GIDDY-UP! Center Presbyterian rodeo provides a day of Western-themed fun and learning.

By MARIEL CRAY ncliving@ncnewsonline.com

This wasn’t the last roundup — at least, not if Center Presbyterian Church can help it. The church held its first rodeo Saturday, teaming up with the local Cowboys for Christ chapter to offer families a day of Western-themed fun and learning. The rodeo included stick horse races, bull fighting, roping, branding and hillbilly golf. These activities were accompanied by horseback rides for anyone. Doug Brenneman, treasurer of Cowboys for Christ, brought two of his quarterhorses, Lucy and Dbar. “I love to come out here and use the horses for the Lord,” he said. Kids weren’t the only ones, though, to saddle up. Anna Mae Kerr, 86, a member of Center Presbyterian since the 1940s, also experienced a view of the church grounds from the back of a horse. “I wasn’t scared at all,” said Kerr, who was accompanied by her daughter, Cindy Stinson, and some of her grandchildren. “I thought I might fall off but I wasn’t scared at all.” Children were divided into groups of five and then sent off to their designated stations of activities. The ropin’ activity, headed up by Josh Brenneman, got plenty of laughs. “I could do this for hours,” he said. “The Lord gave me a special gift and I love it.” So did the kids. One little girl “caught her cow” on the first try. Another, who said her name was Abigail, predicted, “I’m going to get it around the bull’s neck,” and did. Wendy Julian, a leader in the church’s worship team, took charge of hillbilly golf, which consists of a rope with two balls on the end. The ball gets tossed over bars and whoever gets it wrapped around wins. “It’s kind of like the game of horseshoes and the kids just love it,” Julian said. At the bullfighter’s circle, one youth would ride a fake bull on a stick while chasing Wade Hazlet, a professional bullfighter, around the circle, trying to buck him. The branding activity, headed up by Faith Brenneman, was “pretty cool,” said Caleb, a youngster who appeared to be having a great time. “The cross that’s branded on the leather stays there, it never comes off, kinda like me being a Christian,” Caleb said. “God branded my heart and it’s stayin’ just like that.” Dale Brenneman followed the activities with a talk about scars, and how they reflect a person’s heart. “Scars are an outward sign of an inward love,” he said. “Each person that has a part in the activities here has a unique scar showing their profession. “For example, ropers can lose their little fingers, barrel racers have scars on their knees, bull rider’s have scars all over and so on. “Jesus’ scars are an outward sign of his inward love for us.” The Rev. James Bibza, Center pastor, credited the church members for the rodeo. “This is not my show, it’s the church’s doing,” he said. “If we didn’t have everyone, it would not be going on.” Robert Mangeri, one of the church youth leaders, noted that the day was a fun one for kids, but it also offered something more. “It enhanced competitive activities while in God’s natural outdoor setting with animals,” he said. “Nothing could be more grounding for our youths these days. Kids are missing things like this and it’s a good opportunity to be impacted by God.”