Don Reed and Willie Nelson
Coming up with funds for scholarships and the Abbott Methodist Church is behind the sale of silver coins produced by the Texas Mint in Whitney. The coins have the likeness of Abbott natives Willie and Bobbie Nelson on one side and the Abbott church the siblings helped save on the other.
According to Don Reed of Whitney, proceeds from the sale of the coins will benefit the church and the scholarship established by the Nelsons for seniors from Abbott, Aquilla, Hillsboro and Whitney. Willie, Reed and Bobby Messer with the Texas Mint came up with the idea to sell the coins, which go for $55, which includes tax.
“We were looking for a way to sustain the church and scholarship fund,” Reed, who coordinates church and scholarship activities, pointed out. It was Reed who tipped Willie off in 2006 that the church that he and Bobbie grew up in had been closed and was being sold for possible use as a wedding chapel elsewhere.
The Nelsons stepped in and purchased the building. It still functions as a church today, holding services the first and third Sundays of each month at 10:45 a.m.
“When the church closed, they were averaging about five people per Sunday. “We are now averaging about 35 to 40 people with all volunteer preachers, song leaders and music directors,” Reed said.
The church recently ordained its first minister, and a Waco man who preached his first sermon in Abbott now has his own church in Houston with over 300 members.
The scholarship fund has awarded $25,000 in scholarships the past two years and anticipates giving another 12 $1,000 scholarships this spring. The organizers hope to raise about $500,000 for the church and scholarship fund.
The initial issue was for 600 coins, but additional coins will be minted should a state-wide advertising campaign in Texas Monthly become a reality, according to Reed.
The coins are currently available at the studios of 1-5-6-0 KHBR Radio and The Reporter Newspaper in Hillsboro, Abbott Cash Grocery, Willie’s Place at Carl’s Corner and Reed Insurance and The Texas Mint, both in Whitney. The public’s support of the project will be appreciated.
To purchase them by mail, you can use the site’s order form:
http://01f31ba.netsolhost.com/order.htm