors open and welcomed all who would come to worship with us.