Transitions
ON THE MOVE
Scott Curtis, to Providence Baptist Church, Red House, Va., as pastor.
Stephen Foss, to Plymouth Haven Baptist Church, Alexandria, Va., as senior pastor.
Trent Sessoms, to Kingdale (N.C.) Baptist Church, as pastor.
Joe McDowell, to Aarons Creek Baptist Church, Virgilina, Va., as pastor.
Gil Gulick, resigning as pastor of First Baptist Church, High Point, N.C.
Jeff Johnson, concluding his ministry as pastor of Hunton Baptist Church, Glen Allen, Va.
Rick Bennett, director of missional congregations for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship since 2004, is leaving the Atlanta-based CBF to become pastor of First Baptist Church, Elkin, N.C., effective Oct. 1.
Bill Eaton, to Leesburg (Va.) Community Church, as part-time executive pastor.
Jim Vaught, to Hillsboro Baptist Church, Crozet, Va., as intentional interim pastor, effective Aug. 26.
Travis Moger, to Middleburg (Va.) Baptist Church, as interim pastor.
Nicole Farrar, to Abingdon (Va.) Baptist Church, as director of children’s ministry.
Galen Ware, to May Memorial Baptist Church, Powhatan, Va., as interim minister of youth.
Damon Lomison, to Mountain View Community Church, Culpeper, Va., as worship director.
Kyle Caudle, to First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, N.C., as interim project coordinator.
Aimee Hobbs, to Pritchard Memorial Baptist Church, Charlotte, N.C., as children’s minister.
Johnny Rafidi, to Green Ridge Baptist Church, Roanoke, Va., as children’s director.
Tiffany Slaughter, to Haymarket (Va.) Baptist Church, as associate pastor, effective Sept. 1.
Claude Evans, former pastor of Samaria Baptist Church, Providence Forge, Va., now serving as associate for ministry to church leaders at the Dover Baptist Association.
Joey Meador, to Poplar Springs Baptist Church, Richmond, Va., as young adult and youth minister.
Ben Wright, to First Baptist Church, Danville, Va., as director of youth ministries.
Carson Rich, youth and discipleship pastor for Leesburg (Va.) Community Church, now serving as headmaster of Dominion Academy, its church school.
RETIREMENTS
Michael Catlett, retiring as pastor of McLean (Va.) Baptist Church, effective Sept. 9. Catlett began his pastorate at McLean in 1990.
David Patton has retired as pastor of Gwynn’s Island Baptist Church, Gwynn, Va.
Fred R. Skaggs has announced plans to retire as pastor of County Line Baptist Church, Ruther Glen, Va., effective January 2013.
Robert Thompson has announced plans to retire as pastor of First Baptist Church, Ashland, Va., effective Dec. 31. Thompson began his ministry at First Baptist in 1992.
ORDINATION
Donna Coffman Sams will be ordained to the ministry on Aug. 12 by Clifton Forge (Va.) Baptist Church.
DEATHS
R.L.T. “Dick” Beale III of Ruckersville, Va., died July 5 at the age of 83. In November 1968, at age 39, he was elected president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia and is thought to have been the youngest layman ever elected to that point as president. He was a member of Upper King and Queen Baptist Church, Newtown, Va. Beale was preceded in death by his wife, Janis Elaine Dudding Beale. He is survived by his children, Richard L. T. Beale IV, Rebecca B. Broaddus and Frank B. Beale II; eight grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Baptist pastor and church planter Charles A. Chilton Sr. died on July 25. He and his wife were among the first Southern Baptist missionaries to the Philippines and became fluent in Tagalong, the national language. He had served as pastor of Eleys Ford Baptist Church, Fredericksburg, Va.; Harmony Grove Baptist Church, Topping, Va.; and Berwyn Baptist Church, College Park, Md. He was the first pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Woodbridge, Va., and was instrumental in the planting of the Fredericksburg (Va.) International Christian Church and the Filipino American Community Church in Richmond, Va. He is survived by his wife, Fay; four children, Lora, Lyn, Charlie Jr. and Amy; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. A celebration of his life was held at Grace Baptist Church on July 28.
Donald L.Tatum of Petersburg, Va., died July 20 at the age of 64. He was a retired pastor and teacher. He was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church, Colonial Heights, Va., and active in the Petersburg Baptist Association, serving for many years as clerk. He is survived by his twin brother, Ron Tatum, and several nephews and nieces. A funeral service was held July 27 at the E. Alvin Small Funeral Home in Petersburg.
Kudos
The John Leland Center for Theological Studies held graduation June 9 at the Church at Clarendon in Arlington, Va. Graduates included: School of Ministry Diploma, Darrell Naff, Sean O’Toole, Arthur Patterson, Son Tong and John “Toby” Tyler; Graduate Certificate for Theological Studies, Stephanie Porter-Nichols; Master of Divinity, Derek Adye and Jonathan Jones; Master of Theological Studies, Daniel Ficklin; and Master of Christian Leadership, Kevin Schrum.
Joe Champagne, professor of photography and digital imaging and chair of the fine arts department at Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, Va., has been selected for inclusion in “Art From The Heart 2012,” a juried exhibition of international photography and photo-based artwork. His piece, “Weeds, Fence,” was among other entries on display July 28 at 61 9th St. in Brooklyn, N.Y. The exhibition is sponsored by the New York-based foundation The Vanderbilt Republic, which explores paradigm shifts and the purpose and place of artists in society. The VR is a creative agency that specializes in the conception and execution of effective, monumental ideas.
76 YEARS
Annie Goode Garland served for 76 consecutive years as church pianist and teacher of the youth and women’s Sunday school classes at Lithia Baptist Church, Buchanan, Va. She died earlier this year at age 91, reports Daniel Scott, pastor of Lithia Baptist Church.
30 YEARS
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Fitzgerald |
Michael R. Fitzgerald, celebrating 30 years as pastor of Clifford Baptist Church, Amherst, Va. During his pastorate the congregation has built a social hall and a new sanctuary and educational building and just purchased an adjoining property.
Hammond Coates, celebrating 30 years as minister of discipleship and congregational ministries at First Baptist Church, Springfield, Va.
20 YEARS
Benny Edwards, 20 years as minister of music and senior adults at First Baptist Church, Southern Pines, N.C.
5 YEARS
Justin Joplin, 5 years as pastor of Westover Baptist Church, Richmond, Va.
Bryan Moore, 5 years as minister of youth and students at First Baptist Church, Southern Pines, N.C.
Dale Tadlock, 5 years as associate pastor/ minister to young adults and students at First Baptist Church, Waynesboro, Va.
Events
SUN.-WED., AUG. 12-15
Mulberry Grove Baptist Church, Buckingham, Va.; homecoming with former pastor Michael Jordan as speaker Aug. 12; revival services Aug. 13-15.
Welcome Grove Baptist Church, Warsaw, Va.; revival with Clayton Custalow as evangelist.
SUN.-WED., AUG. 19-21
Broadus Memorial Baptist Church, Mechanicsville, Va.; revival with Roger Roller, evangelist.
SUN.-WED., AUG. 26-29
Kedron Baptist Church, Gladys, Va.; revival with Roger Roller, evangelist.
SUN.-WED., SEPT. 9-12
First Baptist Church, Bristol, Va.,; revival with Darrell Fletcher, field strategist for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, as evangelist.
SUN.-WED., SEPT. 16-19
Rocky River Baptist Church, Siler City, N.C.; revival with Andrew Wakefield, dean of Campbell University Divinity School, as evangelist.
Missions
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A mission team from Clifford Baptist Church, Amherst, Va., traveled to Hope of Life International in Llano Verde, Zacapa, Guatamala, in July. The team dug the footing for a house, mixing concrete on the ground to pour the footing. They tied pepper plants and turned the earth on 1,800 linear feet of new pepper plant rows. They prepared bags of food and delivered them to a nearby village. The team visited one of the 87 feeding stations that Carlos Vargas, the ministry’s founder, maintains and were able to help feed the people who came there. They visited residents of a home for the elderly, the boys and girls orphanage and the baby rescue station. While there rescue personnel found an 8-month-old girl and brought her to the station to nurse to health. Clyde M. Mawyer Jr., associate pastor at Clifford Baptist, says it is difficult to convey the tumultuous emotions felt when confronted with the poverty and starvation of people compared to the luxury and abundance in this country, yet the team praises God for Vargas and the ministry there.
News
A 150-year-old church in downtown Washington voted July 25 to disassociate from the Southern Baptist Convention. The vote by Calvary Baptist Church followed a letter last February sent to then-SBC president Bryant Wright about concerns with the recent direction of the SBC. “We believe the Southern Baptist Convention has departed from the historic principles of separation of church and state and autonomy of the local church to such a degree that seriously calls into question our continued affiliation with the convention,” said a portion of the letter quoted in a press release. Calvary will continue to affiliate with the American Baptist Churches USA, the Alliance of Baptists, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the District of Columbia Baptist Association.
First Baptist Church, Burlington, N.C., celebrated its 125th anniversary with special events on July 29, including a photographic history by Don Bolden and a congregational luncheon. There were historical displays throughout the church. Observance of the church anniversary will continue into October with an annual homecoming.
Two Virginia Intermont College professors have collaborated with the Birthplace of Country Music in Bristol, Va., in a community project to present a special astrophotography program to at-risk middle school children. Developed by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the program is titled “Youth Capture the Colorful Cosmos.” VI physics professor Chuck Pearson and cultural heritage and public arts professor Jessica Turner will conduct the six-week after-school astrophotography series for Bristol school children next fall.
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Pope’s Creek Baptist Church, Montross, Va., had a good time celebrating its 200th anniversary on July 29—and not just because they had enough food for several armies, pastor Richard Headley joked. Headley said he and several others dressed in outfits similar to what their forefathers might have worn in 1812, when the congregation was formed. Pope’s Creek has defined its historic moments in a 36-page booklet. Copies were passed out before the service, along with souvenier pens, postcards and chocolate bars with a drawing of the church on the cover. From 1788 to 1812, Baptists in Westmoreland and Richmond counties belonged to Nomini Baptist Church. But members lived so far away, they couldn’t attend services regularly and met in homes and barns or under arbors. In 1812 40 members branched out from Nomini to start a new church. The group worshipped first in the old Pope’s Creek Episcopal Church, where George Washington attended services as a boy. Members eventually built a church, but it was destroyed in the 1860s by a fire, one of many that would do damage at Pope’s Creek Baptist Church. The congregation suffered another loss in the 1930s when fire again ravaged the church. A new brick building was dedicated in April 1941. That building has been added on to and renovated over the years, with beautiful stained-glass windows and electronic pipe organs dedicated in memory of loves ones.