Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly.
STAFF CHANGES
Dennis Barton, to Oakland Baptist Church, Gum Spring, Va., as pastor. Previously he was interim pastor.
Paul Beith, concluding his ministry as pastor of Pioneer Baptist Church, Richmond, Va.
Don Campbell, to Goshen Baptist Association, Mineral, Va., as interim director of missions.
Joseph Gum, to Bradford (N.H.) Community Church, as interim pastor.
Anthony Hart, to Greenbrier Baptist Church, Chesapeake, Va., as pastor. He comes from The Session, Virginia Beach, Va., where he served as lead pastor.
Jeffrey Howard, to New Hope Christian Fellowship, Columbia, S.C., as pastor.
Lynn Hubley, to First Baptist Church, Sanbornton, N.H., as interim pastor.
Dan McFaden, to Walnut Grove Baptist Church, Mechanicsville, Va., as interim pastor.
Marcus Patterson, to Second Baptist Church, Memphis, Tenn., as recreation director.
Michael Reilly, to Southside Baptist Church, Suffolk, Va., as pastor.
Jamie M. Rorrer, to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, as director of communications.
Anthony Sacco, to Buckingham (Va.) Baptist Church, as pastor.
David Shoobridge, to First Baptist Church, Castleford, Idaho, as pastor. Previously he was lead pastor of St. Peter’s Evangelical UCC Church, Kewannee, Ill.
Tommy Speight, to Green Lakes Baptist Church, Portsmouth, Va., as pastor. Previously he was pastor of Courtland (Va.) Baptist Church.
George Sweet, to North Bennington Baptist Church, Bennington, Vt., as interim pastor.
Matt Toupin, to First Baptist Church, Portland, Oregon, as senior pastor. He comes from the pastorate of Woodland Park Baptist Church in Portland.
Tom Wallace, to Newsoms (Va.) Baptist Church, as pastor.
RETIREMENTS
Vernon DeLong, retiring after 16 years as pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, Bedford, Va.
Larry Heslip, retiring after 20 years as minister of education and administration at Tallowood Baptist Church, Houston, Texas.
Gerry Hutchinson, announcing plans to retire as chaplaincy and pastoral counseling manager for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, effective later this year. He has served in this capacity since 2014.
Gwen Phillips, retiring as children’s pastor at Second Baptist Church, Liberty, Mo.
ORDINATIONS
Jill Hudson, ordained to ministry on Jan. 25 by Crosscreek Baptist Church, Pelham, Alabama.
DEATHS
Peter Yuichi Clark, 54, died Dec. 6 in Alameda, Calif. At the time of his death he held the positions of director of spiritual care services for UCSF Health at the University of California, San Francisco, and professor of pastoral care at the American Baptist Seminary of the West, a member school of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkley, Calif. He was endorsed as a healthcare chaplain by the American Baptist Home Mission Societies. He is survived by his mother, Singeko Helt; and a sister, Carole Yoshie Clark.
Wallace S. Hartsfield Sr., 90, died Jan. 23 in Kansas City, Mo. He served as senior pastor of Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, one of Kansas City’s largest black churches, from 1962 to 1968 and again from 1972 until his retirement in 2007. A spiritual and civil rights leader for more than 40 years, he marched with Martin Luther King Jr., worked with Jesse Jackson on the Operation PUS campaign to improve economic opportunities for African Americans, and was a nationally prominent black minister. He was involved in countless civil rights, social justice, educational and economic development campaigns throughout his life in Kansas City. He served on many local, regional and national boards, including chairman of the Congress of National Black Churches. The United States Congress recognized him for his achievements in 2012.
Donald S. Stewart, 85, died Dec. 27 in Richmond, Va. He was pastor of Venable Baptist Church when it merged with West Hill Baptist Church and became Mechanicsville (Va.) Baptist Church. He served there for 20 years and was named pastor emeritus in 1998. After retirement he was pastor of Mattaponi Indian Baptist Church, King William, Va. He is survived by his wife, Ruth; two daughters, Cynthia Culley and Katherine Knabenshue; a son, Jonathan; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
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In case you missed them:
Transitions for the week of 1-17-20
Transitions for the week of 1-10-20
Transitions for the week of 1-3-20
Transitions for the week of 12-20-19