ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996 TAG: 9610210102
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Episcopal bishop to be consecrated
Episcopalians in the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia will consecrate their fifth bishop since 1919 on Oct. 26 in Burruss Auditorium of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. He is the Rev. F. Neff Powell, 48, most recently a diocesan staff member in Portland, Ore.
Powell and his wife, Dorothy, an elementary school teacher, and their three children have moved to the Grandin Court neighborhood of Roanoke.
Powell was elected by laity and clergy in June from among five nominees. He will succeed A. Heath Light, who is retiring after more than 17 years as bishop. Light will remain in Roanoke.
The 10:30 a.m. consecration service is expected to involve about 30 Episcopal bishops, including Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning of New York. An estimated 3,000 Episcopalians and others from throughout the western Virginia area served by the diocese may attend.
At the climax of the service, the visiting bishops will place their hands on Powell's head to signify an unbroken succession of the ordained from the time of Christ.
Guest clergy and laity from the diocese's companion diocese in North Yorkshire, England, also will be present, as will several representatives of other denominations. Bishop Robert Ladehoff, for whom Powell has worked in Oregon, will preach.
Powell will be the first bishop of the diocese to have spent most of his life on the West Coast. He lived in Raleigh, N.C., from 1983 to 1990 while an assistant in the diocesan office there. His specialty in small church ministry there was a major reason for his election, observers said in June.
A native of Salem, Ore., he was educated at Claremont McKenna College in California and at the Episcopal Divinity School in Massachusetts, with additional study at Hartford Seminary three years ago.
Brethren district to observe 25th year
Virlina District, the Church of the Brethren region in Southern Virginia and part of North Carolina, will celebrate its 25th anniversary Nov. 8 and 9 at the annual District Conference to be held at Bonsack Baptist Church.
"In the World But Not of the World" is this year's theme.
Lay and clergy delegates will be asked to approve a $500,000 campaign to make more money available for new church development, upgrading the district's Camp Bethel retreat center, and for several other needs.
Major speakers at meals on Friday night and Saturday night will be Terrie Glass, a licensed minister and substance abuse director from the Richmond area, and the Rev. Earl Stovall, a former Virlina leader now serving a rapidly growing New Enterprise, Pa., church.
Virlina has 88 congregations, of which Williamson Road in Roanoke and Antioch in Franklin County are the largest.
Southern Baptists reorganize
The Baptist General Association of Virginia, a coalition of Southern Baptist congregations, has revamped its administrative structure in Richmond and renamed its central headquarters the Virginia Baptist Resource Center.
The Virginia Baptist General Board is expected to soon be called the Virginia Baptist Mission Board.
Staff members will be grouped into six teams, and the state will have seven regions, with the Woman's Missionary Union playing a stronger role in ministries.
Among those affected by personnel changes is the Rev. Robert Wayne, a former pastor of Lynn Haven Church in Vinton, who is retiring after several years as director of the board's office of church-minister relations.
John Wesley to be portrayed
Christian dramatist Roger Nelson will present "The Man From Aldersgate," depicting the life and work of Methodism's founder, John Wesley, at Ferrum College Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
At 2 p.m. Thursday, Nelson will portray St. Patrick in a second presentation.
Both will be at Sale Theatre in Schoolfield Hall in Ferrum.
Nelson's presentations are the 1996 Staley Lecture feature.
Call 365-4286 for more information.
Chapel to offer interfaith ministry
A new ministry - interfaith services of spiritual healing - will begin Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Montvale Fellowship Chapel in Bedford County. It will be led by Linda Markham and Ken Burger, both of Bedford, and will be informal in style.
Markham said the series will include a wide spectrum of speakers representing both traditional Christian and other religious groups. Call 747-5107 for more information.
Choral society seeks members
The Bedford Choral Society, which sings Handel's "Messiah" each Advent season, is seeking choir members for its Tuesday night practices. They are at 7:30 at Bedford Baptist Church on Oakwood Street. Call the director, Earle Goodwin, at 586-0231 for more information.
S. African college is mission project
A community college for South Africa's Evanton area will become a mission project of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The church's Service and Development Agency has received a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development for construction of the school.
It will be on a site already used by the Wilberforce Institute for a school of religion and elementary and high schools. Construction is expected to start early next year with completion in 2000.
Degree to be offered in Hispanic ministry
Drew University, a United Methodist school with a theological seminary in Madison, N.J., will add a specialized doctor of Hispanic ministry program in January. The three-year advanced studies program is being developed for a growing Spanish-speaking American population residing mainly in Eastern cities. Perkins School of Theology recently began a Mexican-American studies program especially for the Southwest.
Pastoral counseling center picks director
The Rev. Lisa Meyer has been named the new executive director of the Roanoke Valley Pastoral Counseling Center at 214 Mountain Ave. S.W.
Meyer, 33 and ordained in the United Church of Christ, moved to Roanoke in May from Omaha, Neb., where she had served as a director of Christian education for three years. She was educated at Southern Illinois University and at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis.
Meyer will do administrative and promotional work at the ecumenical center while also being employed by Carilion Health Systems as a chaplain at Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Her background includes campus chaplaincy at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., and a year in mission service in Botswana.
Meyer will refer clients to one of four licensed professional counselors: the Rev. Dr. Alan Willard of Blacksburg, the Rev. Steve Harris, the Rev. Larry Sprouse or the Rev. Janet Ramsey. Ramsey is a Lutheran. The other three are Southern Baptists.
Call 343-5455 for more information.
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