DATE: Thursday, October 23, 1997            TAG: 9710210115

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 04   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   48 lines

MINISTER TO BE HONORED FOR 40 YEARS OF SERVICE

Highlights of the Rev. Charles Hart's 40 years in the ministry - more than 20 of those spent at Norfolk's Mount Zion Baptist Church - will be celebrated during a banquet Saturday, at Founders Inn in Virginia Beach.

The banquet and a ``This is Your Life'' program of dance, recitations, music and remembrances from surprise guests will begin at 7 p.m.

``Forty years is a milestone in the Bible; and it is for him. We thought this would be a good time to honor him,'' noted Ann Hayes, a church administrator.

A native of Charlotte, Hart came to the Berkley congregation in 1975 after holding pastoral posts in Dallas, N.C., and Richmond. He also had served as a special instructor of Christian education for the Virginia State Baptist Convention and participated in a missionary tour of Africa and Europe.

During his service at Mount Zion, the minister has helped the church undertake a multi-million-dollar building project, pay off a hefty mortgage and implement such projects as a seminar series on Christian leadership, family life enrichment and stewardship development. The 101-year-old congregation currently has 500 members.

Hart holds the distinction of being the first African-American president of the Great Bridge Clergy Association. He has also served as president of the 135-member Tidewater Metro Baptist Ministers Conference, and as an executive board member of the Hampton Ministers' Conference and Choir Guild. He is moderator emeritus of the Norfolk Baptist Union Association.

Hart currently serves as a board member of the Southside Boys and Girls Club.

The Baptist minister holds a bachelor's degree from Johnson C. Smith College, a master's in divinity from Virginia Union University, and doctor of divinity degree from Teamer School of Religion. He received an honorary doctoral of human letters from a Richmond seminary and is currently working on completing his doctorate in ministry from Boston University.

Hart is married to the former Shirley Alexandria of Roebuck, S.C. She is a retired president of the International Association of Ministers' Wives and Ministers' Widows.

Some 250 people are expected to attend the celebration at Founders Inn. For more information, call Mount Zion at 545-3132. The church is at 900 Middlesex St. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

The Rev. Charles Hart

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