POWHATAN — Long before Facebook and the internet, electricity and televisions, and tractors and cars stood a small country church in Powhatan County. Founded before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Muddy Creek Baptist Church is known as one…
At first homecoming, BTSR welcomes alumni back for campus gathering
Students mingle in Virginia Hall during homecoming activities at BTSR. RICHMOND — Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond celebrated its first homecoming on Oct. 16-17. Alumni from the classes of 1994 through 2009, current students, faculty and staff gathered to renew…
Leland enrolls record number of students for fall semester
FALLS CHURCH — The John Leland Center for Theological Studies has set a record enrollment for the fall semester. Leland students getting ready for class at Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church. Led by an increase in master’s degree students…
Soul-searching evangelicals look toward nonpolitical future
SOUTH HAMILTON, Mass. (RNS) — Repentant for having spent a generation bowing at the altars of church growth and political power, concerned evangelicals gathered recently to search the soul of their movement and find a new way forward. That evangelicals,…
Texas Baptists provide solace in wake of Fort Hood massacre
FORT HOOD, Texas (ABP) — In the wake of the Fort Hood tragedy, Texas Baptists are helping people find comfort in Christ. Four chaplains endorsed by Texas Baptists are ministering directly to victims of the Nov. 5 shooting at the…
Portsmouth church collects stuffed toys for Georgia flood victims
Children from Cradock Baptist with some of the stuffed animals collected for the children in Atlanta. PORTSMOUTH — Rob Edwards, pastor of Cradock Baptist in Portsmouth, admits a recent mission project that resulted in the collection of over 750 stuffed…
Don’t blame Islam for Fort Hood killings, Baptist leader says
NORMAN, Okla. (ABP) — At least one Baptist leader cautioned against attempts to blame the the Nov. 5 Fort Hood massacre on the accused assailant's Islamic faith. Bruce Prescott, executive director of Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists, said Nov. 8 that assuming…
From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Dennis Martin, to New Hope Church, Locust Grove, as pastor. • Vernon Gilmer Jr., to Amelia Church, Amelia Courthouse, as pastor. • Don Reid, to Mechanicsville Church, Gordonsville, as pastor. MISSION MOMENT: A mission team from Millfield…
EDITORIAL: Guns and good news
It comes as no surprise that there are many ways to share our faith. Recently, however, I witnessed two extremes. On Thursday of last week, I received an email containing a link to a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary chapel service….
International adoptions not always easy, says Virginia couple
International adoptions are full of joys and pitfalls. Virginians Robert and Pat Saunders, who adopted two children from Russia, didn’t find the road easy. (See story in the Religious Herald, Feb. 8, 2007.) Their experience parallels Brenda’s in several ways….
Long journey from Siberian orphanage to Williamsburg home
Everyone knows it takes courage to adopt a child. It takes twice as much courage if you are a single woman adopting a child in a foreign land. Seven years ago, Brenda Lee, an ordained chaplain in Williamsburg, embarked upon…
Grandparents claim bragging rights for adopted children from overseas
HARRISONVILLE, Mo. — Wade and Nellie Paris of Harrisonville, Mo., know the blessings of adopting children of a different culture. Now they are grandparents to international adoptees. In 1971, they adopted 7-month-old Susan from Korea. Then in 1975, they adopted…