Coram Deo

Evoking our Past Engaging the Present Expecting the Future

Cliff Temple is pleased to announce a new band-led worship opportunity on Sundays at 5pm in our chapel. Coram Deo, or “the presence of God,” is a service that represents an ancient/future dichotomy, embracing ancient forms of Christian worship in the context of our modern culture.

Having served in this community for over 116 years, we’ve seen Oak Cliff’s many transformations. Our community’s history and diversity have shaped our community in a unique way. We hope this new service will tap into that uniqueness while offering a fresh way to encounter God.

Whispering Ghosts

Sandy Bates Emmons makes a living selling airtime to reality TV shows for Time Warner Media. But she’s also had her 15 minutes of reality TV fame.

She made the cut for the first season of “Top Chef” but had to turn it down because she owned two restaurants at the time.

Her own reality TV time would come later, with ghost stories instead of pastries.

After she met her husband, artist Andy Don Emmons, she moved to his generational family ranch in Fairfield. She got a job in town as curator of the Freestone County Historical Museum, which began with the 1851 courthouse and jail.

Sandy worked by herself most of the time, and it wasn’t long before strange things started to happen. Lights would turn on and off by themselves, footsteps and voices echoed down empty hallways, disconnected antique phones suddenly rang.

Emmons saw an opportunity for the smalltown museum.

“I thought, ‘Gee, this place is super haunted; I think people would come here if we could connect the ghosts to the history,’” she says.