A Legacy of Faithful Ministry

For more than one hundred years Baptist Temple has witnessed the examples of people living according to the teachings of Jesus Christ; wonderful examples of lives that bring honor and glory to Him. Two of those faithful servants were recently added to the honored roll of Deacons Emeriti: JoAnn White and Muriel Persky.

White, a deacon’s wife for many years was ordained a deacon in her own right in 2017. Her emeritus status is granted in honor of many years of service prior to her ordination. Today, she is best known through our ceramics ministry, where with her husband Boyd and her son Robbie, she provides a weekly recreational outlet with a healthy dose of Jesus. But her service record is deep and wide. 

Since coming to Baptist Temple in 1970, her positions include WMU president, Sunday school teacher and department director, Cub Scout den mother and scoutmaster in our Troop 22’s Cub Scout program, and kindergarten teacher in our early learning center. She used her CNA nursing skills in BT’s TOUCH methadone program, working alongside Rose Flynn and Dr. E. J. Gregory. “I took them into the room, settled them down, took their blood pressure and temperature and all that. Dr. Gregory told Rose what to do and she did the medication,” she said.

She served the community as well, serving as PTA president at Kate Schenck Elementary, Rogers Middle School, and Highlands High School, following her children as they grew up.

Like White, Persky had been a deacon’s wife for many years prior to her ordination in 2017. She has taught Sunday school, Mission Friends, and Vacation Bible School. She has cooked at youth camps for as many as one hundred hungry teenagers — and few people are hungrier than teenagers. She worked behind the scenes on our legendary dinner theaters and children’s musicals. She worked with adults, too, teaching Bible study for the Christian Women’s Job Corps—helping women gain a fresh start in life. She even developed and wrote Bible study curriculum for the program.

One of Muriel’s fondest memories was serving with the planning team for the Billy Graham Crusade during the four months of preparation leading up to the San Antonio crusade.

While serving so faithfully in church ministry, she worked many years at Buckner Baptist Benevolences. She began as a cook, advanced to receptionist, then bookkeeper, and eventually administrative assistant before retiring.

Following retirement, she would accompany her husband, Robert, on short-term missions to the border and on Young in Heart excursions. Locally, Robert and Muriel worked on two Habitat for Humanity houses.

In 2020, Persky completed fifty hours of training to become certified as Stephen Minister, enhancing her skills to walk alongside people in need of extra grace.