Happy to be of service
Former teacher directs St. James’ religious education, volunteers for several causes she’s passionate about
There is no telling how many hours Mary Nell Short spends a week in service to others, and she enjoys every minute of her volunteer work.
First on her volunteer list is service to St. James Episcopal Church. Short and her late husband, Clifford, moved to Texarkana in 1978, and they joined St. James right away.
“I’m a baby Episcopalian,” said Short, who serves as the director of religious education.
Short oversees the children’s activities on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings.
“I also do all the behind-thescenes stuff for the youth programs and teach classes for First Holy Communion and Confirmation,” she said.
Short said she especially enjoys overseeing Faith Weaver Friends, a program for children age 4 to those in fifth grade. The class is taught by Susie Stanley.
“It’s a mini vacation Bible school,” Short said.
Her own work with summer VBS is dear to her.
“Watching the kids, getting hugs from them, it just warms your heart,” she said with a big smile.
Her labor is rewarded when she sees those she guided as children now assisting with the young ones.
“The older youth are taking leadership roles with the younger kids, being their role models. For example, they help with the children’s chapel on Sunday mornings. They help with the whole service and the music.”
The children’s chapel is a lovely space in the basement of the church. Short said.
“On Sunday mornings, the children proceed down into the chapel and have Liturgy of the Word. They read their own gospel passages. They learn to genuflect.” Smiling, she added, “They pray for their pets—their dogs and cats and fish!”
The Rev. Douglas Anderson, pastor at St. James, considers Short as “a woman of great virtue and faith.”
“Throughout her career, Mary Nell has given selflessly to children and young adults. She has done this as a public school teacher, private school headmistress and for the last decade or so as director of religious education at St. James Church.”
Short holds a Bachelor of Arts from Texas Women’s University and a master’s degree in education from Texas A&M-Texarkana. She worked in the public school system for 25 years, and for four years she worked as head of St. James Day School.
Short lost her beloved husband and best friend, Cliff, in 2012, after 51 years of married life. The couple have three children—Chris, Kathy and Kelley. With pride Short said, “I have 10 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and a fourth on the way.”
In addition to her church work, Short joined The Salvation Army Auxiliary at the invitation of a friend.
“The whole purpose of the Auxiliary is to raise money for Salvation Army work,” she said. “I didn’t know much about it until I got into the Auxiliary. I am very impressed. It is one of the most giving nonprofits I have ever had anything to do with. Everything the Auxiliary does benefits The Salvation Army.”
Short is into her second year with the Auxiliary. She said she loves helping with the Angel Tree and the food pantry. She also interviews clients who need food, making sure they qualify and fit within The Salvation Army guidelines.
Short added, “For the Angel Tree, we interview people and get the ages of their children, the children’s clothes size, the toys they would like and so forth,” Short said. “There are hundreds of children and even older people who have needs. Interviewing for the Angel Tree and the food pantry is such an eye-opener.”
Despite her healthy workload, Short still finds time to expand her volunteer service. She works once a month at the desk of the Regional Arts Center “and more often if I am needed.”
The Texas Retired Teachers Association also ranks high on Short’s list of priorities.
“The TRTA is a real passion of
mine, and has been for about 15 years,” Short said. “We work for the benefit of those who are retired, as well as the active educators who are still in the classroom. There are over 300,000 retirees in Texas.”
Short serves as chairman of the State Community Volunteer Services Committee for TRTA.
“In 2016, Texas’ retired educators volunteered over six million hours in their communities. The value of that many hours was over $152 million. We take that information to the state legislators, letting them know how many millions of dollars’ worth of time retired teachers give to the community and state.”
Whenever possible, Short enjoys getting together with family, though they live in other parts of Texas. She reads in her spare time at home, usually historical novels and history.
One wonders, though, if Short soon will use this extra time to find new ways to give to the community.