Natchez — After preaching a couple of revival services at Church Hill United Methodist church back in February of 2001, Rev. Diane Woodall fell in love with the Natchez area and wanted to return.

She got her wish in June of that year when she received the appointment to preach at Washington United Methodist Church and Church Hill United Methodist Church in Adams County.

“I fell in love with the people at Church Hill and felt that was where God wanted me to be,” Woodall said. “The Lord felt fit for me to be here, as well.”

However, the time has come for Woodall to leave the two congregations to be closer to her family in Baton Rouge.

Woodall’s husband was relocated from Natchez to Baton Rouge five and half years ago with his job as an engineer with Canadian National Railroad and now she is going to join him.

She is looking forward to being able to spend time with her husband but is sad to leave her congregations here.

“I’m very committed to spending time with my husband,” Woodall said. “But my heart is so sad. I have fallen in love with the people. I’m leaving a piece of my heart here.”

In the seven years Woodall has preached here, she said she has been impressed with the commitment to mission work both her congregations have shown.

“Both of these churches love Jesus and want to serve him,” Woodall said.

The people at Washington assemble flood buckets that are distributed to people affected by natural disasters. Flood buckets are five gallon buckets filled with cleaning supplies.

This year, for the first time Woodall knows of, the flood buckets were able to be used locally.

“Usually the buckets are sent to a warehouse and we don’t know where they are used,” Woodall said. “This year, Angie Brown who is head of the Red Cross and also a member of the church took the buckets to be used in this district.”

The members of Church Hill have shown the same commitment to mission work. They raised over $30,000 in one weekend for a local teenager who had been diagnosed with cancer.

The church had a ride-a-thon where children rode bicycles and some of the teenagers rode horses.

“We raised so much money in that one weekend that we were able to help more than just that one family,” Woodall said.

Prior to coming to Natchez, Woodall had never served two churches simultaneously. Preaching at two churches has never caused a problem because of Woodall’s ability to adapt.

“You just adapt to it like you do in other situations,” Woodall said. “Each church has its own personality, and we don’t always do things the same. We have a common mission though.”

She was also the first female minister to serve at either church. But that never came into play for Woodall or her congregations.

“I don’t think they saw a male or female issue,” Woodall said. “I’ve heard of some of my colleagues having to deal with opposition because of gender but the Lord has always protected me from that.”

However during her tenure in Natchez, Woodall was faced with several situations she had never encountered before.

While preaching her first service at Church Hill, she was interrupted by a large red cow peering in the window.

“I was so taken aback by the cow at the window that I stopped preaching and pointed it out to the congregation,” Woodall said.

The congregation didn’t share her surprise though.

“Since the church is a rural church it was common for the cows to wander up to the windows.”

At Washington, Woodall experienced similar encounters but instead of cows it was tourist peering in the windows during services.

“Since Washington is a historical landmark, tourists will come visit,” Woodall said. “We will be having service and they will put their face up to the window and peek in.”

One other memorable visitor at the church wasn’t as humerous but Woodall knows he was sent from God.

When Woodall first arrived at Washington, she discovered that many people thought the church was not open for services. To remedy that, the church purchased a sign listing the time of Sunday services.

The sign came in on a Wednesday during choir rehearsal. After it was installed, Woodall asked the members present to gather around the sign to pray that God would use the sign to bring people into the church.

The very next Sunday God answered that prayer, Woodall said.

A stranger came into the church during the service. The congregation was shocked, not only because they had just prayed over the sign but because the visitor was different from the visitors they were used to.

“He challenged us on many different levels,” Woodall said. “He was different. He smelled bad. He was inebriated. He caused a bit of a disturbance.”

Woodall said despite his disruption she never thought about asking him to leave or having him removed.

“It was so obvious that God had sent him,” Woodall said.

When it came time to take the offering, the man emptied his pockets into the offering plate.

“All he had were two Mardi Gras coins and a penny, but he gave all he had.”

The coins remain on the lecturn from which Woodall preachers each Sunday as a reminder of the power of prayer.

While Woodall will take that messaage with her, she hopes that churches will continue to show their commitment to prayer and growth that they had while she was there.

“A church that reaches outward will grow,” Woodall said. “But a church that remains inside itself is doomed for failure.”