Georgia
Love for the Dawgs goes beyond football, y’all
Third down. Up by eight. But Alabama was almost in…
Adopted by Dawgs
After 25 years, a small Church of Christ in Athens, Ga., is still committed to its campus community.
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ATHENS, GA. — The first time I walked into the auditorium of the Campus View Church of Christ, I had a hard time sitting down.
It wasn’t that the pews were packed, though there was a good crowd that day. And it had nothing to do with me worrying about taking someone’s “assigned” seat. Quite the contrary.
Related: Love for the Dawgs goes beyond football, y’all
I could not sit down because people kept jumping up, welcoming me and asking me to sit with them. I kept saying, “I’m sorry! I already told those folks up there I’d sit with them. But thanks!”
That’s how it was during my three years at Campus View, the warmest family of faith I’ve ever encountered. And now, 25 years later, I was back in the church’s bright white auditorium to say farewell to one of its kindest, most genuine members, Debbie Cosgrove.
Debbie Cosgrove
Debbie and her husband, Bill, were my Adopt-A-Dawg parents. My schedule as a graduate student made it tough for us to spend time together, and I found myself apologizing to them a lot.
But I made occasional trips to their home in rural Oglethorpe County with our campus ministry. I still remember my friend Dustin Rector singing “See you at the Cosgroves’” to the tune of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s “See You at the Crossroads.”
Debbie raised horses and a variety of plants — all native, of course.
She had a master’s in horticulture and balked at those who added flora not suited for northeast Georgia’s climate to their landscapes for pure aesthetics. Even her son, Cary, got an earful about his gardening choices, he said during the memorial service.
Friends and family pack the pews of the Campus View Church of Christ for Debbie Cosgrove’s memorial service.
One of Debbie’s sons-in-law, Paul Minor, mentioned her ever-present smile and the frail, whispery way she would say, “Hey Paul,” as if seeing him was the thrill of a lifetime. She was the same with me and the other university kids. Even back in 1996 we could see signs of the autoimmune pulmonary disorder that would eventually take her life at age 68.
It never took her spirit. It rarely slowed her down.
Our campus ministry, the Georgia Christian Student Center, was just a handful of students in the mid-90s, but ministers Todd Stancil and Barrett Coffman helped us build it to more than 50. We did a musical, “I was a Teenage Christmas Tree,” for the church. Todd convinced me to play intramural softball, something I’d never done. Somehow I got an RBI, batting in my roommate, Erik Benson. Barrett called me Babe Ruth for weeks. (That may have had more to do with my shape than my athletic ability.)
Joy Crosby, Andy Womack, Terry Norwood, Jason Pritchett, Erik Tryggestad and Donnie Holliday reunite at Debbie Cosgrove’s memorial service.
It was the church’s families — the Cosgroves and the Norwoods, to name just two — that really made our campus ministry special. At one point I could think of five homes I had not just visited, but I knew where to find the forks and spoons. These folks let us into their lives, and they loved us.
“At one point I could think of five homes I had not just visited, but I knew where to find the forks and spoons. These folks let us into their lives, and they loved us.”
Six of us from my campus ministry days made it for Debbie’s service. After food, hugs and some catching up, I stayed at the home of Walt and Jann Moore, who treated me like a long-lost son.
Walt’s parents, the late Bill and Tweet Moore, were the backbone of the Campus View church for decades.
@eriktryggestad ATHENS, Ga. — The 2024 Georgia Bulldogs make the Dawg Walk into Sanford Stadium during the University of Georgia’s spring game. #uga #dawgwalk #georgiabulldogsfootball #gday #gday2024 #sanfordstadium #athensgeorgia ♬ original sound – Erik Tryggestad
Bless Debbie’s heart. Her service was the night before G Day, the annual spring football game at the University of Georgia.
I made a gleeful pilgrimage from the Moores’ house to Sanford Stadium to watch our back-to-back national champion Bulldogs do battle between the hedges. I saw the game with fellow Campus View alum Joy Carter, now Crosby. I met her husband, Charles, and their two kids, clad in beautiful red and black. The family worships with the Ridge Avenue Church of Christ in Tifton, Ga.
@eriktryggestad ATHENS, Ga. — Carson Beck connects for a touchdown during the University of Georgia’s spring game 2024.#gday #carsonbeck #georgiabulldogs #georgiabulldogsfootball #sanfordstadium ♬ original sound – Erik Tryggestad
The game ended in a 20-20 tie — the best possible outcome for Georgia vs. Georgia.
Campus View, once again, is down to a handful of university students. The church just hired Ben Brinkerhoff, the son of the late, legendary Auburn campus minister Jim Brinkerhoff. Jim mentored countless campus ministers, including Todd Stancil. I’m praying for growth in the years to come.
Before I left town, I once again mooched off my Campus View family, just like old times, as I crashed a burrito banquet honoring six students who were about to graduate from UGA.
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“We burst with pride for what you’ve accomplished,” Jann Moore told the graduates. She and Walt host a weekly Bible study for the students in their home. Beyond mere academics, “we’re proud of your faith,” Jann said.
I spoke with Laurel Tipps, who grew up in the North Boulevard Church of Christ in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and came to UGA to earn a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Her first year coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. When she finally was able to visit Campus View, “I sat in the back,” she said. Nonetheless, “there were, like, five people who stopped me after church” with words of welcome.
She got involved with the Bible study and started inviting her fellow students. Three of them, all veterinarians, were honored at the banquet. None of them came from Churches of Christ.
Laurel’s mom, Lisa Trail, also was at the banquet. She told me that Campus View has been like a second home for her daughter.
Laurel Tipps and Lisa Trail
“This small church has just surrounded her with love,” Lisa said. “She’s felt at home. I bet she’s been in half of these people’s houses.”
“This small church has just surrounded her with love. She’s felt at home. I bet she’s been in half of these people’s houses.”
I know the feeling. A lot has changed in Athens in the past quarter-century, but I’m so glad that Bulldogs still get adopted here.
As for my own adopted mother, Debbie Cosgrove, I know I’ll see her one day at the crossroads — in an eternal garden where all the plants are native and all the souls are as genuine as hers.
Holding one of his grandchildren, Bill Cosgrove hugs Katie Shields, one of his two daughters, during the memorial service for his wife, Debbie.
ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact [email protected], and follow him on X at @eriktryggestad.
