THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 6, 1996 TAG: 9606050161
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 79 lines
THE REV. Naomi P. Chambers has marched through the seasons of life with purpose and plan guiding her steps.
She's a wife, mother, mother-in-law and grandmother. For 30 years, she was a public school educator, and in recent years she has directed a college/seminary extension program for local students.
In 1988, Chambers answered a deeper call on her life - as associate pastor of Christian education, alongside her pastor-husband, at Pleasant Union Baptist Church.
At 63, the passion of Chamber's life is to share her fine-tuned wisdom and to encourage other women to be all that God has called them to be.
That's also the call of the women of Chambers' church for a two-day Women's Conference, Saturday and Sunday.
``It's a time for women to come together for self-advancement and explore their God-given talents and abilities,'' Chambers said. ``We are inviting all women of different races and denominations to join us as we attempt to strengthen the Kingdom of God in the now.''
She said, ``Our message is to encourage women to be helpmates to their husbands, to inspire their children to higher heights, to be involved in our churches and schools, to set high moral standards in our homes and communities and to be involved in social and spiritual ministries within their neighborhoods.''
She added, ``The thrust of this message is that we have help through the Holy Spirit, who will teach us and guide us . . . This Women's Conference is about women improving themselves and utilizing all that they have available to them in Christ Jesus.''
The conference theme, ``Women on the Move for God,'' is taken from Matthew 28:7.
Led by chairperson Janice B. Howell, Saturday's program begins with breakfast and fellowship at 9 a.m., followed by morning praise led by Evangelist Viola Parker.
The first session, ``Women Called of God,'' will be led by the Rev. Patricia Coker-Bell, associate minister of Zion Baptist Church in Portsmouth.
At 11:45 a.m. Saturday, the conference will recess for an outdoor sidewalk cafe luncheon. Young people of the church will serve as waitresses and waiters.
At 12:30 p.m., Pleasant Union's Praise Team will introduce the afternoon session, ``Women Planted by the Rivers of Prosperity.'' It will be presented by Felecia Jacobs, daughter of the Chambers, who is a graduate of Norfolk State University and is pursuing her masters degree in Transition Special Education at George Washington University.
Following a summation of the day's discussion by Hattie Knight, the Rev. Naomi Chambers will share a closing challenge for conferees.
Women's Day Celebration activities on Sunday will include an 11:15 a.m. worship service with an all-female choir and a sermon by guest speaker JoAnn Anderson, founder and pastor of the New Living Well Bible Church in Hampton.
To conclude their Women's Day Celebration in a festive spirit, the Pleasant Union congregation will join at 3 p.m. Sunday with several other churches in the County Street vicinity for a parade through their east Suffolk neighborhood. ``We just want to take the church into the streets of our community,'' Chambers explained. ``It's like what Jesus did, going to people where they live.''
She said, ``We've asked our members to fast and pray and then to pray for their community as they walk through the streets so that people can see Christ in us.''
The parade will begin at the intersection of County Street and Charlotte Avenue and end at the Pleasant Union Church, with a 15-minute concert by the church's Mass Choir.
Pleasant Union's Women's Conference is part of a month-long emphasis on women. The closing event will be a Women's Revival at 7:30 p.m. June 26. Special guests will be Bishop Marion Jones and the congregation of the St. Mark Church of Deliverance in Portsmouth.
Registration fee for Saturday's portion of the conference is $15. Call the church office at 539-0367. The church is at 215 Webb St. in East Suffolk. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
``Our message is to encourage women to . . . be involved in our
churches and schools,'' says the Rev. Naomi P. Chambers. by CNB