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Tribute to Chaplain Kris Tackitt

 

                      

                      Chaplain Kris always watching for passing truckers to invite to the service.

 

     When I was first asked to write this tribute to Chaplain Kris by Pastor Mel Weaver of Grace Chapel, I wondered who am I?  I am nobody of any great stature. Even though I have known her since 1986, I could think of many others who maybe knew her in a little more personal way than I did.

  Pastor Mel Weaver surely knew her better than I did, I thought. Or maybe Woody Clark,  or how about John English, who took over “Little Grace Chapel” at the truck stop in Milton, Pa where “Chrissie” served as the on site Chaplain for some fifteen years. Surely He was more qualified, wasn’t he?

But wait I thought, as I sat in a truck stop, some sixteen hundred miles away from home.

That’s it exactly, I know why me!  I represent the ones that Chaplain Chris dedicated Her life for; The on the road truckers!

  There are many drivers who believed like me, that without her tireless dedication to being available 24/7, ACT wouldn’t be regarded as highly in the trucking community as it is. This is no disrespect to Chaplain Jim either; he knew what he was doing when he recruited her to the Association of Christian Truckers some 30 years ago.

     To be honest it wasn’t until I read the obituary from the Milton Newspaper that I realized had been miss spelling her name for years.

How should I know? She never made an issue of talking about anything but Jesus Christ. That’s all she ever cared about!

  It stands to reason in my book. Anybody who knows her story understands that she should have died 30 years ago, because of how sickly she was back then.

 It was only after Jesus raised her out of her sick bed, that he sent her to a place she thought she would never go.

That’s right, you guessed it; out on the road to live with truckers of all things.

 Her and Joe gave up their big house in the “Good” part of town, all of her worldly possessions including cars and fine furniture. Only to live in cramped quarters in the front of a old semi trailer, that was converted to a mobile chapel, and spend the rest of her and Joe’s retirement ministering to rough, rowdy, and sometimes smelly truck drivers. Surely, God must have been mistaken…

 

   Well, a 30 year old trucker named Jerry Hulse didn’t think so. It was in 1985 in Carlisle Pa where Chris and Joe had “all the right answers” as Jerry puts it, to convince him to not commit suicide in the Chapel that day.

 It was the third attempt to end his life that led him to Chris, and ultimately into the arms of Jesus. Since that Day, Jerry has accepted the call to preach, and has been around the world, ministering the Gospel with signs following. Without a doubt he credits Kris Tackitt, and her faithfulness to do the unthinkable, for his success in life, and Ministry.

 

 

                                    

                                       A trucker doing a special song during the evening service

 

 

   I can see that, while I was the one who became the first one to hold the title A.C.T. Driver/Minister, Folks might believe that I was the first Trucker to have that honor.

 The truth is Chrissie started that tradition almost 30 years ago.

 Chaplain Kris had a way of knowing if you had a call on your life to preach or not, and would make sure you had the chance to show it.

 She was always about getting truckers involved in reaching truckers. Even after Joe died, Kris had various truckers drive the mobile chapel to the next location for her.

 All she had to do was say “God” in that musical tone she used, for someone to show up to help her out. Little did they know that in helping Chaplain Kris, doors were being opened by God to bless that driver as well. I witnessed that several times in my own life for sure.

  For fear of leaving someone out, I won’t name names, but I know of several truckers who launched their ministries in either “Spirit of the Road mobile Chapel”, or “Little Grace Chapel” in the truck stop at Milton.

 It’s truly in honor of Chaplain Kris that We at A.C.T. are committed to seeing that the tradition of “Truckers Ministering to Truckers” continues!

 

 Although truckers were Chaplain Kris’s first concern, we weren’t her only ministry. She told me of one occasion after another, where she had several newly ex-prostitutes staying in the chapel, when she was in a truck stop somewhere.

 She put her life on the line for any girl who wanted to be free of such a terrible condition, there wasn’t a Pimp or drug Pusher who could stop her either. 

Out of her own money she bought many bus tickets, or arranged rides for anyone who came her way. From run-away kids, to broke down travelers, the chapel provided a safe place of refuge for anyone with a genuine need.

 

 

                               

                                                       Kris kept the Local people involved

 

  When Kris traveled she always had her van along with the truck to run errands, but also to connect with the local churches regardless of the denomination.  She was a true bridge builder encouraging the local Churches to open their doors to truckers on Sunday as part of their Community responsibilities.

Once in San Antonio Texas My wife and I found SOR 1 in the Petro. Knowing that Kris and Joe weren’t far away, we found them just in time to be whisked away to a Baptist Church as trucking representatives for the day.

 It has been proven that local Church connection is an important key, to being a relevant and viable ministry, as trucking Ministry is no different than any other Missions organization.  Chaplain Kris under the Leadership of Jim Keys, certainly knew how to make that happen, and did so for many years.

 

 

     

 

 

  I have to admit that I had mixed emotions the day I visited Chaplain Kris in the Care Center. I recounted a conversation we had about how she was mad at Woody Clark for suggesting that she go to Christian Retreat to stay for a while. She said “I know what they are up to!” “They want me to retire, and I won’t have it.”

 Needless to say she wasn’t there by choice, so I didn’t know what to expect when I walked in. I loved her too much to show any emotion over how strange it was not to see her in the chaplain uniform for the first time EVER!

 I have had to stop to re-gather my composure every time I think of it, because it was at that moment when she met me in the lobby of the Kramm Nursing Home, I knew that the mantle had been passed.

It was up to us now. She always told me, “It’s because I had good teachers” as the reason for her success in life. 

          Today, thanks to Christine W. Tackitt I can finally understand what she was talking about.  May we all Follow Christ in like manner. Amen

 

                                                                                                   Rev. Dean Hufford

                                                                                                   ACT Driver/Minister