Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 8, 1992 TAG: 9202100164
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
BRIEFS
Appalachia advocate honored by agencyThe Virginia Council of Churches, an ecumenical agency based in Richmond, has awarded the Rev. R. Baldwin "B" Lloyd one of its annual awards. In making the presentation at the recent annual meeting of Western Virginia Episcopalians in Blacksburg, the VCC director, the Rev. James McDonald, cited Lloyd for his work with the poor of Appalachia.
Lloyd retired several months ago as the long-time director of the Appalachian Peoples Service Organization. He had worked in service, worship and advocacy with several mainstream denominations for more than 25 years.
Trinity Parish grows at Smith Mountain Lake
Trinity Ecumenical Parish, which serves Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians in the Smith Mountain Lake area, now has 105 on its rolls with about 75 people attending during the winter months. The Rev. John Derrick, a Lutheran pastor, currently is serving the congregation on an interim basis. Derrick was formerly pastor of a Harrisonburg church.
`Traditional' Methodists present their agenda
A United Methodist group has issued a call to the denomination's highest governing body asking more attention to winning people to Christ and urging the church not to ordain homosexuals. "The Memphis Declaration" was signed in the Tennessee city Jan. 25 by about 80 clergy and lay people. It is addressed to delegates to the church's General Conference scheduled this spring.
The signers call themselves "traditionalists" and ask the denomination not to substitute any words for "Father, Son and Holy Spirit." The paper also opposes any efforts to soften the church's stand against gay clergy and asks that a reduction be made in "number, size, staff and costs" of several churchwide national agencies. The General Council on Ministries based in Dayton, Ohio, would be abolished and the Board of Global Ministries would be moved from its New York offices.
Rainbow Forest Church leads Baptist baptisms
Virginia Southern Baptist baptism figures for 1991 show that the Rainbow Forest Church in the Blue Ridge area led the state association with a total number of 259. This helped place the Strawberry Association, of which it is a part, in the second place in ratio of baptisms to resident members. The Roanoke Valley Association ranked fourth in the state in total number of baptisms; it recorded 820 in approximately 70 congregations.
Church leaders rip Bush's State of Union
Two national church leaders have said President Bush's State of the Union address stopped short of what is needed in the nation to help victims of the recession. The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, said the address opened a door of opportunity to the disadvantaged but did not allow for walking through it. The chief executive of the ecumenical agency referred especially to the cost of health care, homelessness, racial justice, gender equality and violence.
The Rev. Thom White Wolf-Fassett, general secretary of the United Methodist social-action agency, the Board of Church and Society, said the address was "a shallow back-yard fish pond" in offering any real help to the poor bettering themselves.
Second Chance to sing
Second Chance, a gospel music couple from Christiansburg, will perform three times in Western Virginia Feb. 15 and 16. Bob and Sandy Mullins will sing Saturday night at 7 at the Roanoke Congregational Holiness Church, 349 Mountain Ave. S.W., at the Brookneal Church of God of Prophecy the following day at 11 a.m. and at Fairview Community Church in Blacksburg on Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Bible classes resume
Classes for the Roanoke Extension of the Washington Bible College are entering their 12th year this month. The Roanoke-based classes on the Bible and other theological topics have served students from 115 churches from as far away as Lexington and Pulaski.
Beginning Feb. 18, Tuesday evening classes on the books of Micah and Habakkuk will begin, as well as a course on "Knowing God: Father and Son."
Classes are held in Calvary Memorial Church, 2226 Colonial Ave. S.W., across from the upper level of Towers Mall. They end May 12. Registration is Feb. 17, from 7 until 9 p.m.
Catholic sociologist links prayer and compassion
CHICAGO - A Roman Catholic sociologist says that the more people pray, the more likely they are to oppose the death penalty and to support federal assistance for medical expenses of AIDS patients.
Based on survey data of the National Opinion Research Center, the Rev. Andrew Greeley of the University of Chicago said "those who pray more than once a day are half again as likely to oppose the death penalty as those who pray less than once a week."
Also, he said, the frequent prayers "are half again as likely to support federally funded medical care for AIDS patients."
"Many people would be inclined to think that the religiously devout are rigid and punitive," Greeley said. "But the data show just the opposite. Those who have an intense relationship with God in frequent prayer are the most sensitive to the needs of other human beings."
-Associated Press