Staff Changes
Robert Lee Bowers Jr., to Dogwood Church, Gum Spring, as pastor.
Wayne Collis, to Gordonsville Church, Gordonsville, as pastor.
Dennis Knight, to First Church, Mar-tinsville, as pastor.
Thomas Parker, to Oak Grove Church, Cana, as pastor.
Bill Collins, to Amherst Church, Amherst, as intentional interim pastor.
John Thompson, resigning as pastor of Calvary Church, Lynchburg.
Ben Munford, resigning as pastor of Hebron Church, Hanover.
John Johnson, resigning as pastor of Oak Hall Church, Sandston.
Susan Poindexter, to Randolph Memorial Church, Madison Heights, as minister of music.
Mary Richerson Mann, resigning as minister to students at River Road Church, Richmond.
Linda Cooper, to Amelia Church, Amelia, as music director.
Church News
Community Fellowship Church, Gate City, will celebrate its 12th anni-versary with a celebration service on Feb. 26 at 10:30 a.m. Guest speakers will be Guy Tilley and Nick Colton. A covered-dish luncheon will follow at
12 noon.
“Jubilant,” a choir of University of Virginia students will present a concert of sacred music at Farmville Church, Farmville, on Feb. 19 at 3:30 p.m.
The shawl ministry at Pocahontas Bassett Church, Bassett, began in March 2005; and in less than a year 158 shawls, 184 hats and 34 wash clothes have been made. Hats were given to Ravenel Oncology for chemotherapy patients and wash clothes were sent to the Gulf States following Hurricane Katrina.
Sandston Church, Sandston, will host a concert featuring The Harvesters and The Trav'lers on Feb. 25. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. There is no charge for tickets, but tickets will guarantee a seat. They may be obtained at the Capstone and Lighthouse bookstores in Mechanicsville and Heaven & Earth at Virginia Center Commons Mall.
Deaths
Grace Atkinson Harlan died Jan. 31 in Richmond. She was the widow of former Virginia Baptist pastor Donald Lewis Harlan and served with him in ministries in Maryland and Virginia for over 48 years. She was a member of Derbyshire Church, Richmond. She is survived by two daughters, Marjorie H. Fairbanks and Amy H. Waddell; a brother; a sister; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A memorial service was conducted on Feb. 3 at the Lakewood Manor Retirement Community in Richmond.
Sidney C. Reber died on Jan. 24 in Dallas, Texas, at the age of 87. He and his wife, Alwilda, were Foreign Mission Board (now IMB) missionaries to Singapore, Malaysa and New Zealand. He was instrumental in starting the International Baptist Church in Singapore. He served the FMB as director of management services and vice president of the office of management services. He is predeceased by his wife, Alwilda Montgomery; and a daughter, Rebecca Alwilda. He is survived by a son-in-law, Randall Washington; two granddaughters and great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held Jan. 27 at Wilshire Church in Dallas.
Former Virginia Baptist pastor Frank Ellsworth Schumaker died on Jan. 6 at the age of 81. He worked for 42 years for the C&O Railroad (now CSX). He also served as a bi-vocational minister for churches in Albemarle, Nelson, Madison, Louisa and Fluvanna counties. He is survived by his wife, Ruby Glenn Schumaker; a son, Glenn W. Schumaker; two daughters, Patricia S. Tabb and Nancy S. Larson; five grandchildren; two brothers and a sister. A funeral service was held Jan. 10 at Bethel Church, Palmyra. A memorial service followed the funeral at First Church, Charlottesville.