Around the State_20705

Posted: 2/04/05

Around the State

Two Texas Acteens have been named to the 2005 National Acteens Panel. Abby Baldridge is a member of Rocky Point Church in Steph-enville, and Martha Sicking is a member of First Church in Bay City. In addition, several Texans also have been selected by the Woman's Missionary Union as Top Teens of 2005. Included were Shannon Burdett of First Church in Midland, Ashley Nash of Freeman Heights Church in Garland, Elizabeth Santamaria of Iglesia Bautista Nueva Esperanza in Houston and Kimberly Zimmer of First Church in Kingwood.

Houston Baptist University will host an open house for prospective students and their families Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Mabee Theater. For more information, call (281) 649-3211.

A single adult retreat sponsored by San Jacinto Baptist Association will be held Feb. 25-26 at Lake Tomahawk Baptist Encampment in Livingston. Open to singles of all ages, the cost is $35. Donna Schmoyer of First Church in Houston will be the retreat leader. Send registration to the association at P.O. Box 1533, Baytown 77522-1533. For more information, call (281) 422-3604.

Wayland Baptist University will hold a one-day seminar called “Crossing Cultures for Ministry” Feb. 26 in the McClung Center, room 211. Patty Lane, director of intercultural initiatives for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, will lead the seminar. It is aimed at bridging cultural gaps within communities. The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with lunch provided by the university. There is no charge to participate, and additional materials will be available for purchase. For more information, call (806) 291-1165.

The sculptural works of Waco artist and Baylor art professor Terry Roller are on display at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in an exhibit titled “Dangerous Art.” The exhibit is in the Tyson Gallery of the Townsend Memorial Library and will continue through March 4. It is free and open to the public.

Alan Page, Minnesota's first African-American Supreme Court justice, will be the speaker for Hardin-Simmons Univer-sity Academic Foundation's McIntyre Distinguished Speaker Series April 27. The event will begin at 7 p.m. in the Abilene Civic Center's conference room. Page not only is known for his time on the judicial bench, but also as a member of the “Purple People Eaters,” the famed defensive unit of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1970s.

Ted and Sue Getterman received Baylor University's 2005 Founder's Medal Jan. 31. Both Baylor graduates, the Gettermans have endowed scholarships in the schools of music, business and education, athletics and Truett Theological Seminary. They also made the largest gift to women's athletics in Baylor's history, resulting in Getterman Stadium, home of Baylor softball. They are members of Columbus Avenue Church in Waco.

Debbie Kubo of Arlington and Pam Foster of Haslet have been endorsed as chaplains by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Both serve with healthcare institutions.

Pamela Bryant has been named head of the department of physical sciences at Howard Payne University. She joined the university's faculty in 2001.

Three Texans were among New Orleans Seminary's December graduates. Joel Bratcher, Baptist Student Ministry director at Texas A&M University, received the doctor of ministry degree. Benton Bush, whose home congregation is in Sagamore Hill Church in Fort Worth, also received the doctor of ministry degree. Brent Spears of Houston received the master of divinity degree.

Anniversaries

John Crowe, fifth, as pastor of River Bend Church in Fulshear.

Cary Todd, fifth, as youth minister at First Church in Columbus.

Stan Ortner, 25th, as pastor of First Church in Bremond.

First Church in Farmers Branch, 135th, Feb. 20. A catered lunch will follow the morning service. Sam Under-wood is pastor.

Burke Church in Diboll, 116th, March 13. Members first thought this would be a centennial celebration, but information with an earlier founding date was discovered. All early church records have been lost, and anyone with information regarding the church's history is asked to contact the church at 3855 Tidwell Road, Diboll 75941-9802. Bonner Magness is pastor.

Lake Brownwood Church, 25th, March 13. Lunch will follow the morning service. For more information, call (325) 784-6930. Arthur Switzer is pastor.

First Church in Texas City, 100th, March 16-20. Events will kick off Wednesday at 6 p.m. with the dedication of a state historical marker. A pizza party reunion will be held Friday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. for former and current youth and youth workers. Cost is $5. A brunch will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by tours of the church beginning at 11 a.m. A dinner will be held at the Doyle Convention Center beginning at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $10 per person. Sunday's service will begin at 10 a.m. For more information, call (409) 945-2309. Bobby Tollison is pastor.

Retiring

Cliff Herrington, as associate pastor of First Church in Conroe, Feb. 27. He was ordained in 1950 at El Paso Church in Roby. He served the church as pastor from 1964 through 1982, when he became pastor of First Church in Georgetown. He retired there in 1990, returning to Conroe to serve in an unofficial pastoral capacity. He was called as associate pastor in 1998. A retirement celebration will be held Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.

Event

First Church in Center will hold a women's conference March 4-5. Janet White is the featured speaker. Kim West will lead the music. Prior to Feb. 15, the cost is $20, including lunch on Saturday. Registration at the door is $25. Registration will begin at 6 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Childcare will be provided for children under age five for a small fee. They will be fed a sack lunch Saturday. For more information, call (936) 598-5605.

Deaths

Robert Campbell, 88, Jan. 4 in Longview. He was pastor of churches in Looney, Cotton Flat, Dodd City, Rotan, Oyster Creek, Pledger and Kermit. He was a member of Emmanuel Church in White Oak at the time of his death. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Carthel, Freeman and Mel; and sister, Geneva. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Jean; sons, Dale, John, Stanley and Thomas; daughter, Lori; brother, Don; sister, Mary Lou; 16 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Elliott Smith, 79, Jan. 21. Ordained at Gambrell Street Church in Fort Worth, he was pastor of churches in Texas, New Mexico and California. He began working with the Home Mission Board in California in 1971, retiring in 1994 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He was preceded in death by his son, Norman, and his wife, Ruth. He is survived by his daughters Cindy Smith and Nancy Smith.

Bob Herman, Jan. 21 in Abilene. Herman joined the Hardin-Simmons University mathematics faculty in 1960 and became head of the computer center in 1966. He also was business manager of the Region XIV Education Service Center in Abilene 29 years. He is survived by his wife, Anne; son, Alan; daughter, Pam Dugger; father, Harry Herman; sister, Joyce Herman; and six grandchildren.

Jimmy Walker, Jan. 22 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. A long-time pastor in Alabama and Mississippi, he was the father of one-time Texas Woman's Missionary Union staffer Cindy Gaskins. Walker and his wife, Charlotte, also served 21 years as Foreign Mission Board missionaries in Malawi, Rhodesia and Bophuthatswana. He is survived by his wife; daughters, Cindy Gaskins, Caroline Engle, Cheryl Stone and Colleen Burroughs; and 10 grandchildren.

Ernestine Carver, 98, Jan. 22 in Amarillo. She was the wife of Texas pastor Douglas Carver. Their ministry together began in White Deer. Other churches served included First Church in Harlingen, University Church in Abilene and First Church in Pampa. She began playing piano in church at age 12 and was pianist at the Pampa church for many years. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1966. She is survived by her daughters, Carolyn Byrd and Gwen Loerwald; three grandchidren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Rudy Hernandez, 77, Jan. 28 in Grand Prairie following a battle with cancer. Hernandez was a former officer of both the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. He was pastor of churches in San Antonio, Menard, Eden, Galveston, Fort Worth and Corpus Christi. Since 1973, he was president of Rudy Hernandez Evangelism Interna-tional. He was the first Hispanic evangelism director of the BGCT, serving from 1955 to 1969, and was second vice president of the both the BGCT and the Southern Baptist Conven-tion. He later was president of the SBTC. He is survived by his wife, Lucy; children, Robert, Mary Elizabeth, Ruben, Eunice and Gina; 12 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Leon Vorpahl, 86, Jan. 29 in Hillsboro. He was pastor of churches in Troy and Bartlett before serving First Church in Sinton 13 years. He left there to become pastor of First Church in Hillsboro, where he served 21 years prior to retirement. He was in ministry 60 years following his ordination at First Church in Beasley. He was a former member of the Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Human Welfare Commission. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Elmer and Marvin; and sisters, Ella Solomon, Lorene Walzel, Elbertha Gerke and Lillian Boone. He is survived by his wife, Ardis; daughters, Kathie Boyd and Lynette Jones; son, George; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Revivals

First Church, Earth; March 4-6; evangelist, Joel Gregory; music, Jeff and Cindy Petillo; pastor, Jeff Huckeby.

Spring Creek Church, Weatherford, March 6-9; evangelists, Bill and Vicki Murphy; pastor, Mike Martin.