I stayed up too late Saturday night.” “I wasn’t feeling well.” “I needed a break.”
The excuses for missing Sunday School are endless, but not for Bill East, a member of Lineville Baptist Church, Lineville. He just passed his 50th consecutive year of perfect Sunday School attendance.
“We were just raised up in Sunday School,” East said. “My daddy was a Sunday School man. He didn’t miss either. That was our business on Sunday.”
“This is a remarkable feat of displaying faith and dedication to God,” said Jerry Colquett, pastor of Lineville Baptist. “He sets a good example for us all.”
East has attended Sunday School regularly since returning home from World War II. Good health was cited by East as a factor in his ability to maintain such an exemplary record.
Most of the 2,600 Sundays over the past 50 years were spent at Lineville Baptist.
East’s wife, Ola, is also consistent with Sunday School attendance. She has more than 25 years of perfect attendance pins. Twelve of those pins are for consecutive years. She only missed Sunday School when she had no other choice such as taking care of her sick mother.
East said he once stopped at church for Sunday School while being transferred to the hospital in Birmingham. The doctor suggested he just wave on his way by the church. Instead, East stopped and attended the entire service.
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