Around the State_20904

Posted: 2/06/04

Around the State

The Baylor Alumni Association honored four graduates during its annual Distinguished Alumni banquet. Honored were Joel Allison, president and CEO of Baylor Health Care System; Carroll Dawson, general manager of the Houston Rockets and the Houston Comets; Kent Gilbreath, professor of economics at Baylor; and Betty Welch, a linguist and translator for Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Youth With a Mission, an interdenominational missions and relief organization, will host a three-day celebration of missions past, present and future Feb. 27-29. The weekend of music, teaching, celebration and thanksgiving will be held at the Twin Oaks Ranch, located six miles west of Lindale. For more information or to register, call (800) 641-1245.

Volunteers from First Baptist Church in Georgetown not only presented two single mothers, Rene Marshall and Adela Padilla, with new Habitat for Humanity homes, but also gave them a kitchen shower to stock their new homes with all they would need to sit down to a feast. The items were donated through the church's AWANAs and their Friday Folks ministry group. The church sponsored building both homes.

Edwin Twitty, a member of Sagemont Church in Houston, has received the bachelor of arts in Christian ministry degree in psychology and counseling at Leavell College of New Orleans Seminary. Dawn West, a member of Tallowood Church in Houston, received the master of arts in Christian education degree from the seminary.

Anniversaries

Ty Morris, 30th, as minister of music at Crestview Church in Midland, Jan. 13.

Harry Williams, 20th, as pastor of Mount Zion Church in Corpus Christi, Jan. 25.

Northview Church in Floresville, 20th, Jan. 25. Chuck Jennings is pastor.

Danny Quintanilla, fifth as minister of education/students at First Church in Portland, Feb. 1.

Larry Johnson, 20th, as director of missions of Ellis Association, Feb. 1.

Edward Terry, fifth, as pastor of Mount Carmel Church in Corpus Christi, Feb. 7.

First Church in Golinda, 100th, Feb. 8. Ralph Powers is pastor.

Williams Creek Church in Axtell, 25th, Feb. 15. Former pastor Duane Brooks will preach. A lunch will follow the morning service. Tommy Rosenblad is pastor.

Singing Hills Church in Dallas, 20th, Feb. 22. A special celebration service will take place at 3:30 p.m. Howard Anderson is pastor.

Roy Ford, 20th, as pastor of First Church in Hooks, Feb. 22.

Thomas Murray, 10th, as pastor of New Life Church in Missouri City.

Mario Vasquez, 10th, as pastor of Iglesia Getsemani in Eagle Lake.

John Self, 25th, as pastor of Trinity Church in Cameron.

Retiring

Charles Jones, as pastor of Second Church in Amarillo, after 32 years.

Barbara Kirkland, left, was honored with the Gaskin Church History award by the Oklahoma Baptist Historical Commission for her history of Duncan Fair Church. Mary Harmon, chairman of the award committee, made the presentation. Kirkland is a member of Woodland Heights Church in Bedford.

James Seigler, as pastor of Myrtle Springs Church in Hooks, Feb 1. He has moved to Savoy and is available for supply or interims.

Jim Lane, as pastor of Memorial Church in El Campo, Feb. 1. He is available for interims, supply or leading music at (979) 532-5263.

C.H. Murphy, as director of missions for Tryon-Evergreen Association, effective Sept. 30. He will have completed 11 years at the post and served more than 30 years as a pastor. He was pastor of First churches in Irving, Lamesa, Friona, Memphis, Silverton and Hedley, as well as Calvary Church in Weatherford and Soda Springs Church in Parker County. During his present tenure, the association has grown from 98 to 125 churches and assets of the association have grown from $240,000 to more than $1 million. Resumes for the position may by sent to Jay Gross, West Conroe Baptist Church, 1855 Longmire Road, Conroe 77304-3576.

Deaths

Arland Ames, 68, Dec. 29 in San Antonio. A postal service worker 33 years, he was a 10-year Mission Service Corps volunteer. He is survived by his wife, Ethel; sons, Michael and Alan; daughter, Carolyn Pachecano; brothers, Gerald Ames, Carl McCrillis and Harry McCrillis; sister, Norma Schmelzer; and eight grandsons.

Paul Piper, 86, Jan. 17 in Apollo Beach, Fla. Piper borrowed $17 from his parents when he dropped out of college in 1937 and from that investment built a diversified company with 1,000 employees in 15 manufacturing plants. The philanthropist later sold his shares in Piper Industries and started four charitable foundations. His contributions to Texas Baptist causes ranged from buying a tool trailer for Texas Baptist Men Retiree Builders to helping new churches pay their pastors' salaries. His gifts helped start more than 300 churches and supported apartment ministries in San Antonio, Fort Worth, Arlington and Austin. He also established a low-interest loan fund to help Texas Baptist churches finance their first buildings. He contributed to various River Ministry programs along the Rio Grande, helped build a hospital in Paraguay, supported the True Love Waits sexual purity campaign and provided scholarships for Baptist university students. He is survived by his wife, Katy; one son, Paul Jr.; sister, Elizabeth Sammons; six grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Dickson Ayers, 44, Jan. 20 in Sulphur Springs. He was pastor of Calvary Church in Wolfe City. Because he was uninsured, Hunt Association is collecting donations to offset medical and funeral expenses. He is survived by his wife of 13 years, Laura; sons, Walter, Will, Lincoln, Christian and Joseph; mother, Janice Ayers; and sisters, Angel Thomas and Melody Walker.

Frank Patterson, 96, Jan. 20 in San Angelo. A pastor in Oklahoma and Arkansas in his early years, Patterson and his wife, Pauline, were appointed in 1939 by the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention to serve at the Baptist Spanish Publishing House in El Paso, where he served as general director until 1970. He continued to serve as a field representative of the mission board until his retirement in 1972. After his official retirement, he became acting general director of Casa Publicadora Batista in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and later served as a professor at the Mexican Baptist Seminary in Mexico City and Lacy Baptist Seminary in Oaxaco, Mexico. After retirement, he continued to preach in New Mexico and San Angelo, where he was a member of Harris Avenue Church. He was preceded in death by his wife in 2000. He is survived by his sons, Burton Patterson and Donald Aldridge; six grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Don Warden, 74, Jan. 25 in Austin. Warden was a Texas pastor 25 years before becoming a regional consultant for the church extension department of the Baptist General Convention of Texas in 1979. In 1980, he and his wife, Laverne, were appointed missionaries by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention to jointly support their church-starting efforts. He also participated in evangelistic and church growth efforts in many parts of the world, including Jamaica, Brazil, Australia, Moldova, Russia and the Czech Republic. After retiring in 1995, he served 16 Austin-area churches as interim pastor. He also was interim executive director of missions for Austin Association. He is survived by his wife of 54 years; sons, Gary and Michael; daughter, Stephanie Meadows; and three grandsons.

Dolores Nelson, 72, Jan. 25 in Fort Worth. She was the wife of retired Texas pastor and professor Jimmie Nelson. A graduate of Southwestern Seminary, she earned the Elizabeth Price Award for being the valedictorian of the women's graduating class. Churches she served alongside her husband included Oak Grove Church in Fort Worth, Colonial Hill Church in Snyder, First Church in Deer Park and churches in The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Spain. She was a member of First Church in Burleson more than 30 years. She also wrote curriculum, teaching materials and devotionals for the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board. She is survived by her husband; sons, Stephen and Alan; daughter, Julie Couch; brothers, Dempsey and Michael Cate; sister, Louise Eatmon; and five grandchildren.

Events

First Church in Pasadena held an open house Jan. 25 to mark the opening of its expanded worship center and fellowship hall, an additional serving kitchen, a bridal parlor, conference room and orchestra suite. Also included were two education wings with facilities for all ages. Two hundred fifty parking spaces also were added. The 75,000-square-foot addition doubles the size of the church plant, and is phase two of a five part plan. Charles Redmond is pastor.

Tarrytown Church in Austin began a multicultural, multisensory and multifaith study of the beatitudes Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. Discussion, visual arts, movies and music will be used to examine the eight beatitudes. A number of leaders will lead the study. Ragan and Cynthia Courtney are co-pastors.

The Heights Church in Richardson will present a dinner theater production, “Peril on the High Seas,” Feb. 20-22 and Feb. 27-28. All shows are at 7:30 except the 2:30 p.m. production on Feb. 22, which does not include a meal. Call (972) 231-6047, ext. 292 for ticket information.

Wooster Church in Baytown will present a creation versus evolution seminar Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. Mack Jones is pastor.

A Joy Seekers conference for women will be held March 5-6 at First Church in Center. Rose-Mary Rumbley is the featured speaker, and Kim West will lead the music. The conference begins at 6 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Prior to Feb. 15, the cost is $20 with Saturday lunch provided. After Feb. 15, registration is $25. Childcare will be provided for children under five for a fee. A sack lunch will be provided for the children on Saturday. For more information, call (936) 598-5605.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.Around the State_20904