ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 12, 1996 TAG: 9612130026
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS
PEOPLE
Hannah Glisson, director of program ministries at First United Methodist Church in Salem since 1989, will leave the staff Dec. 31. Glisson will enter Eastern Mennonite University in January with a goal of ordination to the pastoral ministry. During her seven years on the staff, Glisson has overseen the education program for all ages as well as fellowship events, has trained volunteers, and has served as an assistant to the two pastors.
The Rev. Susan Emmons Bentley, a graduate of Hollins College who recently returned to the Roanoke Valley from the Chicago area, has become an adjunct rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem. A graduate of Seabury Western Theological Seminary, Bentley is married to Michael Bentley, of the Virginia Tech faculty; they have three children.
The Rev. George K. Bowers, a retired Lutheran pastor of Roanoke, has become interim minister of Melrose Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
MUSICAL EVENTS
At New Hope Presbyterian Church, 101 Keesling Ave., Salem, a cantata, "The Wonders of His Love!" will be sung Sunday at 11 a.m. The church also will sponsor a Nativity tableau on its lawn Sunday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
An African Children's Choir will perform Sunday at the 9 and 11 a.m. services at Vinton Baptist Church on Washington Avenue, and at 6 p.m. at Valley Word Ministries. An offering will be taken for the group, which includes youngsters from several countries 5 to 12 years old, many of whom have lost one or both parents. The touring group of 26 sings under sponsorship of Friends in the West, a humanitarian agency based in Arlington, Wash. Call 206-771-4135 for more information about the 10-year-old choir.
Christmas by Candlelight will be the theme of a program at 7 p.m. Sunday at Bonsack Baptist Church, 4845 Cloverdale Road. Guests, the Brass Five and harpist Song He Uhm, will augment sacred selections by the Adult Choir and Orchestra, the Handbell Choir and the Young Musicians. More music will be performed at the 7 p.m. Christmas Eve candlelight Communion.
At Bonsack United Methodist Church, 4493 Bonsack Road, the Chancel Choir will sing the cantata, "The Glory of the Lord," at 11 a.m. On Dec. 22 at 6 p.m., "The Christmas Wish" will be sung by the parish Children's Choir.
Buchanan Baptist Church has scheduled a Christmas musical drama, "Hark the Herald Angel," Sunday at 7 p.m. by children of the church.
Two performances of "From Heaven's Throne" will be presented Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Fellowship Baptist Church, 929 Murray Ave. S.E. The singers also will be at Tanglewood Mall Monday night at 8.
First Church of the Brethren, 2001 Carroll Ave. N.W., will present a cantata, "Joy, the Gift of God," Sunday at 11 a.m. The Don Wyrtzen contemporary work will replace the usual worship. First Church's Christmas Eve candlelight Communion will begin at 11 p.m.
A musical drama, "The Gift: God Himself Is With Us," will be given Sunday at 7 p.m. at Central United Methodist Church, 428 College Ave. in Salem.
Oak Grove Church of the Brethren, 2138 McVitty Road S.W., has scheduled sacred music of the season Sunday at the 11 a.m. service. On Christmas Eve, a candlelight family service will begin at 6:30 p.m.
"Messiah," the classic oratorio by Handel, will be sung Sunday at the 9 and 11 a.m. services at Cave Spring United Methodist Church, 4505 Hazel Drive S.W. Participating in the Christmas choruses will be the Chancel Choir and instrumentalists directed by Ric McClure.
The Chancel Choir of First Presbyterian Church, 2105 S. Jefferson St., will present Handel's "Messiah" Sunday at 3 p.m. at the church. The group will be accompanied by soloists and an orchestra. On Dec. 29, the church will hold a traditional feast of carols at the 11 a.m. service.
OUTREACH
New, stamped Christmas cards for inmates of the Roanoke city and County jails to send to their loved ones are needed, according to the Rev. Gene Edmunds, interim chaplain. Currently, about 620 people are in the city's jail, and an additional 150 are in the county's. The card collection has for several years been a project of the Roanoke Valley Ministers Conference, which sponsors the jail chaplaincy. Cards or stamp books may be brought to Edmunds at 317 Church Ave. in downtown Roanoke.
Project WARM, in which discarded trees are split into firewood for the Roanoke Valley needy, is being supported by nine Church of the Brethren congregations. Volunteers from these churches cut and deliver the wood weekly to households recommended by the Salvation Army.
A free Christmas dinner will be offered Sunday following a 5:30 p.m. program of music and worship at New Grace Baptist Church, 1214 Peters Creek Road N.W. Call 384-6260 for more information.
SPECIAL EVENTS
A Catholic Community Christmas Tree is part of the Festival of Trees display through Dec. 24 at the First Union Tower in downtown Roanoke. "Keep Christ in Christmas" is the theme for the tree, the first the parishes have sponsored. Admission is $1.50 for adults and $1 for children 5 to 12. Proceeds benefit the Mental Health Association of the Roanoke Valley.
A Nativity tableau will be presented on the lawn of Ridgewood Baptist Church, 703 Hemlock Road N.W., Wednesday and Dec. 19 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church has received a grant of $450 from Lutheran Brotherhood, a fraternal insurance society. The grant matches proceeds from a parish bazaar, and the total will be used for mission work.
Send information to Frances Stebbins, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, 24010-2491 by noon Thursday. Please include a daytime telephone number.
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