Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 26, 1993 TAG: 9306290287
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By FRANCES STEBBINS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Former Roanoke Mayor Noel Taylor will be among the speakers for the annual convention of the Church of God of Prophecy in session Wednesday through July 4 at the Roanoke Civic Center auditorium.
Taylor, pastor of High Street Baptist Church, will preach July 3 at 11 a.m. on "When I Think of Going Under, I Cannot . . . When I Think of Him."
The convention and camp meeting program includes Mike Willingham, a Greenville, S.C., pastor, who will deliver several evangelistic messages nightly at 7:30.
The Church of God of Prophecy with headquarters in Cleveland, Tenn., is a Pentecostal denomination with Virginia headquarters at Troutville. It is represented by more than 70 congregations in Western Virginia. Communities targeted for new churches in Virginia by 1995 include Vinton, Bedford, Grundy and Gate City.
For a schedule of convention events, call 562-0249. About 5,000 worshipers annually attend the evening meetings held each summer during early July. Assignment of pastors to congregations also is announced at the close of the meeting.
Methodists reassigned
Several pastoral changes affecting United Methodist clergy in counties near Roanoke were announced Wednesday at the closing of the Virginia Conference in Hampton.
These are the assignments: East Franklin, Betty D. Marshall replacing Edward C. McClain; New Hope, DeRoy C. Campbell replacing Marianne M. Bird; West Franklin, Lowell P. Stovall replacing Robert E. White Jr.
Mount Bethel of Henry County, Ralph H. Grow Jr. replacing Paul A. Beighley III; Stanleytown, Charles W. Wickham replacing James D. Thomas; Meadow/Mount Zion, Bobby Shively replacing retiring Fred Gilley; Bedford Circuit, James S. Blankenbaker replacing Pat B. Tony; Bellevue in Bedford County, Wade L. Sirk replacing Ronald K. Morris and Huddleston, Lawrence E. Pritchett replacing Robert S. Baldwin.
At Christ Church of Covington, retiring Lloyd C. Judy will be followed by Michael L. Snider.
Camp to upgrade
A new swimming pool, health/retreat center and heating the dining hall for winter use are among the goals of a half-million-dollar campaign to upgrade Camp Alta Mons.
Owned by United Methodists of the Roanoke District, which also includes most of the New River Valley, the conference center is increasingly used by non-Methodists, according to the Rev. William C. Logan, a co-chairman of the drive.
An advance givers' effort is under way. Logan said response to it makes him hopeful that the full amount will be raised. An introductory rally for church members is set for July 25 at 4:30 p.m. in the new pavilion on the camp grounds.
Alta Mons has about 700 acres in Montgomery County, six miles from Shawsville. It was for more than a century the Crockett Springs resort and was bought by the church 35 years ago.
Logan noted that the use and facilities of the camp have been the subject of a study over the past two years. Planners concluded that running the camp is financially sound for the church as well as valuable for spiritual enrichment.
In 1992 about 500 children and youth camped at Alta Mons and more than 900 people used the all-weather retreat buildings. Nearly 15,000 meals were served, a campaign information brochure indicates.
The swimming pool is more than 60 years old; Logan noted that its replacement is a high priority. A proposed health care building will serve as an infirmary for summer campers and be available for adults on winter retreats.
The present all-weather lodge, in use for about five years, will receive an additional meeting room if all the funds are raised, and the dining hall will be made more suitable for year-round use. An endowment fund for repairs also is part of the campaign package.
Priests ordained
Two new Virginia Roman Catholic priests ordained today in Richmond formerly served parishes in Western Virginia while in training for professional ministry. David L. Nott, who has been assigned to St. Bede's Church of Williamsburg, is a former choirmaster at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Staunton. After his acceptance into the Catholic church and while a seminarian he was an assistant at congregations in Tazewell and Pocahontas.
The other new priest, Michael A. Renninger, assigned to Our Lady for Carmel Church in Newport News, spent last summer as an assistant at St. Mary's Church in Blacksburg. He will celebrate all the Sunday liturgies there July 3 and 4.
A second career
The Rev. Thomas Welch, who retired from the full-time priesthood last month after five years at Holy Family Catholic Church in Pearisburg, expects to spend several more years in service to Cherokee Indians in Tennessee. Welch, 62, said he took early retirement because of his interest in rehabilitation ministry for alcoholics.
by CNB