Recipes for Living Neville and Marlene Clayton

The life stories in this previous Recipes for Living have been of members of the Osceola United Methodist Church and its pastors. Neville and Marlene Clayton are the only exceptions. Neville is a retired minister of the Osceola Disciples of Christ (Christian) Church but he and Marlene have ministered in many ways to the entire community, and in the opinion of the editor, rightfully have a place in our cords. ·

Neville was born on September 12, 1930, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to George and Ruth Clayton. Ruth's mother was an orphan from Italy and her father a German immigrant. Neville's paternal grandfather had been a miner in Yorkshire, England, and moved to Alberta to work in the mines. He lost his entire first family in an influenza epidemic, moved back to England, remarried and re-immigrated. George was raised in Craw's Nest Pass which was located in the Rocky Mountains. Ruth was a farm girl and the two met while George was teaching in a little country school in northern Alberta.

George and Ruth married and moved south to the Craw's Nest Pass area in the Rocky Mountains. That was where Neville spent his early years. Both his brother, Melvin, and his· sister, Enes Sheila, are considerably younger than he, so they were not his playmates. He remembers that his dog and he used to walk the mountain trails.

Along with the rest of the world, the war interrupted their lives. George enlisted in the RCAF'(Royal Canadian Air Force) and Ruth returned to Edmonton to be closer to her folks. Neville attended school in Edmonton. During that time Neville's mother bought old rundown houses to restore for resale. From helping with those construction projects, Neville learned that what shows on the outside often hides the beauty underneath. He always looks for the beauty within everyone he meets.

It was from his maternal grandmother that Neville received a foundation for his spiritual life and an appreciation of prayer. In the summers he- stayed with Grandma who took him to camp meetings, a two-week experience of eating, playing and worshipping together which was important to her and in retrospect very meaningful to him.

Neville committed his life to Christ at church camp. He made a confession of faith and was baptized in the lake. Under the guidance and influence of his pastor, Rev. John Bergman, Neville determined to go into ministry. This man, Neville's friend and mentor all through the years, died February 13, 2000. He preached in the morning and died in afternoon.

Immediately after high school, in 1947, Neville went to Bible College in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Looking back, he considers that as one of his most meaningful choices because of the emphasis on Bible, preaching, and personal work. It influenced his style of ministry for the rest of his life. At the end of the first year, he had begun to preach as a student pastor.

Marlene was born July 14, 1932, in Hanna, Alberta, Canada. Her parents, Cecil and Alice Rose, had four daughters, Marlene being the youngest. Her claim to fame, she says, was that she was delivered by the Minister of Health of the province.

During her growing-up years, Marlene’s father, Cecil, was a mechanic for Canadian National Railroad, which made it possible for Marlene to take music lessons in Calgary, 150 miles away. A pass enabled her to ride the train every Saturday morning for her lessons.

Neville and Marlene met at church camp and their courtship continued at Bible College, where Marlene's mother was matron of the dorm. Neville remarked that it was not the greatest courtship that ever was. He was "dirt poor" and a usual date was a walk two miles to downtown Calgary to buy 15¢ worth of French fries. They continued the relationship all through Neville's years in Bible college and as Marlene finished high school. They were married in May 1950, and "we're still walking after 50 years."

Neville graduated from Bible College in 1951. Part of his success came because John Bergman made sure that tuition was paid when Neville was unable to pay it. He was ordained in July, 1950, while he was a student minister in Lethbridge. They moved to Edmonton for one year, where he pastored a mission church supported by his home congregation, and was mentored by John Bergman.

Neville and Marlene moved across to the other side of the country, to Deer Island, New Brunswick. This was in 1952 and they took a Canadian National Railroad train for $98.25 each, which covered the one-way ticket, provided meals and a lower birth. The only access to Deer Island was by ferry or boat, which created a sense of isolation. Many of the fishermen had boats but Marlene and Neville did not, nor did they have a car. They spent two years ministering in Lord’s Cove and Leonardsville, two small villages on Deer Island. There were five miles between the two churches, with one hour and 15 minutes between services. Neville walked except for times when neighbors gave him a ride. However, all the calls he made during the week were on foot; and throughout his ministry he has been a faithful caller on his parishioners.

After the two years, they moved to Hillsburgh, Ontario, to serve the Hillsburgh and Grand Valley churches. There they bought their first car, a Chevrolet. The Regional Minister spent the next two years convincing Neville that he should go on to Seminary. Neville said that it was "to gain dignity, although one dear lady said there weren't enough schools in all the USA to give him dignity." Neville and Marlene still chuckle about that, knowing that she only wanted to keep them close.

One of the schools he considered was Drake University in Des Moines. He chose it because of the New Testament professor, an Australian, Dr. Moore. Neville was impressed by this man's teaching style. Another reason was that he had studied under theologian, Bible scholar, and author Edgar Goodspeed. Neville and Marlene moved to Iowa in 1957, and during his years in seminary, he served the Colfax church as a student pastor.

In retrospect, Neville realizes the impact the seminary had on his ministry as well as on the life which he and Marlene share. He was taught by skilled professors who were committed to their ministry. Neville became equally committed to his own as he strove to follow their example. Neville and Marlene decided to continue to reside in the United States after his seminary and student pastor experience. They made a conscious choice that Iowa was where they wanted to remain, and eventually they became United States citizens. Throughout this time they have been acutely aware of the distance from their family. Neville and Marlene learned to rely on each other, and the children found substitute grandparents in the church.

During the time Neville was in school at Drake, he and Marlene developed several interests. One was an enthusiasm for music that has persisted. It began by visiting KRNT Theater to hear gospel music. In the summer they gathered their children and attended band concerts at the state capital on Sunday evenings. Besides the enjoyment of the evening, it gave the children a love of music. All of them sang or played instruments in high school. Another interest came about because of activity tickets available through the seminary. They attended football and basketball games, and developed quite a love for the sports. Those were the Maury John years when Drake went to the Final Four in basketball.

Throughout the years, Marlene and Neville had six children-Dean was born while they were in Calgary. Their second-born was a girl who died at the age of two months. There had been no indication of a problem or warning of any kind. Just one day, in an earth-shattering experience, they walked in and found her dead. The diagnosis was congenital heart problems. She was born and is buried in Edmonton, where Marlene and Neville anticipate being buried. John Bergman was on hand to counsel, arrange funeral and burial needs, and support them in their grief.

Valerie was born while they lived on Deer Island, Anthony and Shelly were born at the time Neville was serving the church at Hillsburgh. Faith is the only one who was born in the United States, having been born in Newton, Iowa.

Neville graduated from seminary in four years and served the church in Colfax one more year. In 1962 he received an invitation to serve in Cadillac, Michigan. It was quickly discovered that the parsonage and yard were not adequate for the needs of a family, so they were receptive to an offer to go the Exira Christian Church in Audubon County, near Atlantic, Iowa. They returned to Iowa and were with that congregation for seven years in a very happy, fruitful ministry. The Clayton children all went to school in Exira and the oldest, Dean, received his diploma there.

Neville and Marlene were always involved in their activities. Neville was Assistant Scout Master for the Exira Boy Scouts when Dean made Eagle Scout and Tony achieved the next highest rank, the Life Scouting award. They attended all the sporting events, musicals, and plays that the children were involved in and always went to the football games. Marlene was scorekeeper for the Exira girls' basketball team for several years.

Until this time Neville had served rural churches, and he decided that he wanted to try an urban church. In 1971, an opportunity opened at the Cedar Christian Church in Cedar Rapids. They were there 12 ½ years, during which time the children finished high school and Marlene went back to continue her education. She earned her Medical Assistant diploma from Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids and spent eight years working in doctors' offices. It is pleasant for her to remember that she finally gained an identity separate from her "minister’s wife" status. She worked across town from the church. Her patients knew her only as Marlene, having no need to know her last name. It was gratifying to become known for her own individuality. This gave her the confidence and independence to become more actively involved in ministry.

While they were in Cedar Rapids, Neville underwent several surgeries: a hiatal hernia in 1975, frozen shoulder repair in 1977, and abdominal surgery in 1980. They fondly remember Sister Mary Raye, the patient advocate at Mercy Hospital, where the surgeries took place. She was a woman of boundless energy, a wonderful spiritual counselor, and continual source of encouragement. She came to Neville's room before surgeries and assured him that she would be praying for him. He knew that she would. When it was time for him to be dismissed, she told him, "It is nice to see you smiling again." Neville confesses, "I have a difficult time with pain."

While they were in Cedar Rapids, they became interested in geriatrics and attended several workshops and other sessions on the subject at the University of Iowa. Marlene began going with Neville to call on the elderly and sick. This led to a commitment to Hospice, which is designed to work with terminally ill patients. Marlene took training at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids and continued in the work after moving to Osceola. What is an appropriate approach to people who know they haven't long to live? Neville's reply, "My conviction is that we are not judgmental of anyone in the latter stages of life or of those who have died. Their destiny and their lives are in the hands of God in a very special way. The God I serve is a very merciful and loving God."

In 1983 Neville received an invitation to serve in Osceola, Iowa. They moved to this community. For the first time, there were no children in the home. Much more ministry was done together, particularly in calling. A decision was made to be less involved in the regional church and more involved in community issues.

Neville officially retired in 1995, but he has continued to have interim ministries throughout the state. He also has served six years on the Board of Trustees at the local hospital. He and Marlene have made sure to have time for visits with and from the children. They have been involved in Elderhostel, and have made almost yearly trips back to Canada to share with family.

Neville is alert to opportunities for ministry. Many times it is not behind a pulpit or within church walls. He believes this is the nature of ministry, which in large part is preparation for the special thing that God may want a person to do. There are things that God prepares us to do if we will do them. Much of life seems ordinary and mundane but that may be a time that. God is using to prepare us. It takes a lot of hoeing in order to have a harvest. God doesn't ask us to do something every day but always, every day, we need to be preparing. Out of faith, friendship, and a sense of empathy, ministers are given the opportunity to be involved in the lives of individuals as is the case in no other profession in quite the same way.

Neville sees sermons as expressions, pauses, and emphases. The whole point is letting the message come through-not just from the mouth, but the whole life. He has read many great sermons and his preference are those which are just stories, the lives of heroic figures of the Old and New Testaments. One of the most satisfying elements for him is preaching. He sees his gifts of ministry as preaching and calling. "I feel that I am a better pastor than a preacher." He has also had great respect for the expertise of lay people and feels that they should be entrusted with all aspects of "church work."

Marlene observes that people are comfortable with Neville, not the least of reasons being his sense of humor. People often joke with him. This is not disturbing in that he has learned that people learn through laughter and that they are usually not laughing at him but with him. Humor. has been a part of his congregational relationship throughout his ministry.

He admits that he has a tendency to forget parts of the service. In Cedar Rapids he occasionally forgot the special number by the choir. In his eagerness to get to preaching, he would go ahead without them. They took it good-naturedly and sang their special after the preaching was over. He also has trouble with peoples' names. When they moved to Osceola, someone gave Neville a button that said "I can't remember your name either."

Retirement has not lessened activity for the Claytons. While serving the Christian church in Osceola, a group of ladies met regularly to quilt and Marlene learned quilting from them. She is hampered in some of her hand dexterity because she is naturally left handed, which school teachers attempted to make her change. That caused her to be able, to a degree, to use both hands. One area of difficulty is in her use of scissors. Neville would cut out the material for her when she sewed. Now they both have developed an interest in quilting with Neville piecing and Marlene quilting. In the early stages Neville did the sewing by hand, but now uses the machine.

At the present time, their oldest son, Dean is married and has two little girls. He and his family live in Cedar Rapids. He is employed to maintain machinery for a shrink-bag manufacturer. Valerie is single and works with Wells Fargo Bank in Des Moines, Iowa. Anthony has retired from the US Air Force after serving for 20 years. He is married and has three children- two girls and a boy. They live in Michigan, where he is an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse). Shelly spent 20 years in the Marine Corps and married a Marine who has been in the Corps for 30 years. They have no children but, by a previous marriage, he has a boy and girl who are now adults. They live in a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. Faith followed her parents to Osceola. She has one child, and is a special education teacher in the I-35 high school.

Faith shares the following: When Marlene is asked how she would describe her role in their ministry over the years, she tends to minimize her involvement. She believes she has remained fairly quiet in the background. However, Neville and his children strongly disagree. The many members of the different congregations they've served, various residents of the communities they've lived in, and the Hospice patients that she's helped Gust to name a few), would join Marlene's family in correcting her perception. Her presence may have been quiet at times, but her efforts have touched the lives of many. In fact, Neville maintains that their ministry has been, and continues to be, a partnership. Without the efforts of both, they could not have accomplished what they have. Without Marlene, Neville believes, there would not be the previous story of a lifetime dedicated to the ministry.

Having survived the car accident and surgeries, they feel that it is important to live celebratively. In 1962 they took their first trip to California with the family from the Colfax congregation, in 1980 a trip to New Zealand to celebrate with Marlene's sister their 30th anniversary. In 1988 they attended the World Convention of Christian Churches in New Zealand. In 1990 there was the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Neville's ordination and their marriage. That was observed by the Osceola Christian Church, and an invitation was extended to friends from previous congregations and the Osceola community in general. In 1995 there was a celebration of retirement, a party at which Neville was presented his Honored Minister pin after 45 years of ministry. In 1999 they went back to Hanna where Marlene acquainted Neville with some of her memories. In the year 2000 they attended the Wor1d Convention in Australia and returned for a visit to New Zealand in 2002. Life continues to be exciting.