VV OLUMEOLUME 11 ~ N11 ~ N UMBERUMBER 1~ MARCH, 2012 ~ P1~ MARCH, 2012 ~ P UBLISHEDUBLISHED BYBY PP RESBYTERYRESBYTERY OFOF THETHE JJ AMESAMES , 3218 C, 3218 C HAMBERLAYNEHAMBERLAYNE AA VEVE . , R. , R ICHMONDICHMOND , VA.23227, VA.23227

Nonprofit Organization US Postage

PAID Permit # 911

Richmond, VA 23232

Things are going alright in Bohoc. Kids should be back in school and we have paid all the education expenses for the year, well over $9000. It is getting more and more expensive to run the place now with 67 orphans.

Haiti: two years after hurricane Irene

The food prices have stayed high and we now spend an aver-age of $3900 per month on food alone for the orphanage. Thank you for helping us with paying for that. It keeps a lot of kids alive. The fishponds were doing fine until hurricane Irene paid a visit to Haiti. Although I have not seen the damage myself yet

the report was that the rains were so heavy that they washed out a portion of the aqueduct that carries in the water for the ponds. We had to send funding right away for the repair esti-mated at $500 at that time. The problem was furthered that the repairs were difficult because of the mud damage. Pauluis wrote from Haiti that he was afraid that the fish were not going to survive the interruption of the water flow, which is important for the oxygen level.

by Hein Vingerling, a founder of Matthew 28

Replacing damaged canal section wiped out by Irene flooding.

Two years after the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, many people who gave to chari-ties are asking why they are not seeing more progress. The an-swer is often that charitable groups were focused on the im-mediate needs with little em-phasis on long term recovery.

This is what sets the re-sponse by PC(USA) and Presby-terian Disaster Assistance apart from other relief efforts in Hai-ti.

PDA placed a strong empha-sis on working with longstand-

ing local and ecumenical part-ners. These Haitian partners already had the trust of local communities before the quake struck, and so they were able to help facilitate the ongoing PC(USA) response.

PC(USA) is in Haiti working to maintain and use these long-time partnerships to help repair and rebuild homes, support agri-cultural sustainability, empower people who became disabled from the earthquake, and con-tinues to promote long term re-covery.

A survivor of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, Kesnel Resilia (left) takes a break from work-ing on a new house in Leogane, south of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, to pose with his wife and their daughter. PDA is working with ecumenical partners to help rebuild 1700 houses in the community. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance.

Matthew 28 still rebuilding

Hurricane Irene damaged a number of Presbyterian Churches up and down the East Coast. Bethlehem Presbyteri-an Church was damaged and received $4,373.00 from insurance for repairs and has received an additional $1,500.00 from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. Hurricane Irene came through in August 2011. The total amount for repairs was $5,873.00.

Bethlehem receives

$1500 from PDA

Beginning in October, 2007, the Presbytery moved its offices and rented space from the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic at 3218 Chamberlayne Avenue, Richmond, VA. We have enjoyed our space here which is across the street from Union Presby-terian Seminary. We had a three year lease with two one year extensions, so we knew there would come a time to determine where our offices would be located. During the intervening time, the Synod (and the Seminary which is joint-owner of the property) decided to put the office on the mar-ket for sale in January, 2011. We began to explore possibilities of what office space we might find for the presbytery office including commer-cial space as well as space in a con-gregation.

The Trustees of the Presbytery decided to explore the possibility of purchasing the office building at 3218 Chamberlayne Avenue. They authorized a building inspection which found the facility in good shape except for cosmetic and other minor repairs needed. After much study and thought, the Trustees made an offer in 2012 to purchase the prop-erty for $220,000. That offer was

(Continued on page 2)

POJ has contract for office building

PPRESBYTERYRESBYTERY ININ RREVIEWEVIEW Eightieth Stated Meeting ~ February 19, 2012Eightieth Stated Meeting ~ February 19, 2012

Grace Covenant Presbyterian ChurchGrace Covenant Presbyterian Church

22

CALLED MEETING ~ TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2011

The Presbytery of the James held a Called Meeting on Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at The Gayton Kirk Church, Richmond, VA. The meeting was for the specific purpose of examining two persons for ordination. The following candidates were examined and approved for ordination: Candidate Allison Unroe, POJ, as Associate Pastor for Youth, River Road Church Candidate Joshua Andrzejewski, Philadelphia Presbytery, as Chaplain, United Methodist Family Services, Richmond, VA. In addition the Stated Clerk read a letter in which Rev. Steve Dyer renounced jurisdiction of the Presby-terian Church (USA). The Moderator led the presbytery in prayer following the reading of the renunciation.

Respectfully submitted, H. Carson Rhyne, Jr. H. Carson Rhyne, Jr. Stated Clerk

Richard F. Taylor (1913-1999) was a native of Amelia County, where his family had lived for many generations. He credited his upbringing in the Amelia Presby-terian Church as among the most important influences in his life. Following his education as an architect and four years served as an officer in the Pacific during the Second World War, he felt strongly called to become a pastor and preach the gospel of Christ. After three years at Princeton Seminary he returned to Virginia, where he served pastorates first in Sharps and Weems, then in Orange, and Abingdon. In 1989 he and his wife Virginia retired to the family home in Amelia Court House. Over the next ten years he served regularly as supply pastor to the Lawrence-ville Presbyterian Church, before moving to Sunnyside at Massanet-ta Springs.

No one was a stranger to Dick Taylor. He loved people wherever he found them and reached out to them in countless ways. In his will he requested that in addition to several educational institutions and friends in need, that a portion of his estate be left to five church-es. Three of these are in the Pres-bytery of the James, Amelia ($5500), Lawrenceville ($3,000) & Zion Hill ($3,000), which is situat-ed on land adjoining the Taylor property in Amelia. The other two congregations were Baptist neigh-bors, Promise Land and Little Bethel, which he often visited with friends. Recognizing the im-portance of education he also estab-lished a scholarship fund to help deserving graduates of Amelia High School. The trust, known as the Glenmore-Dykeland Fund, was named for two homes of his ances-tors, and is administered by the Presbytery of the James.

Richard F. Taylor

Amelia, Lawrenceville,

Zion Hill receive funds

from Taylor estate

The Presbytery of the James held its 80th Stated Meeting on Saturday, February 18, 2012, at Grace Covenant Church, Rich-mond, VA. The meeting went well and ended early (at lunch)!! The beautiful sanctuary was inspiring, the choir was tremendous, and the bible study led by Rev. LoAnn Fairman was engaging. Many thanks for all of the efforts of the pastor and members of Grace Covenant Church for their hospitality.

We welcomed the following ministers into the presbytery: Rev. Ben Sparks (returning) as Temporary Supply Pastor, Chester Church from Middle Tennessee Presbytery

Rev. Terry Woodward, Temporary Supply, Aberdour and First, Emporia, from Peaks Presbytery Rev. Louie Andrews, Pastor, Rockfish Church, from Coastal Carolina Presbytery

We enrolled the following as candidates to become a Teaching Elder: Catherine Schilling, First Church, Richmond. Lisa Salita, Three Chopt Church

In addition, the following actions were taken by the presbytery: 1. Approval of the October, 2011, Presbytery minutes. 2. Installed Ruling Elder Mary Baril as the 2012 POJ Moderator and thanked Rev. Janet James for her wonderful service

as the 2011 POJ Moderator 3. Elected several persons to the Committee on Preparation for Ministry 4. Gave the powers of General Administrative Review, G-3.0108a, to the five listening teams working with five congre-

gations requesting dismissal from the PCUSA. 5. Had a first reading on the revised Presbytery manual to bring it in line with the new Form of Government. 6. Approved changes in terms of call for Rev. Katherine Nguyen and Rev. H. Carson Rhyne, Jr. 7. Approved the purchase of 3218 Chamberlayne Avenue, for $220,000, for use as the presbytery office. 8. Referred back to the Committee on Ministry the proposed sexual misconduct/harassment policy for further review. 9. Amended the Guidelines for the Presbytery of the James to consider a request from a congregation to be dismissed to

another denomination to allow times when the selection team member might have a conflict to serve. 10. Approved the alternate method of examination in the Biblical exegesis ordination exam for Candidate Susan Butter-

worth in case she does not pass the exam administered in January, 2012. 11. Changed to Minister at Large status the following ministers: 12. Rev. Gordon Pace, August 15, 2011 13. Rev. Mary Jane Winter, December 15, 2011 14. Rev. Louis Williams, January 1, 2012

Respectfully submitted,

H. Carson Rhyne, Jr. H. Carson Rhyne, Jr. Stated Clerk

considered and accepted by the Syn-od and the Seminary. The Presbytery approved the contract on February 18, 2012, in its Stated Meeting at Grace Covenant Church.

We have a couple of hurdles to cross in the process of purchas-ing. Of course, it will have to be giv-

Office Building (Continued from page 1)

en final approval by the Presbytery; but, it will also require a Special Use Permit to be issued by the City of Richmond. We do not have need for the entire 6500 square feet of office space in the building. We are ex-ploring the possibility of having oth-er Christian organizations with small staffs to share the space with us. Sharing the space will create an unique synergism as well as assist with the cost of maintaining and keeping up the facility. We have be-

gun conversations with the City about obtaining this special use per-mit for this kind of operation.

If all goes well, we hope to close on the property in 2012; the special task force on use of funds from the sale of the old presbytery office will recommend to the Trustees that a portion of those funds be used to purchase and upgrade the facility at 3218 Chamberlayne Avenue. We will keep everyone posted on our progress.

PPRESBYTERYRESBYTERY OFOF THETHE JJAMESAMES FF MMARCHARCH, 2012, 2012

On November 13, the con-gregation of Second Presbyteri-an Church celebrated 160 years of ministry. In 1851, twenty-two former members of Petersburg’s first Presbyterian congregation on Tabb Street, decided to es-tablish a new church which would be focused mainly on mis-sions. Over the years, chapels that grew into churches in Chesterfield and Hopewell were started, and missionar-ies to China, Japan, Africa and southern France were support-ed. That emphasis on missions continues today on local, nation-al and international levels. The second pastor, Dr. The-odorick Pryor, served as archi-tect of the church which now stands on the corner of Wash-ington and Lafayette Sts. Con-structed at a cost of $30,000, it has been called “one of the pur-est pieces of Gothic architecture in the state.” The sanctuary was hailed by Vernon Perdue Davis and James Scott Rawlings in their book Virginia’s Ante-bellum Churches as “probably the most rococo in Virginia.” Of special note are the splendid plaster medallions on the ceiling and the cast iron rosettes lining the balconies and rostrum. The latter were created by William H. Tappey, a charter member of Second and co-owner of Tappey & Lumsden Foundry in this city. The elegant rostrum with ogival-arched window and orna-mental apse was also praised by Davis and Rawlings for its beau-ty. The Austin pipe organ was installed in 1965, and to meet the need of a growing member-ship, McIlwaine Fellowship Hall was added in the 1970s.

With such a long history, stories of Second Presbyterian Church abound:

Finding the Indian mound behind the church The Rev. John Miller removing the 30 pound Union shell from the church wall with his bare hands and placing it on the Commun-ion table. He later removed the shot from it and gave it to the older boys in the congregation

for fall hunting. One of the last Confederate

soldiers killed being buried in the church yard, while passing Union troops were made to stand silently until the burial was finished.

Hurricane Hazel blowing off the second steeple in 1954.

While honoring the past, Second Presbyterian also looks to the future. Its outreach pro-grams are impressive. As a charter member of Downtown Churches United and former minister Dr. Robert C. Vaughan, Jr. serving as its first president, Second Presbyterian continues to support DCU and other local hunger relief pro-grams. It is the charter organi-zation for Boy Scout Troop 175. The Lenten luncheons and services have been held for fifty years as a source of spiritual renewal for the community. It has reached out to the sur-rounding neighborhood provid-ing tutoring and recreational ministries.

Second Petersburg celebrates one hundred sixty years “We may be

160 years old, but we feel there is still

much that God wants us to do –

and we are ready to answer

that call.”

On any given day, some 30 people suffer a spinal cord injury. How I Roll is the story of a 17-year-old boy who became quadriplegic but refused to accept the medical sentence of a life unful-filled. Hard work, devot-ed family, a caring com-

munity, and a will to live life as fiercely as his body would allow helped Bry-ant Neville earn a college degree, become a respect-ed banking executive, a loving husband and pro-vider, an adoptive father, and a biological father. His story is a beacon of hope for anyone who has been dealt a physical setback and needs evi-dence that life can go on and dreams can be real-ized. The book can be ordered through Amazon.

Living, Learning, Working,

and Loving

Outside and inside view of Second Presbyterian Church, Petersburg

Member Bott Memorial Presbyterian Church

How I Roll by J. Bryant Neville, Jr.

PPRESBYTERYRESBYTERY OFOF THETHE JJAMESAMES HH MMARCHARCH, 2012, 2012 PPRESBYTERYRESBYTERY OFOF THETHE JJAMESAMES GG MMARCHARCH, 2012, 2012

by Rev. Dr. Glenda Hollingshead

Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church

Colonial Heights Presby-terian Church in Colonial Heights, is a small church with a tremendous passion for serv-ing others. A ministry that has captured the church’s heart is that of Zuni Presbyterian Homes located in Zuni, Virgin-ia. Zuni Presbyterian Homes, one of the campuses of Presby-terian Homes & Family Ser-vices and the Family Alliance, provides residential care for adults with intellectual disabil-ities.

The adults live full lives through many employment, recreational, and cultural op-portunities. Some residents work in the Zuni Peanut Shop preparing gourmet peanuts.

CHPC serves the residents of Zuni through various ways. Occasionally, the church hosts a luncheon or games and re-freshments. Bingo and i ce cream are definite crowd pleas-ers. The church folk look for-ward to the events as much as the Zuni residents do. One church member said, “I enjoy the way we work together and, of course, the laughter.”

Horace and Joni, both wid-owed from previous marriages, have a long-term relationship with a couple of the Zuni resi-dents. Once, when CHPC was hosting an event, one resident/friend of theirs asked, “Are you married?” Horace responded,

PPRESBYTERYRESBYTERY OFOF THETHE JJAMESAMES II MMARCHARCH, 2012, 2012

A passion for service

“No, we are engaged. We are getting married in December.” A serious expression crossed the young man’s face as he respond-ed, “I’ll pray for you.” Horace and Joni have been happily married for some time now, but they still love to tell this story.

CHPC also participates in Zuni’s annual “Day in the Coun-try”. For 37 years, CHPC has joined other churches, organiza-tions, and entertainers to cele-brate this fun-filled “home-com-ing” event. There are hayrides, an auction, games, live enter-tainment, and sales of baked goods, Zuni Peanuts, and other foods. CHPC assists with pre-paring and wrapping burgers, hotdogs, BBQ, and pork chop sandwiches. But when the work is finished, it is time for some fun; maybe even join the Pea-nut City Cloggers (a team of dancers that performs tradition-al and precision styles of clog-ging) for a dance.

Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34).

Zuni Peanuts, pork chop sandwiches, and longtime friends—God’s love is wrapped in lots of packages. God’s love can be found in a small church with a huge passion for service, and in the face of a Zuni resi-dent who may take a little extra time to decide which toppings are best for that bowl of ice cream.

Zuni Presbyterian Homes, Zuni, VA

By Liz Spewak

2011 was a record-breaking year for peanut sales at Zuni Presbyterian Homes. Thanks in part to church sales, the Zuni peanut shop sold $103,937.49 worth of peanuts in 2011, an increase over last years’ sales of almost $2200. Peanut sales not only benefit the ministry financially but pro-vide meaningful employment for the adults with intellectual disa-bilities who live at Zuni Presby-terian Homes, Zuni.

Alongside staff, Zuni resi-dents roast and package local peanuts. They are reimbursed with a fair wage and gain confi-dence and job skills through their work. The more peanut sales there are, the more hours Zuni residents can work in the peanut shop.

This year was so successful in part because several private schools used Zuni peanuts as their fundraising product for the year. Zuni peanuts can be sold at your church, school, or organ-ization, benefitting both the ministry of Zuni and your cause. For more information, call or email Kristy White, peanut shop manager, at 757-242-6131 Ext. 4270, kwhite@phfs.org.

REC-

C ould you pay the tuition for a deserving student to go to a first-rate liberal arts college for $1,250 a year? You can if that student goes to Forman Christian College. Shahid’s future looked bleak when his father melted away one day. With four younger siblings and no money, it looked like a life of bleak starvation-wage labor for him. But, through Forman’s dedication to the poorest, Shahid was able to graduate. He also learned things about his faith and him-self as a disciple of Jesus that helped him understand himself as a blessing to others, and not just a burden for his nation. He is now working as a data analyst and is helping his younger siblings through school. Now this family, which was doomed to a life of poverty, dependency and degradation, is instead going to be a cen-ter of developmental energy. Studies have shown that educating women is a key to societal well-being. Forman’s commitment to educating young women of all faiths is key to making things better in Pakistan. Our emphasis on helping young Christian women assures that the new generation of Christian leaders will include both genders, helping break the old, misogynistic hold that tribal culture has forced on Pakistani society. Zara, another Forman scholarship recipient, has begun a career in Public Relations and serves as an inspiration to other Christian young women not to sell themselves short, but to use their God-given gifts in defiance of the cultural myths of weakness smeared on women. There are many reasons to despair about Pakistan, and the fu-ture of the church there. Supporting a scholarship at Forman Chris-tian College is an affirmation that God is neither done with that na-tion or its people. Call us at (866) 460-6313 for more information.

Dr. Robert A. Johnson, Jr.

Zuni Presbyterian Homes peanut sales top $103,000

PRESBYTERY OF THE JAMES JJ MMARCHARCH, 2012, 2012

Margaret Lucas Jacobs And Goldie Settles

Over the past few years, many have experienced national and local deterioration of the quality of life in increasing numbers of individuals, fami-lies, and children. The various safety nets that many depended upon have faded away. This means that on the home front, sometimes practically on our doorstep, homelessness has be-come a more of a challenge. The Daughters of Zelo-phehad has worked hard to make a positive difference. We have been, and continue to be a faithful forerunner in this strug-gle to eradicate homelessness in the Richmond area. Our record over the past decade has been one of assisting, guiding, and positioning women and their children toward a stable and safe home. Yet, as hard as we have worked, the fact is we simply have to be ready to do more. We are rightly concerned that Homeward, Richmond’s Re-gional Response to Homeless-ness, reported that the past point-in-time count showed a 5.6% increase in the extent of homeless people from 2010, with more than 500 women and chil-dren with unsafe or unstable housing, and many more in the crisis. In an attempt to eradicate the homelessness in our city, the Daughters of Zelophehad have responded to those and other unprecedented economic pres-sures by shifting from its tradi-tional homes to placing families immediately into permanent housing. We have established rela-

tionships with affordable hous-ing providers in Chesterfield County. We continue to pro-vide pastoral counseling, case management, tenant readi-ness training, parenting classes and other supportive services. This placement change is in significant response from our donors. Your gift will be put to work immediately to help the homeless women and children among us. It is difficult to un-derstand the cruelty of the situ-ation many are facing. There is no question that we need your help to continue this vital ser-vice in the Richmond area, www.zelophehad.org.

A group of dedicated members of Tappahannock Presbyteri-an Church brave the 33° tem-perature to erect the sign on the NE Corner of Richmond Highway (Route 360) and Kino Road (State Route 619) where the new church will be built.

It’s New, It’s for YOUIt’s New, It’s for YOU

To better keep everyone in the presbytery informed of upcoming events and prevent constantly email-ing one item at a time, we will now send the INFORMANT monthly. The Presbytery staff meeting is held on the first Wednesday of each month and will decide at that time what should be included in the INFORMANT. Whenever possible there will be hyperlinks for each item. The INFORMANT is mass emailed to all ministers, clerks and educators.

By Nancy Summerlin

There is no better place to rediscover unity in diversity than in worship. As we sing and pray and praise God together, we are reminded that unity is God’s gift to us through Christ – a gift we will celebrate 4 p.m. April 22 at the Richmond Con-vention Center Union Presbyterian Sem-inary (UPSem) and Presbytery of the James (POJ) invite members of all congregations

Richmond Seminary Sunday

Richmond Convention Center throughout the Presbytery to come together for a Seminary Sunday Worship Service, where we will give thanks for 200 years of Seminary and Church together: equipping leaders, teachers and disciples to be Christ’s community of faith, hope, and love in the world. Brian Blount, president of UPSem, will deliver the mes-sage. We will celebrate our past, present and future as God’s peo-ple: through the Word read, pro-claimed, sung, and interpreted in liturgical movement. We will embrace the rich texture of our different ethnic and cultural ex-periences, even as we rejoice in what draws us together: one font, one table, one Lord and Savior of us all. Groups are hard at work planning the service, selecting music, designing the wor-ship space, and working out logistics to serve The Lord’s Supper and collect the offering. A group in the Charlottesville area is stitching a “fabric pic-ture” that will be the Presby-tery’s gift to the Seminary. There are many ways con-gregations and seminary stu-dents can participate in this worship service: • Singing

• Serving The Lord’s Supper

• Taking Up the Offering

• Worship Contact: Nancy Summerlin: nancysummerlin4@yahoo.com

PPRESBYTERYRESBYTERY OFOF THETHE JJAMESAMES KK MMARCHARCH, 2012, 2012

CERTIFIED CHRISTIAN EDUCATORS (G-2.1103, Book of Order)—Certified Christian Educators are persons certified and called to service in the ministry of education in congregations or councils. They shall have skills and training in bibli-cal interpretation, Reformed theology, worship and sacraments, human develop-ment, faith development, religious educational theory, worship and sacraments, human development, faith development, religious educational theory and practice, and the polity, programs and mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Presby-tery of the James is truly blessed by having outstanding Certified Christian Educa-tors with varied skills and education to lead the youth of the presbytery.

GLORIA CAUTHORN—I applied for certification while working at Overbrook Presbyterian Church where I served for 8 years.—from 1987-1995. Actually my certification was completed about the time I

left that position. From 1996-1997 I served as the Director of Alumni/ae and Church Relations for PSCE. Following the reunion (1997) of PSCE and UTS, Gloria served as Director of Alumni/ae. She is cur-

rently retired.

CAROL DUNLAP—My years of service as a Christian Educator were at Overbrook Presbyterian Church, Richmond and Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church in Abingdon. I served as an Educator of the Chil-dren’s, Youth and Adult programs of both churches. While in Abing-

don I served as an enabler for the churches of the Presbytery by educat-ing the small churches in implementing the Covenant Life Curriculum

into their programs. I have served on Presbytery of the James Commit-tees, a Synod of the Mid-Atlantic and several times as commissioner to

the General Assembly.

MARIAN ENGLISH—grew up in the First Presbyterian Church of South Charleston, WV, actively involved and loving it. After complet-ing a bachelor’s degree in religion at Duke University and a master’s in Christian Education at the Presbyterian School of Christian Education,

I was prepared and eager to begin working in the church. I served as Director of Christian Education at the Oakland Avenue Presbyterian Church in Rock Hill, SC, for 3 years and then at the Memorial Drive

Presbyterian Church in Stone Mountain, GA.

NANCY E. ALLEN—My being a Christian Educator has been of value to me throughout my various ministries within God’s church. I was certified as a Christian Educator in May, 1990. At the time I was working at Gregory Memorial Presbyterian Church in Prince George,

VA as Director of Christian Education/Minister of Music. Being certi-fied helped me to be more solid about the job of curriculum develop-

ment, teacher training, and youth and children’s ministry. I volun-teered at the Presbytery level, helping to lead various workshops and

acting as co-director of youth ministries.

MARCIA HALE—was graduated from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in 1976 and became a Certified Christian Educa-tor in October of 1977. Currently between jobs, but remains active in her husband’s church, Second Presbyterian Church in Petersburg. Her favorite task is giving a children’s sermon once a month along with a variety of other activities. One of the churches for which Marcia was employed won the W. T. “Tolly” Thompson Award for Excellence in Christian Education for her work in the Children’s Ministry.

BARBARA FLYNT—graduated in 1987 from Presbyterian Col-lege with a BA in Religion with Concentration in Christian Educa-tion. From PC, to Columbia Theological Seminary and received a Masters in Youth Ministry in 1989. Served as DCE and Youth Direc-tor at Colonial Heights, Church, Southminster and Salisbury Presby-terian. I did my work for Certification while serving at Colonial Heights and was awarded my Certification in1994. I was recognized at APCE in January 1995 in Dallas, Texas. I have a deep sense of call to education and youth.  

THOMAS BARILA—I was ordained a PC-USA Elder in 1993. I received a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Union Theologi-cal Seminary/P.S.C.E. in May 1999. On November 18, 2005, I received

the Certified Christian Educator designation. It has broadened my un-derstanding of how God loves us, how God is always at work around us,

how God woos us to Himself, and our response to loving the Triune God through Worship, and in loving others in the church through mis-sion (e.g., outreach service, fellowship, education and our neighbors.)

LOUIE ANDREWS—graduated from PSCE in 1977 and served as an educator at Second Presbyterian in Charleston, SC where I was

certified one year later. In 1981 I completed my MDiv at Union and later my DMin at Columbia in 2000. I currently serve at Rockfish

Presbyterian Church in Nellysford where I continue to think of myself as both an Educator and Ordained Minister. PSCE served as a catalyst

for what some might consider an over-active imagination. Folks like Izzie Rogers and Lamar Williamson encouraged students to never be

limited by the data at hand, but to explore and teach.

LEIGH ANNE RING, Director Christian Education at River Road Presbyterian Church. Leigh Anne graduated from Mary Baldwin Col-lege in 1993 and wondered what she should do next. Living in Rich-mond at the time, her father, a Presbyterian Minister, suggested that she stop by the Presbyterian School of Christian Education. When she dropped by, Louisa Sheets welcomed her (with her own connection to Leigh Anne’s home church in Charles Town, WV) and relationships began to grow. Her marriage to Jim brought her back to Richmond where she served two other congregations in the Presbytery

CAROLYN BROWN—After 35 years of serving on church staff, mostly in children’s ministry, I am now on my own. So, there is time to

dig more deeply into what interest me most—how we can welcome chil-dren into the congregation’s worship as full participants. Twenty years

ago I wrote Forbid Them Not, which offered ideas for including children for each Sunday of the Revised Common Lectionary cycle. That was before blogs, now rather than write another book I invited you to join

with me in creating prayers, ways of presenting scriptures, and who knows what else on my blog. worshipingchild@embarqmail.com.

BRUCE HARVEY—was graduated from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education, now Union Presbyterian Seminary. His first church was First Presbyterian Church in Richmond, KY, where he served as the Director of Christian Education for 5 years. He was certified as a Christian Educator on January 29, 1981. In 1984 he became the Director of Christian Education at Central Presbyterian Church, Athens, GA. While in Athens, he directed the 1990 Chris-tian Education Conference at Montreat, NC. In 1997, he was called to The Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg, where he still serves.

ANN KNOX—I have been a certified educator for 36 years. Since receiving certification upon graduation from PSCE, I have served as a local church educator in three churches, a Christian education consultant, and for the past 22 years, I have served as the Director of the Instructional Resource Center at the library at Union Presbyterian Seminary. In that capacity, I work with faculty, stu-dents, Christian educators, and ministers in securing, evaluating and using resources for teaching and learning. I also now work a great deal with web 2.0 applications and their usefulness in the teaching/learning process.

H. CARSON RHYNE, JR.—I have always loved education and learning and being open to new and different things. I graduated from Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC, with a BA in Religion and Christian Education. I received my Masters of Divinity Degree from Union Presby-terian Seminary and also took a number of courses at the Presbyterian School of Christian Education. While there, I enrolled in the kindergarten class and was intrigued with how small children learn. I also led a chapel service at Union Seminary as a student focused on 5 year old children…it was quite an experience for all involved! I was certified as a Christian Educator in 1982 and recently serviced as a Certification Advisor for a person who is going through the certification process.

MARILYN JOHNS—I was certified in 1995 after graduating from (then) PSCE in 1994. I was a part-time commuter student (from Fredericksburg), doing the MACE degree in four years in-stead of two. While I went to school I also worked as a part-time DCE at the Spotsylvania church. It made learning so much easier to be able to apply what I was learning immediately. After graduating I took a full-time call as DCE and youth director in Germantown, Maryland (1994-1998), and then in Potomac, MD (1998-2005). ). I had not planned to do youth ministry, but found it enormous-ly fulfilling and challenging

MARGARET SHAW—I was certified in the spring of 1990. My certification project involved the history of Northern Ireland and its influence on the founding of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. This led to a project hosting a Northern Ireland clergy team (Presbyterian and Catholic) visiting here in Richmond; and then to my designing and leading a peacemaking study and tour of Northern Ireland with Presbyterians and Catholics from Long Island, NY.