Rule Collection Dedicated at First Presbyterian Church of Knoxville

One of the special and meaningful events at the CMN conference this year was the dedication of the Rule collection at the First Presbyterian Church of Knoxville.

Bill and Effie Rule were missionaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1939 when Effie went out as a single missionary though 1970 (Bill arrived a few years later and they got married). They served one last term at Bulape from 1977 through 1980. First Presbyterian Church (FPC) of Knoxville was their sending church. They have a long history with the Church. Effie Rule was the first woman ruling elder in the church. The Rules gave their collection of Congo memorabilia to the church. In a recent remodel of the FPC, they built special cabinets to house the Rule collection.

A recent addition to the Rule Collection is a small hippo tooth that Dr. Sheppard gave to Bill Rule when he was a child that helped inspire his desire to serve in Congo.

Since FPC was holding CMN this year, they decided to dedicate the collection as party of the CNN conference. Yesterday afternoon we had a very nice ceremony where a ribbon was cut and the collection was formally dedicated. It was wonderful to have all the surviving Rule children attend the ceremony.

Charlotte Rule White and Fred Brackney cut the ribbon celebrating new cases to display the collection of Rule Family Congo memorabilia. Their father, Bill Rule, founded the Christian Medical Institute of the Kasai in 1954. All the surviving Rule children and their spouses attended.

All the surviving children, with spouses, of Bill and Effie Rule, longtime missionaries in Congo. Left to right: Jim Woodruff (Libby’s widower) and his new wife Carol, John and Kay Rule, Noel Sugue, Barbara Rule Sugue, Paul Rule, Roxie Stixrud Rule, Charlotte Rule White, and Bill Rule.

Pictures courtesy of Kelly Norrell.

Published by Jonathan Cameron