Posted: 12/05/03
Around the State
Appointments
Shad and Michelle Spannagel recently were appointed as apprentice missionaries to Fulani people of West Africa as church starters. Both are graduates of Hardin-Simmons University. She is the daughter of Southern Baptist missionaries Marvin and La-Nette Thompson, currently serving in Mali. The couple has a daughter, Hannah, who will celebrate her first birthday next month.
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| Shad & Michelle Spannagel | |
Anniversaries
First Church in Chappell Hill, 20th, Nov. 2. The church held a tent revival to commemorate the occassion. The church also dedicated 16 acres of land for future use. David Beckworth is pastor.
Steve Johnson, 10th, as pastor of First Church in Caldwell.
David Beckworth, 15th, as pastor of First Church in Chappell Hill.
Dewayne Beaty, 30th, at First Church in Longview. The first three years, he served the church as youth director; then his title changed to minister of recreation and senior adults. In 1998, he was named associate pastor and senior adult minister, his current title.
Retiring
Mario Rios has retired as pastor of Iglesia Hispana in Brookshire.
Deaths
George West, 75, Nov. 12 in Amarillo. He was ordained to the ministry in 1952 at Calvary Church in Amarillo and retired from full-time ministry in 1993. He was the pastor of churches in Parker and Palo Pinto counties and the San Angelo area. He was a member of First Southern Church in Fritch. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marvanetta, and two sons, David and James. He is survived by his daughters, Charlotte Todd and Rita Grimsley; brothers, Orville and W.J.; sisters, Thelma Yalch, Bessie Davis, Vaudine Vaughn and Faye Sadberry; and two grandchildren.
Luther Holcomb, 91, Nov. 19 in Cedar Creek. Holcomb was a religious and civic leader who met President John F. Kennedy at the airport on Nov. 22, 1963, and later announced to a luncheon audience waiting to hear Kennedy speak that the president had been shot. He then led the stunned crowd at the Dallas Trade Mart in prayer. He also ministered to the wounded John Connally and his family the next several days. He began his ministerial career as a traveling evangelist and later held three pastorates–First Church in Durant, Okla., Luther Rice Memorial Church in Washington, D.C., and Lakewood Church in Dallas. From 1958 until 1965, he was executive director of the Greater Dallas Council of Churches. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Elaine; son, Henry; daughter, Jan Flowers; sister, Louise Layden; three grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Gale Sadler, 68, Nov. 22 in Dimmitt. An emeritus Southern Baptist missionary to Tanzania, he and his wife, Verna, were appointed by the Foreign Mission Board in 1987. He ran a bookstore and managed a literature distribution center in Moshi until 1990, when he became the financial administrator for the organization of Southern Baptist missionaries in the country. The couple retired in 2001. He is survived by his wife; daughters,
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| Paul Stripling, executive director of Waco Association 21 years, was honored at his retirement with, among other things, an endowed scholarship given on behalf of Stripling and his wife to the ministry guidance program of Baylor University. The presentation was made by associational moderator Mike Patterson. Now executive director emeritus, Stripling is an adjunct teacher at Baylor in the religion department. |
Silverio Linares, 95, Nov. 23 in Houston. He pioneered Hispanic Baptist work in Houston and other Texas towns in the early 1930s. He preached for 65 years, starting many missions and churches along the way. His last pastorate was at El Calvario Church in Houston, where he served 25 years. He was preceded in death by his wife, Rafaela, and two daughters, both named Ester. He is survived by his daughters, Rosa Trujillo, Lydia Herrera, Olivia Diaz and Phoebe Aranda; 15 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.
Elizabeth McBride, 70, Dec. 1 in San Angelo. She was the wife of longtime Texas pastor Jerold McBride, 31 years the pastor of First Church in San Angelo. She taught kindergarten there eight years. She also led conferences for pastors' wives in Brazil and was a member of board of directors of Baptist Memorials Retirement Center. She is survived by her husband of 49 years; daughters Renee and Charlotte; and son, Todd.
Virginia Ball, 84, Dec. 1 in Miami, Fla. A longtime benefactor of Baylor University, she was a 1940 graduate of the school. She then worked two years on the alumni affairs and public relations staff. In addition to serving on many philanthropic boards and serving as a patron of the arts and sciences, she endowed the Beall-Russell lecture series in 1982 to honor her mother, DeLouise Beall and Lily Russell, former dean of women at Baylor. She also established the Beall Poetry Festival in 1994 to honor her parents. She also served on the board of advisors of the College of Arts and Sciences, was a life member of the Baylor Alumni Association, a patron of Armstrong-Browning Library and a charter member of the Old Main Society. In 1989, she was named a distinguished alumna, and in 2003 she was presented an honorary doctor of humane letters.
Events
Sounds of Christmas, First Church in Lewisville's annual pageant, will be presented Dec. 12-14 at 7 p.m. by the church's choir, orchestra and drama team. “The Perfect Christmas Letter” will be the theme for this year's pageant. Tickets are free, but necessary. To order, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope and the number of tickets needed to the church, 1251 W. Valley Ridge Boulevard, Lewisville 75077. Stephen Hatfield is pastor.
The fourth annual Waco Christmas Celebration will be presented at 3:30 and 7 p.m. Dec. 13 and 14 at Columbus Avenue Church. There is no cost, and tickets are not needed. Doors will open 30 minutes prior to the performance. Ron Durham is pastor.
Recording artist Luke Garrett will join the choir and orchestra of First Church in Nacogdoches for “Celebrate the Joy” Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. The program is free. For more information, call (936) 564-7379. Allen Reed is pastor.
Brentwood Church in Houston will present a free Christmas music celebration Dec. 14 at 4 p.m. For more information, call (713) 852-1400. Joe Ratliff is pastor.
Hildegard Lewis recently was honored for 40 years of perfect Sunday School attendance at First Church in Burton. She had perfect attendance from March 1963 through March 2003, much of that time while a member of Colonial Church in Dallas. She was active in all facets of church life, also serving for a time as her church's Woman Missionary Union president.
Oak View Church in Irving hosted a community Thanksgiving service Oct. 23 attended by members of churches who support Baptist Benevolence Ministries of Irving. Dennis Webb of Bear Creek Community Church preached the sermon.
Drew and Suzanne Thornell were commissioned as Mission Service Corps volunteers Oct. 26 at Wildwood Church in Wildwood. Jimmy Linn is pastor.
Ordained
Matt Hill to the ministry at First Church in Eula.
John Jones Jr. to the ministry at Jade Avenue Mission in Port Arthur.
Jim Callahan as a deacon at First Church in Hico.
Forrest Blanton, Preston Blanton, Jerry Callaway and Bob McClain as deacons at Calvary Church in Brownwood.
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