Baptist Briefs

Posted: 9/15/06

Baptist Briefs

Association breaks with church over homosexuality. The North Area Baptist Association, a 10-county group of Baptist congregations belonging to the American Baptist Churches-USA, voted 18-3 to break ties with Woodside Church in Flint, Mich., because of its acceptance of homosexuals. Woodside Church decided in May to join the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, a pro-gay organization with 55 member congregations nationwide.

CBF-affiliated program receives federal grant. Sowing Seeds of Hope, a community and economic development organization affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has received a $338,000 federal grant for the creation of a self-help housing initiative in depressed Perry County, Ala. The grant will be used to administer loans to low-income families, who will build their own homes. It will fund four employees and a portion of the salary for executive director Frances Ford. Applicants to the program must still qualify for a loan, which comes in addition to the grant. More than 140 applications from local residents already have gained acceptance to the program. Planners expect to build 20 custom-designed homes within two years.

GuideStone Funds mark five years. GuideStone Funds recently celebrated its fifth anniversary as a registered mutual fund company. The investment funds are affiliated with GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. GuideStone Funds launched on Aug. 27, 2001, with total assets of $7 billion; five years later, the opening balance on Aug. 28 was $8.56 billion.

Oklahoma church inducts worker into hall of fame. First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City inducted Lucy Gibson—pastor’s secretary from 1949 to 1981—into its newly created hall of fame on her 90th birthday recently. In addition to her staff responsibilities, she also was a three-time Woman’s Missionary Union president at the church.

Retired Kentucky Baptist leader dies. Franklin Owen, executive secretary of the Kentucky Baptist Convention from 1972 to 1983, died Aug. 30 in Lexington, Ky., at age 93. During Owen’s years as Kentucky Baptists’ executive secretary, convention receipts in-creased nearly 220 percent, indebtedness was eliminated and ministry reserve funds were established. He also led efforts to build Baptist student centers on the campuses of several universities across the state as well as a major addition to the former Baptist Building in Middletown. Before accepting the denominational post, Owen served 18 years as pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Lexington. He also was pastor of other Kentucky Baptist congregations as well as churches in Missouri, Georgia and Alabama.

Richmond seminary president to retire. Thomas Graves, president of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond since 1991, has announced plans to retire next year. Citing health reasons, Graves, 58, will step down July 1, 2007. Graves, who has multiple sclerosis, announced his plans at a called meeting of the seminary’s board of trustees. During Graves’ tenure, the seminary has grown from 32 to 333 students, with 15 full-time faculty and 19 visiting or adjunct professors, and has an annual budget of $3.8 million. Graves grew up in Louisville, Ky., completed his undergraduate education at Vanderbilt University, and received his master of divinity and doctor of philosophy degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also received the master of sacred theology degree from Yale Divinity School. He taught religion at Palm Beach Atlantic College in West Palm Beach, Fla., and was professor of philosophy of religion at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served pastorates in Kentucky, Florida and North Carolina. Graves and his wife, Wendy, have two grown daughters.

Global Women picks new leader. Cindy Dawson, a former missionary with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has been elected coordinator of Global Women. Global Women, based in Birmingham, Ala., was founded in 2001 as a way for Christian women to network and mentor younger women through shared learning and service. The group encourages and facilitates involvement in mission and ministry among Christian women worldwide. As missionaries, Dawson and her husband, Frank, served with a Romany ministry team eight years in Moscow. There she managed the office, planned events from London to Siberia, organized an international missionary choir and directed music for Hinkson Christian Academy, a school for children of missionaries. The Dawsons and their two daughters live in Pelham, Ala., where she is minister of music at Crosscreek Baptist Church.