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Piland dies. Harry Piland, nationally known leader of Southern Baptist Sunday school work, died May 24 in Brentwood, Tenn., of brain cancer. He was 72. Before directing Sunday School efforts nationwide, he was minister of education at First Baptist Church of Houston and University Baptist Church and James Avenue Baptist Church, both in Fort Worth. In retirement, he served First Baptist Church of Dallas. Memorial services will be held Tuesday, May 29, at First Baptist Church of Franklin, Tenn., and Wednesday, May 30, at Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin.
___ CBF moderator ailing. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's top elected leader is recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumor discovered only days before. Donna Forrester, moderator of the Atlanta-based CBF, underwent surgery May 21 at Greenville Memorial Hospital in South Carolina. Forrester, 51, learned May 17 that tests revealed a large tumor in her right temporal and parietal lobes. Her neurosurgeon diagnosed the mass as a grade 3-4 glioblastoma multiforma, a fast-growing malignant tumor requiring radical surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
___ Land considered by Bush. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and architect of the SBC Disney boycott, is being discussed as a likely pick for a federal commission that monitors religious persecution. Created by a 1998 law designed to make religious freedom central to U.S. foreign policy, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom monitors governments around the world and recommends action against those that deny religious freedom. Sources close to the selection process confirmed that Land, who has been vocal about the persecution of Christians around the globe, is on a short list of possible appointees by President George W. Bush. If appointed to the volunteer post, he would not have to resign his existing job.
___ Merritt names credentials committee. Southern Baptist Convention President James Merritt has named member of the credentials committee for the SBC annual meeting. The committee will be chaired by Robert Steele, pastor of New Salem Baptist Church in Kennesaw, Ga. Three Texans were named to the committee: Vickie Callaway, a layperson from Lakeview Baptist Church in Temple; Scott Copeland, pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Mineral Wells; and Sue Edge, a layperson from First Baptist Church of Bastrop.
___ Evangelist to chair tellers committee. Southern Baptist Convention President James Merritt has named Houston evangelist Voddie Baucham chairman of the tellers committee for the June 12-13 SBC annual meeting in New Orleans. The tellers committee counts ballots during business sessions. Two other Texans also will serve on the committee: Jerry Christopher, a director of missions and member of Trinity Baptist Church in Bonham, and Janie Finlay, a layperson from First Baptist Church of Houston.
___ Southeastern faculty sign BF&M. Although not required by trustees to do so, the faculty of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., participated in a public signing of the 2000 version of the Baptist Faith & Message May 17. The event was part of the seminary's annual awards chapel.
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