Connect with Carol Cottingham

1.  How long have you been attending Troy UMC?
32 years beginning in the little white church on Main Street.

2.  What drew you to this church? 
The pastor and the friendliness of the people.  My husband as we were leaving, said this church needs us as much as we need them.  The lights kept going out during the service. He went home, got his meter and his electrical things, came back and fixed them.  As far as I know, they worked until we moved to this facility.

3.  Which service do you typically attend?
 I used to attend the 9:00 and 6:00pm on Sunday night, but now I'm teaching Sunday school at 9:00 and now attend 10:30 which most of my friends attend.

4.  Share a favorite Bible verse, and why this is a favorite.
The 100th Psalm, "Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth," and John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life."  If it weren't for that, we'd all be doomed!

5.  Tell us about your family. 
My husband Ty and I have been married 54 years.  We were just kids 17 and 19.  He was in the military for 22 years, and I followed him all over the U.S. and Okinawa.  We have 3 boys, 51, 47, and 38.  All married to wonderful young women whom we love dearly.  They gave us 8 grandchildren and one of those 8 gave us 2 great-grandchildren! Our oldest lives in Godfrey and retired from the Alton Police Dept. and is now working security at one of the St. Louis Hospitals.  He has 3 girls, one getting married June 2013.  Our middle son lives in Flint, Texas, has 2 girls and a son.  His eldest daughter is the one that has a boy and a girl. He works as a Physical Therapist Assistant and teaches classes at the local junior college for Physical Therapist Technicians.

6.  Share a favorite Christmas recipe, and why this recipe is a favorite.
It's not very exciting, but sugar cookies because I used to help my mom, and my boys and the grandchildren always liked to help decorate.  Kind of a family thing.

7.  In what era would you most like to have grown up, and why?
I don't know why, but I guess the excitement of the old West.  I thought it would be great to travel in a Conestoga wagon across the valleys and mountains.  I know there was hardship, heat, death and wearin' those long dresses!  Oh my.  I guess I thought it was romantic somehow.

8. I found you behind a desk near the church entrance the other Tuesday busy at work.  Share your involvement at Troy UMC.
I am on the "care team,” the mission team, just went off after being 3 years on the Church council, Vice President of our local UMW unit and am secretary of the District, answer phones every other Tuesday, help with labeling the Newsletter for mailing, attend the Monday Afternoon Bible Study and occasionally lead a session have been a member of the choir years ago, have been in a couple of performances at Christmas, teach first grade Sunday school, attended Sunday school. We had another women's organization called Fidelis Circle. We met in the evening, and I was an active member of that until it dissolved. Helped start the now preschool program that is now called First Step.  Back then it was a Mother's Day Out Program where Mom's could drop their children from 10:30 – 2:30.  They learned to identify their own names, shapes, colors, etc. We had a great time!

9.  How may we contact you in order to make a further connection?
Email tysr@charter.net  or phone 667-2408 or cell 401-9872.