Around the State: Buckner teams with Center for Informed Faith

• Buckner International and the Center for Informed Faith have announced an alliance combining efforts to promote the center’s mission of equipping Christians while enabling Buckner to expand its global work on behalf of children and families. Buckner and the center will develop curriculum for local churches, equipping them to serve the needs of at-risk children and orphans. The plan also includes joint vision mission trips to countries served by Buckner. A fall trip to Ethiopia is in the planning stages.

• Jalil and Sundus Dawood have been appointed by the North American Mission Board as church start-ers in Richardson. He also is pastor of Arab Church of Dal-las in Richard-son. The Dawoods are the parents of two daughters, Farrah, 13, and Faith, 7.

• Houston Baptist University has named Joella Morris as the Woman of the Year. She is the wife of HBU founding father Stewart Morris. Morris was instrumental in helping move the Museum of Southern History to its home in the Joella and Stewart Morris Cultural Arts Center on the HBU campus in 2008. She was presented with a framed leaf of the title page of the Book of Ruth from a 1611 King James Bible and an engraved stone paver for the school’s Heritage Walk.

• Dallas Baptist Univeristy has added four professors to its faculty—Aaron Fletcher, associate professor of biology; Paul Kim, assistant professor of biblical studies; Han-Chieh Wei, assistant professor of computer science; and Jim Graham, assistant professor of Christian education.

Anniversaries

• Jeremy Glossup, fifth, as minister of youth at East Delta Church in Lake Creek, May 1.

• Blue Ridge Church near Kosse, 150th, May 3. Jim Houser is pastor.

• Whispering Meadows Church in Dayton, 25th, May 17. There will be a barbecue lunch and a concert by Crossing Jordan. Rodger Powe is pastor.

• Toby Irwin, 40th in ministry, May 26. He is pastor of Belmore Church in San Angelo.

Deaths

Howard Payne University seniors Ashlie Martin of Farwell (left) and Cora Durain of Houston (right) were the recipients of the 2009 Nat Tracy Servant Leader Awards. The award was established in 1998 to honor students who best demonstrate servant leadership qualities as exemplified by the life of Tracy, a member of HPU’s Bible faculty from 1950 to 1975.

• Jay Skaggs, 89, April 13 in Dallas. He served as business administrator of Cliff Temple Church in Dallas and as comptroller/assistant treasurer and later treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Erma; daughters, Ginger Jennings and Mary Lynn Kapner; sister, June Smith; and four grandchildren.

• Jim Hatley, 85, April 22 in Grapevine. He was a Baptist minister who served in a variety of positions in churches in Missouri, Texas, Arizona and Tennessee. He also served in many short-term ministries that took him to 40 states and 16 countries. Among his Texas posts, he served as director of missions for Magic Valley Baptist Association in the Rio Grande Valley, Austin Association and later as a Partnership Missions consultant with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He also was involved with Texas Baptist Men. On their first out-of-state mission, he drove an 18-wheeler loaded with relief supplies from Dallas to Honduras. He served the Southern Baptist Convention as the first national director of world missions conferences. Among his other roles were director of Hispanic relations for Dallas Baptist University, vice president of the BGCT, senior adult minister at First Church in Grapevine and chairman of the board of trustees for the Valley Baptist Mission/ Education Center in Harlingen. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Imogene; daughters, Tura Cason, Kathy Bassham, Beth Crooms and Mary Geiger; 10 grandchildren and 8 greatgrandchildren.

David Howle, associate professor of religion at Wayland Baptist University, portrayed the school’s founder, James Wayland, in a monologue that recalled the physician’s move to Plainview in 1891, his experiences as a doctor on the plains of Texas and his involvement of civic affairs as part of the school’s centennial year Founder’s Day activities.

• Martha Scott, 50, April 26 in Wichita Falls. She was the sister of Baptist Standard Editor Marv Knox. Her other brother, Martin is pastor of First Church in Temple, and her father, Marvin, is an Oklahoma pastor, but has spent much of his career leading Texas churches. She was educated at Jane Brooks School for the Deaf in Chickasha, Okla., and graduated from Petrolia High School in Petrolia. Following graduation, she became a teacher’s aide for Wichita Falls Regional School for the Deaf and served there 26 years until medical retirement in 2005. She was a member of Faith Church in Wichita Falls. She is survived by her husband, Billy; parents, Marvin and Margaret Knox; brothers, Marv and Martin; grandmother, Helena Moore; mother-in-law, Earlene Scott; and uncles, Garvin Knox and Norman Moore.

Events

• The North Central chapter of the Singing Men of Texas will present a concert at Columbus Avenue Church in Waco May 7 at 7 p.m. The concert will honor those who have served in the military. All military personnel and veterans will receive a complimentary CD of a Grammy-nominated song by Russ Murphy called “Welcome Home.” Admission is free, but a missions offering will be taken. For more information, call (254) 752-1655. Brian Dunks is pastor.

• The Blackwood Quartet will present a concert May 22 at 7 p.m. at First Church in Denton. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. For more information, call (940) 382-2577. Jeff Williams is pastor.

Revivals

• First Church, Franklin; May 3-6; evangelist, Robert Barge; pastor, Jim Manning.

• East Cisco Church, Cisco; May 10-13; evangelist, Herman Cramer; music, The Andersons; pastor, C.T. Floyd.

• First Church, Newcastle; May 10-13; evangelist, Robert Barge; pastor, Richard Dunnam.

• Windsor Park Church, DeSoto; May 17-20; evangelist, Jon Randles; pastor, Chris Seidlitz.

Ordained

• Jim Rich and Casey Durst as deacons at Posey Church in Sulphur Springs.