ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 8, 1997 TAG: 9702100019
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: religion
SOURCE: MARY LOU BISHOP
The newly organized Christiansburg Seventh-day Adventist Fellowship is inviting others to join them in worship each Sabbath [Saturday] beginning at 10 a.m. in Park United Methodist Church, 306 Park St.
The congregation has rented the Methodist church for services since November. Jim Wirt, head elder and lay pastor for the group of about 25, says this arrangement - Saturday for the Adventists and Sunday for the Methodists - works out well for both congregations.
"[The Rev.] Mark Christian has been great to rent the church to us, to help us out." Wirt has helped organize the group, leading the worship services and presenting "Net '96," a six-week broadcast featuring evangelist Mark Findlay, by way of satellite dish..
"Saturday Keepers," as the Adventists have been called, believe that Saturday is the Bible Sabbath, and that there is no Scriptural record that God ever changed it. They began keeping the seventh day Sabbath as early as 1844.
Conservative, evangelical Christians, they number more than 8 million around the world. Their approach to following the example of Jesus has led them to worldwide outreach to promote health, aid to the needy, and education.
Adventists groups are in Wytheville, Pulaski and Radford. The Radford Seventh-day Adventist Church, 501 2nd St., has been established for more than 50 years. It has provided financial assistance to needy families in Radford and Montgomery County by means of "ingathering funds," which may be used by the local church to help non-Adventist families only. Assistance to members comes from other church monies donated by church members.
Sabbath school begins at 10 a.m. today. The Van Hoy Singers will lead the worship service at 11 a.m. For more information, call Ken and Geraldine Mohler, 382-1761, or Margaret Barnett, 552-6874. Web page:
http://www.geocities.com/heartland/plains/1983 and e-mail: sdachurchxc2geocities.com
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The Rev. Ignace Augustin, founder and director of the Bethany Evangelical Mission of Haiti, will be the guest minister Sunday at Tried Stone Christian Center, 2100 North Main St., Blacksburg. Augustin and his wife, Franchette, have been visiting with friends, the Rev. Vincent Guerra and wife, Ruth, of Blacksburg. Franchette Augustin is principal of the largest of the 34 church/school missions in the town of Les Cayes, Haiti. The Augustins have been working with the villages and communities of Haiti since 1975, building new churches, drilling wells and then establishing schools. "The more people who read, the less chance a dictator can take over," said Ruth Guerra. Vince Guerra goes to Haiti every other year to join the Augustins in a crusade. The community is invited to the 10:45 a.m. Sunday service.
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The annual Lenten Lunch Fellowships, sponsored by the Christiansburg Ministerial Association, begin at noon on Friday at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 220 West Main St., and will continue each Friday through March 21, at other local churches. A soup and sandwich lunch will be served before a short worship service on the theme "Anything New in the Psalms?" The service, which is open to the community, will be over by 1 p.m.
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The Tuesday prior to Ash Wednesday was traditionally called Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday - Mardi gras for those of you who speak French. It was the day when families used up the sugars and fats in the household to prepare for the penitent season of Lent. Listed below are some pancake supper observances at local churches to be held on Tuesday.
* 5-7 p.m., Dublin United Methodist Church, 424 East Main St. $3.50, adults; $2, children 10 and under.
* 5-7 p.m., Bullard Room, Grace Episcopal Church, 210 Fourth St., Radford. $3, adults; $2, children.
* 5:30 -7 p.m., St. Thomas Episcopal Church, East Main and Roanoke streets, Christiansburg.
* 5:30 -7 p.m., Christ Episcopal Church, Wenonah Avenue, Pearisburg.
* 6 p.m., St. Francis Anglican Church, Wilson and Progress streets, Blacksburg.
* 6 p.m., Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fifth Street, Pulaski.
* 6 p.m., Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 405 West Main St., Wytheville. Freewill donations accepted.
* 6-7 p.m., Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, 600 Prices Fork Road, Blacksburg. Freewill donations accepted.
* 6-7:30 p.m., Our Saviour Lutheran Church, 1845 Cambria St., Christiansburg. $2, adults; $1, children 12 and younger.
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Ash Wednesday, traced back to A.D. 600 marks the start of the Christian Lenten season. Listed below are services to be held this Wednesday.
* 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., St. Thomas Episcopal Church, East Main and Roanoke streets, Christiansburg.
* Noon and 7 p.m., Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, 600 Prices Fork Road, Blacksburg.
* Noon, Memorial Chapel, and 7 p.m., Colonial Hall, Squires Student Center. Catholic Campus Ministry, Virginia Tech.
* 12:10-12:30 p.m., Christ Episcopal Church, Wenonah Avenue, Pearisburg.
* 12:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., St. Francis Anglican Church, Wilson and Progress streets, Blacksburg.
* 6 p.m., St. Paul United Methodist Church, 220 West Main St., Christiansburg.
* 6:30 p.m., Crockett Springs United Methodist Church, 2780 Crockett Springs Road, Shawsville.
* 6:45 p.m., Grove United Methodist Church, 1020 Tyler Ave., Radford.
* 6:45 p.m., Blacksburg United Methodist Church, 111 Church St., Blacksburg.
* 7 p.m., Our Saviour Lutheran Church, 1845 Cambria St., Christiansburg.
* 7 p.m., Christ Episcopal Church, 144 N. Washington Ave., Pulaski.
* 7:30 p.m., Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 405 West Main St. Wytheville.
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