Texas Tidbits

Posted: 6/23/06

Texas Tidbits

BGCT hotel block opens. Discounted hotel rooms for messengers and visitors to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting now are available. The BGCT has negotiated discounted rates with a variety of hotels in Dallas, where the meeting will be held Nov. 13-14. To receive the reduction when making reservations, Texas Baptists must use the discount code “BGCT.” For a complete list of discounted hotels as well as other information about the BGCT annual meeting, visit www.bgct.org/annual meeting or call (888) 244-9400.

Memorial gift initiates endowment campaign. Christian Ethics Today received a $100,000 gift from Harold Simmons in memory of his longtime friend, ethicist Foy Valentine, the journal’s founder. In response, the publication’s board of directors organized the Friends of Foy Valentine Committee and set a $500,000 goal to partially endow the journal, which is sent free of charge to more than 4,300 subscribers. Two directors—Darold Morgan of Richardson and David Sapp, of Atlanta, Ga.—will oversee the campaign. For more information, visit www.ChristianEthicsToday.com.

DBU receives gift from Stokes Foundation. Dallas Baptist University received a $100,000 gift from the Ann Bradshaw Stokes Foundation, given to establish the Ann Bradshaw Stokes Fund for Music and Theater.

Retiree Ministries Retreat set. Russell Dilday, chancellor of the B.H. Carroll Institute and former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, will preach and Bill Tolar, retired dean of Southwestern Seminary’s School of Theology, will teach the morning Bible study at the 8th Retiree Ministries’ Retreat at Glorieta Conference Center, Sept. 25-29. Music evangelist Dick Baker of McKinney will lead the music. The Baptist General Convention of Texas and Glorieta Conference Center jointly sponsor the retreat. Room and meals are $376 per couple, $286 for a single occupancy and $188 for a single double occupancy. Prices include a full meal package. For reservations, call (800) 797-4222.

Scholarships established at Hardin-Simmons. The Dub and Betsy Pierce Endowed Scholarship for teaching recently was established at Hardin-Simmons University by their family. The scholarship will benefit students preparing to teach in any field and at any grade level. The Hubert C. and Grace V. Toombs Endowed Memorial Scholarship recently was established after funds for the scholarship were made possible by two gift annuities from the couple. The scholarship benefits promising or exceptional students in graduate programs. The Glynn Breeden Endowed Memorial Scholarship for Missionary Kids was established to benefit HSU students who are children of missionaries, and the Howard J. Jones Endowed Memorial Scholarship was set up to benefit graduate or undergraduate students preparing for Christian ministries.

UMHB received $50,000 from builder. The Univer-sity of Mary Hardin-Baylor received a $50,000 gift from MW Builders of Texas, a Temple-based construction company, after completion of a major student housing project. The company built three apartment-style buildings in the student-residence complex on the west side of the campus.

Urban Training Institute slated for July. Transform-ing communities is a focus of the second annual Urban Training Institute of the Southwest, July 18-21 at Cityplace Conference Center in Dallas. The leadership training event for urban ministry practitioners features presentations by author Leonard Sweet, evangelism professor at Drew Theological School; Robert Linthicum, president of Partners in Urban Transformation; and Brad Smith, president of Bakke Graduate University. For more information, visit http://citycoreinitiative.org/uti or call (214) 828-5242.