STAFF CHANGES
� Jim Hewitt, to Pocahontas Bassett Church, Bassett, as pastor, effective July 9.
� Matthew W. Rondeau, to Mt. Tirzah Church, Charlotte Courthouse, as pastor.
� Danny Blalock, to Moore's Swamp Church, Elberon, as full-time pastor.
� Skip Wallace, to King's Grant Church, Virginia Beach, as pastor.
� Reggie Kirkman, to Chesterfield Community Church, as pastor. This is a Middle District Association church start that is currently meeting at the Children's Home of Virginia in Petersburg.
� Stacy Vanover, to Maple Grove Church, Coeburn, as pastor.
� Larry White, to Broad Run Church, New Baltimore, as pastor.
� Jay Fields, to Garden City Church, Roanoke, as pastor.
� Michael Cox, to Suck Spring Church, Bedford, as pastor.
� Ed Nicholas, to Covington Church, Covington, as interim pastor.
� Lindsay Comstock, to Tabernacle Church, Richmond, as associate pastor.
� Mount Vernon Church, Glen Allen, has three new staff members. David Jones is now serving as minister for music arts; Darie Lee is new minister for younger children and Sarah Beasley is serving as minister for older children.
� Mike Shiflett, to Western Hanover Church, Montpelier, as minister of music.
� Rob and Lindsay Marsh, to Northminster Church, Richmond, as youth coordinators.
� Gene Burrus, to Black Creek Church, Mechanicsville, as minister of music, effective June 18.
� Nancy Young Morath, to New Covenant Church, Richmond, as music director.
� Stephanie Smith, to Oak Forest Church, Chesterfield, as youth director.
� Kathy Lafon, to Memorial Church, Staunton, as director of music and worship.
Virginia Baptists provide playground for devastated Gulf residents
Pastor Lynn Rodrigue and members of Port Sulphur Baptist Church in Port Sulphur, La., enjoy a playground provided by Virginia Baptists as part of their outreach to communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. This playground is the first to be made available in the area since Katrina destroyed virtually all of the structures in lower Plaquemines Parish. The project was a partnership among the Virginia Baptist Mission Board's glocal missions and evangelism team, Great Bridge Baptist Church in Chesapeake and hundreds of Virginia Baptists who gave monies for Katrina recovery. Sandi Moseley, children's minister at Great Bridge Church, worked with Rodrigue to design the playground. Nichole Bulls, glocal missions team member, worked with Moseley to complete the design and order the equipment. Volunteers from Great Bridge went to Port Sulphur and installed the equipment, which was funded by contributions for Katrina recovery collected by the glocal missions team from Virginia Baptists.
� Abbie Duke, now serving as full-time minister for education and students at Ridge Church, Richmond.
� Marcia Lee, to the Christian Day School of First Church, Springfield, as director. She succeeds Sheri Gay who is retiring after 24 years as director.
� Dwight Hutchins,resigning as associate pastor of Elk Creek Church, Mineral.
� Patrick Shaw, to Preston Oaks Church, Roanoke, as minister of youth and evangelism.
� Carl Bridgman, to Fincastle Church, Fincastle, as minister of music.
� Dwight Hedges, concluding his ministry as minister to students at Cool Spring Church, Mechanicsville.
ORDINATIONS
� Randy McCollum, minister of youth at First Church, Newport News, was ordained to the gospel ministry by the church on June 10.
� Pat K. Collins, director of Christian education at Fairlawn Church, Fairlawn, was ordained to the gospel ministry by the church on June 10.
DEATH
� Retired Virginia Baptist pastor Linwood Peterson, died on May 25 at the age of 86. He had served as pastor of Virginia Heights Church in Norfolk, Airlee Court Church in Roanoke and Langley Church in Hampton. Upon retirement he served as interim pastor in several Virginia churches. He had served as moderator and vice moderator of Norfolk Association, a member of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and trustee of Bluefield College. He is predeceased by a son, David Linwood Peterson. He is survived by his wife, Mary Margaret Silver Peterson; two daughters, Donna Peterson and Paula Groover; a son, Dale Wood Peterson; two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. A funeral was held at Virginia Heights Church in Norfolk on May 30.
CHURCH EVENTS
� Northside Church, Mechanicsville, will celebrate its 100th anniversary on June 16-17. The festivities will begin on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. with a covered-dish picnic to be held on the grounds. A celebration service will be held Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Northside began as a mission project of the Men's League of First Baptist Church in Richmond,. From its founding in 1975, it was located at the corner of Third Avenue and Victor Streets in the Highland Park section of Richmond. Following a 14-month transition period, the church opened its new facility in Mechanicsville in December of 1976.
� Fieldale Church, Fieldale, will celebrate its 88th anniversary with homecoming on June 25. Clay Bower will be guest speaker.
� The IMAGE youth choir of Derbyshire Church, Richmond, will open its 2007 touring season with a concert on June 17 at 6 p.m. at the church. The youth choir will present five concerts in different Atlanta, Georgia, churches and retirement communities as part of their summer tour.
To submit staff changes, church events or other news items for this feature, call us at (804) 672-1973, fax to (804) 672-8323 or email to Robert Dilday at [email protected].
MISSIONS MOMENTS
Rosalind Hills Baptist Church, Roanoke
Most churches collect a variety of items during the year to support missions causes. Since many times members will say that they intended to shop for the needed items but forgot to buy or bring them to church, Rosalind Hills Baptist Church came up with the idea of a �Missions Store.� Food pantry items, such as macaroni and cheese and spaghetti noodles, and mission center donations such as paper towels and peanut butter are bought in bulk and made available for purchase at the Missions Store. An effort is made to have items priced as low as $1.00, so that children can participate. At its grand opening on March 25, Miss Alma Hunt was the first customer after she cut the ribbon (photo left) and offered a prayer of blessing.
James River Baptist Church, Williamsburg
The youth group at James River Baptist Church has recently been involved in several missions projects. They held a �30-Hour Famine,� raising over $2,800.00 for hunger causes. The group also raised an additional $900.00 by participating in �Walk a Mile for a Child,� benefitting HopeTree, formerly known as the Virginia Baptist Children's Home & Family Services in Salem. The youth also visited the congregation's members in a �Scavenger Hunt� to replenish the church's food pantry. They collected 260 food items in 2 hours. Pictured above is the group and its leaders.