There have been many Thanksgiving days and other times of solemn and joyful gatherings at the old plantation known as Farmington in rural King and Queen County about 50 miles north of Richmond. The family will return for Thanksgiving 2009….
OUT LOUD
“Obviously the severing of relationship after so many years is unfortunate and gives the world-at-large another reason to conclude that Baptists care more about putting people out than gathering them in.” Julie Pennington-Russell The senior pastor of First Baptist Church…
Church management guidebook released at annual meeting
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Nearly 150 people received copies of the newly-published Church Management Guidebook at a Nov. 17 luncheon hosted by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s support services team. The luncheon was held during the annual meeting of the Baptist…
Camp Piankatank dedicates three new lodges to enhance retreat setting
HARTFIELD, Va. — Camp Piankatank celebrated the construction of three new lodges with a dedication service and open house on Nov 15. The new structures differ substantially from their predecessors in their larger sizes and in their increased functionality. Planners…
Virginia Baptists increase 2010 budget, celebrate mission at meeting
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Despite a shaky economy, Virginia Baptists acknowledged their “God-sized” mission task Nov. 18 and adopted a 2010 budget of $14 million, about 1.4 percent larger than 2009’s budget, which is expected to see a shortfall. Next year’s…
EDITORIAL: Times change
Times of economic stress create tensions in religious bodies. I remember so well my first full-time church located in a far western county of Virginia known commonly as Missouri. Our church gave 18 percent to the Cooperative Program and 4…
From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Bill Kittle, resigning as pastor of Rock Hill Church, Stafford, to accept a teaching position in Vermont. • Wellford Tiller, to Calvary Church, Winchester, as intentional interim pastor. • Andrew MacDaniel, to Laurel Hill Church, Verona, as…
Haymarket church finds ministry in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province
HAYMARKET, Va. — Five members of Haymarket Baptist Church traveled to South Africa Oct. 2-16 to work among the varied people of the Eastern Cape. The group was led by Haymarket’s associate pastor of Christian education, Matthew Hensley. Team members…
Storyteller Calvin Miller leads 2009 BGAV Pastors’ Conference
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Calvin Miller believes in stories. Writer in residence and research professor at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Ala., Miller points to Jesus’ narrative parables as proof of the power and potential of stories to be remembered and…