Retired Windsor Pastor Still Ministering After 40 years
DALTON, Mass. — The Rev. Sandy Racette calls her mentor, the Rev. Levi Davenport, a "prayer warrior."At 80, Davenport prays for some 200 people a day, not to mention about 75 organizations that promote Christianity and good will. He keeps their names in a little book, checks it, and prays for them all for about two hours a day. While his list is organized, Davenport said he has no set time for his prayer routine.
"Whenever the spirit moves me," said Davenport in an interview this past Sunday. Praying for some people that he knows well and others whom he does not, Davenport offers up general and specific prayers, such as for students needing spiritual guidance as they head off to their first year in college or for others who might be going for a medical procedure.
Davenport, of Dalton, retired July 5 from 22 years at the pulpit of Windsor Congregational Church on Route 9. He's spent about 40 years total as a minister of God, after he had "the conversion experience" when he was 17 in 1946, through the ministry of the "Old Fashioned Revival Hour," the Rev. Charles Fuller's radio program.
He said he feels he has a close relationship with the higher power. "I look at our Lord as Savior and Redeemer. I look at him as a friend. He says, 'Ye are my friends, if you do whatever I ask of you,'" said Davenport, who was widowed once, married twice and raised three children.
No Rest
Although technically retired, Davenport still pursues ministry. He counsels and leads Bible study at the River Run Apartments, where he now makes his home. Davenport said he occasionally fills in at the pulpit when churches need someone to speak.
That's no problem for him, as he regularly makes the rounds regularly to area churches. Twelve Hampshire and Berkshire county churches make up a local group that's part of a national entity, the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. Two years ago, the local association asked him to be the group's ambassador.
"When I have a free Sunday, I visit one of the churches. This morning I visited the Florence Congregational Church in Northampton. Last Sunday, I was at the Goshen Congregational Church," said Davenport. "I basically attend, and I communicate with the pastor before or after the services, and with some of the people ... some of these people are long-term friends and acquaintances."
Davenport also is taking his work as an agent of the Lord to a new level. He said he anticipates doing evaluations of congregations for himself, by attending services, Bible studies and functions at area churches.
"I look at it as to, shall we say, take the temperature, not in any judgmental way at all, just simply take the temperature of how well they're doing or what they might be doing to really encourage people, and general appearance of the people and how they respond," said Davenport. He'll be eyeing the outer-lives of churches, such as buildings and grounds, in addition to their inner workings.
Davenport, while a senior member of the local group of Congregational churches, said he isn't doing these evaluations for the organization.
"I haven't made any formal development of it. It's for my own evaluation really."
A Life of Ministry
After shorter service in small towns in Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine, Davenport put his roots down in Windsor, one of the smaller towns in the commonwealth. "I'm basically a small-town guy," said Davenport, who studied ministry at the Bible Institute of New England in St. Johnsbury, Vt.
Davenport said the Windsor flock was marked by "the sense of good will in the church and the community, which we received, and the faithfulness of the people in the church and the community." He said church members from the congregation of about 65 were "very diligent and very dedicated."
During his time in Windsor and at his other churches, Davenport said, "The basic thrust of my ministry is everybody gives, everybody prays, and everybody goes. [Meaning] every believer prays, every believer gives of his time, of his energy, of his efforts, whatever his gifts may be, and everybody goes in the direction and place that God wants him to be."
Next Generation
Racette succeeded Davenport at the Windsor church last month. To her, Davenport was much more than a predecessor.
"He's been my mentor and my guide, through my studies and through my passage here. He's always available, I can pick up the phone and call him, and say, 'You know, I'm struggling with this, where should I go with it?'"
Davenport, she said, is "an amazing man. So much wisdom, so much knowledge. You say to him, 'Where is the passage that says such and such?' and he can tell you chapter and verse."
The elder clergyman called Racette "a very, very competent person. I feel very comfortable with her ministry, with her presentation. She's very capable and very dedicated."
Marking his exodus, the Windsor congregation recently presented Davenport with a journal, so he can record his thoughts for posterity. "He knows everything about everything," said Racette.
Have hilltown news? Contact Noah Hoffenberg at hoff1013@gmail.com.
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