ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 10, 1996 TAG: 9610100015
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS
PEOPLE
The Rev. Michael Valentine has become pastor of Bethany Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), succeeding the Rev. John Dunstan, who left a year ago. Valentine, 45, came from Uniontown, Pa., but has spent most of his life in his native Michigan. Reared and educated in the Church of God, he attended its college and seminary in Anderson, Ind., before becoming a Disciples minister while an intern in the Muncie, Ind., area. He served a congregation in Ionia, Mich., for 12 years before moving to Pennsylvania earlier this year. The pastor's wife, Joan, is from Pennsylvania, and the family includes a daughter, Cassandra, 12.
The Rev. Jim Workman, rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Fincastle for the past three years, will conclude his pastorate there Oct.18. Workman, 49, will become rector of Grace Episcopal Church of Radford. He expects to be married soon to the Rev. Krista Cameron.
The ordination to pastoral ministry of Amy Oehlschlaeger, a member of Christ Lutheran Church, will take place Oct.27 at 5 p.m. The graduate of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary has begun service to three Wythe County congregations. A reception will follow the service. The church is at 2011 Brandon Ave. S.W.
The Rev. J. Richard Gottshall, a retired clergyman who lives in Roanoke, has become interim pastor of Williamson Road Church of the Brethren. Ordained 43 years ago, Gottshall has been an interim pastor at five churches since he left full-time ministry seven years ago.
The Rev. Branan Thompson, pastor of Colonial Avenue Baptist Church, will spend the remainder of October preparing for and teaching a seminar at a Baptist seminary in Panama. The visit is part of Partnership Mission, sponsored by the General Association of Virginia Southern Baptists.
OUTREACH
CROP Walks, six-mile hikes in which walkers receive financial pledges from donors to help relieve world hunger and malnutrition, are scheduled Sunday in several Western Virginia communities including the Roanoke Valley, Botetourt County and the Radford area. One-fourth of the money raised remains in the walkers' community, with the rest administered through the ecumenical Church World Service.
Ridgewood Baptist Church has joined several others in the Roanoke Valley in agreeing to sponsor a congregational nurse in cooperation with Carilion Health Care System. The nurse, who will work part time, will be available for those in the congregation and others in its community needing preventive and emergency care. If the experimental program proves useful, the church will assume financial support in two years.
A Romanian Baptist church in the community of Bals is the goal of two Roanoke Valley congregations, Green Ridge and West Salem, who are uniting in sending a team of members to the Eastern European country in August 1997. Plans are for a group of 20 to construct a basic chapel and help find members for it.
MUSICAL EVENTS
Mark Lowry, Christian musician and comedian, will perform Nov.18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Salem Civic Center. Also featured will be East and West and Chris Willis. The $5 admission will be supplemented by an offering. Call (800) 288-2122.
Pilgrim Baptist Church, 1415 Eighth St. N.W., will be the site of two musical programs Saturday and Sunday sponsored by the Senior Choir. The Saturday program at 6 p.m. will feature the H.R. Plummer Singers from Richmond. The following day at 4 p.m., music will be by the Greenspring Baptist Church Choir of Goodview, with the Rev. Ray Arrington preaching.
The Adult Chorus of Maple Street Baptist Church will observe its 41st anniversary with concerts Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. The church is at 902 Fairfax Ave. N.W.
REVIVAL MEETINGS
Zion Hill Baptist Church near Fincastle has scheduled the Rev. Doug Echols as its evangelist for services Sunday through Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Reared at Zion Hill, Echols, a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, is minister of education and youth at Fort Trial Baptist Church at Bassett.
Bert Rait, a native of Scotland, will be guest preacher for revival services Sunday through Wednesday, Oct.17 at 7 p.m. at Waverly Place Baptist Church, 1407 Kenwood Blvd. S.E. The Tuesday night services will include bagpipe music. The meeting will begin with morning worship at 10:50.
The Rev. Dr. Floyd Wingfield, a former Roanoker who is pastor of Highland United Methodist Church in Colonial Heights, will preach for revival services Friday through Sunday morning at Rockingham Court United Methodist Church, 4615 Bryan Road S.E. Evening worship will be at 7, and Sunday at 11.
The Rev. Clifton R. Wilson, pastor of Union Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Norfolk, will lead evangelistic services Oct.14-18 at 7:30 p.m. at St. John A.M.E. Church, 3019 Rutrough Road S.E.
SPIRITUAL EDUCATION
A Christian life seminar, "Christian Perspectives on Violence," will begin Oct16 at Oak Grove Church of the Brethren, 2138 McVitty Road S.W. Open to the community at 6:30 p.m. following a $2 meal at 5:45, it will cover "The Death Penalty" next week; "Abortion" on Oct.23; "Violence and Spouse Abuse" on Oct.30; "Violence in the Mass Media" on Nov.6; "Middle East Killing" on Nov.13, and "Violence and Injustice" on Nov. 20. Call 774-3277. Child care will be provided.
At Valley Community Church, a Divine Science congregation worshiping at 5000 Carriage Drive S.W., the Rev. Maurita Wiggins, pastor, has begun a six-week class, "The Power of Your Subconscious Mind." It will be in session from 7:30 through 9:30 p.m. through Nov.13. Wiggins, an educator for the past 30 years, is chairwoman of the board of the Divine Science School in Washington. Seminar fee is $45.
The Wednesday Morning Bible Class, an evangelical Christian group that has met at Ghent Grace Brethren Church for half a century, has resumed meetings for the season with the Rev. Dr. Dan R. Mitchell, pastor of Grace Baptist Temple, the teacher this year. First Thessalonians is the study of the weekly sessions at 10 at 1511 Maiden Lane S.W.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Monthly Saturday night worship at 5:30 will begin Saturday at St. James Episcopal Church, 4515 Delray St. N.W. "Raised to Praise," an informal service with contemporary gospel music led by Jerome Furr of the Church of God in Christ, will be each second Saturday monthly. The service will include a message by the church's pastor, the Rev. Tony Seel.. It is for the convenience of those who prefer a weeknight service and less formality than is traditional in Sunday morning worship.
Unity of Roanoke Valley, which is observing its 25th anniversary of organization, has scheduled a visit by the Rev. Glenn Mosley this weekend. The current president of the national Association of Unity Churches based in Kansas City, Mo., will conduct a healing workshop Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon; it will be followed by a potluck lunch. On Sunday Mosley will preach at the 9 and 11 a.m. services. Another potluck meal and a musical program will follow the Sunday services. The Unity building is at 3300 Green Ridge Road.
English guests from the Anglican Diocese of Bradford will visit several Western Virginia Episcopal parishes on Oct.27 following the consecration the previous day of F. Neff Powell as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia. The bishop of Bradford, David J. Smith, will be at St. John's Church of Roanoke at 9, 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. At St. Paul's Church in Salem, the guest will be the Rev. Christopher Wright, a staff member of the diocese with which Western Virginia parishes have an international relationship. St. Paul's services are at 7:30, 9 and 11 a.m.
A Promise Keepers seminar to train men in the principles of the national movement to strengthen personal responsibility to families, jobs and churches is scheduled Oct. 25-26 at Cave Spring Baptist Church, 4873 Brambleton Ave. S.W. "Foundations for an Effective Men's Ministry" will be in session from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. the first day and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. the second day. Registration fee is $35 if paid by Friday. Call (800) 349-0588 for information.
Missionary to Ireland Henry A. Stevenson will speak Sunday at 6 p.m. at First Church of the Nazarene, 728 Highland Ave. S.E. Stevenson and his wife have been Nazarene missionaries for 25 years and established a congregation in the Republic of Ireland nine years ago.
Bishop Walter F. Sullivan of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond will celebrate a 50th anniversary Mass Sunday at 10 a.m. at St. Gerard's Church, 809 Orange Ave. N.W. The celebration will follow a gospel concert Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the church. St. Gerard's was established Sept.22, 1946, with a service at Harrison School for black Catholics. Later services were held on Moorman Road before a church was built at the present site. The parish is now multiracial, and provides a Mass for Spanish speaking Catholics. Both languages will be used at the Sunday worship.
A Protestant Spanish language service just begun at Trinity United Methodist Church, 301 Mountain Ave. S.W., has attracted more than 30 people for the 9:30 a.m. Sunday weekly worship. The Rev. Denise Rotival Huffman is its pastor.
The Bible and Health will be the theme of George Malkmus tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Calvary Memorial Church, 2226 Colonial Ave. S.W. He is the founder of Hallelujah Acres in Edison, Tenn., and Back to the Garden Health Ministries. He will speak on "How to Eliminate Sickness" based on dietary rules of the Bible. Call 989-7230 for information. The program is free.
The Helping Hand Club will mark its 69th anniversary Sunday at 4 p.m. at Jerusalem Baptist Church, 1014 Norfolk Ave. S.W. Leading worship will be Jimmy Cook and the choir of Guiding Star Church of God in Christ.
At Mount Moriah Baptist Church, 3521 Orange Ave. N.E., the Rev. Henry Lindsey and the choir of First Baptist Church of Vinton will lead worship Oct. 27 at 3 p.m. in honor of the Rev. Thomas E. Pleasant's third anniversary as pastor.
Send information to Frances Stebbins, Neighbors, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, 24010-2491 by noon Thursday. Please include a day time telephone number.
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