Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 22, 1995 TAG: 9507240014
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Wendy Moore, the first executive director of Roanoke Area Ministries, will return to the position on Aug.7 after an absence of more than five years.
During most of that time the interfaith service agency has been administered by the Rev. Julie Hollingsworth, a Presbyterian minister, who is temporarily joining the staff of the Roanoke Pastoral Counseling Center.
Moore, an Episcopalian, left RAM in 1989 to further her education and gain more experience in inner city work with the needy.
A report from RAM, which operates a day shelter for the homeless in Roanoke's West End and serves as a coordinating agency for many religious outreach ministries, said 3,876 individuals - 227 of them children - were served in June. This was up 600 from May.
Assisted suicide
At the recent national Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren in Charlotte, N.C., delegates from Western Virginia authorized a study committee to include the matter of assisted suicide in a position paper on end-of-life issues. The report is expected to be ready by the 1996 annual meeting in Cincinnati. Also to be updated is a 1987 statement on genetic engineering to cover the morality of using fetal tissue.
Emergency aid denied
The First United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, Okla., which was heaviliy damaged by the April bomb blast across the street at the Murrah Federal Building, has been ruled ineligible for federal emergency help. A staff member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said churches are rarely recipients for government aid because of the separation of church and state in America.
The church leadership applied for emergency aid because the undamaged part of the building was used for several days as a morgue and assistance center. Tents erected on its parking lot damaged the asphalt, and the carpet must be replaced. The denomination's board of global ministries is trying to raise extra funds to cover the loss.
New congregation
The Rev. Ernest Deyerle, pastor of Red Hill Church of the Brethren, chairs a committee of the Virlina District of the denomination to start a new congregation for the Smith Mountain Lake community. He may be called at 774-7437 by those who want to be involved in planning.
Hometown organ recital
Travis Powell, a graduate student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and organist at Preston Hollow United Methodist Church there, will present his fifth annual Hometown Organ Recital on Aug. 13 at 3 p.m. at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Marion. The recital will include music ranging in style from Baroque to Broadway. It is free. Powell is a graduate of Marion High School and Westminster Choir College.
Blind hiker to speak
Bill Irvin, a blind man who hiked the length of the Appalachian Trail with his seeing-eye dog, Orient, will speak Sunday at 10 a.m. at Pisgah United Methodist Church. It is across from Historic Crab Orchard Museum in Tazewell County.
6:30 Band to perform
The 6:30 Band, led by former Roanoker Tom Jennings, will be in concert Sunday, at 6:30 p.m., at the First Baptist Church, Third and Franklin Streets, Roanoke.
Jennings, son of Dr. and Mrs. Leon Jennings, attended the church while living in Roanoke. He served as its youth choir pianist for four years.
The group's first recording, ``Open My Eyes,'' is a collection of jazz arrangements of well-known hymns.
The public is invited to the concert.
Retreat center opens
Spring Lake Lodge, a retreat center, has opened near Smith Mountain Lake, under the direction of R. Lee Merritt. He is promoting the 43-acre site with a 16-acre lake for church groups who need a place for day-long meetings of youth and adults. Call 297-7669 for details and rates.
Methodist minorities grow
The percentage of black clergy in the United Methodist Church has risen from 2.6 to 8 percent over the past eight years. The percentage of Hispanic and Asian Methodists, while still in the 2-3 percent range, has more than doubled since 1986, recently released figures show. Overall, 61 percent of United Methodists are 50 or older with less than 10 percent in the under-40 age groups.
by CNB