All Saints Sunday 2008
Posted on November 3rd, 2008
We celebrated All Saints Sunday yesterday in our morning worship service by giving thanks to God for the members of Farmville Baptist Church who have since gone on to be with their Lord. But we also recognized and gave thanks for those still in our midst who have greatly contributed to the life of Farmville Baptist. We formally recognized Cecil Yeatts as a new Life Deacon, and we presented five members of the church with our “Good and Faithful Servant” recognition: Jack Austin, Paul Cave, Howard Ferguson, Alma Lewis and Ruth Patteson. These five individuals have given a combined 300 plus years of service to Farmville Baptist and to Christ’s Kingdom! We thank God for them! After the service, the congregation gathered for a covered dish fellowship in honor of these individuals.
Pictured above from left to right: Howard Ferguson, Ruth Patteson, Cecil Yeatts, Alma Lewis and Jack Austin. Paul Cave was not able to attend the service as he is still recuperating from pneumonia.
For more pictures . . . Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: all saints, thanksgiving
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Lester E. Andrews Sr. 2/3/1915 — 9/16/2008
Posted on September 20th, 2008
Yesterday, we held a funeral service for Les Andrews Sr., one of our Life Deacons and a member of Farmville Baptist Church for eighty years! Les was not only a pillar of our church, he was a pillar in this community. Throughout his long and productive life, Les generously gave of his time and talents to serve as a Chairman or Trustee or Board member of almost every organization and institution in the area, from the Rotary Club to the March of Dimes, from the County School Board to the Fuqua School Board, from Southside Community Hospital to the Farmville Hotel Corporation, from the Wedgewood Country Club to the Farmville YMCA, from Longwood College to Hampden-Sydney College.
At the service, our sanctuary was packed with family, friends and members of the community who paid their last respects to Les and gave praise to God for the life that he led.
The picture above of Les and his wife Donna was taken at our Consecration Sunday luncheon on September of 2006. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Donna and Les’ family. He will be greatly missed.
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Cecil Yeatts, Life Deacon
Posted on August 1st, 2008
At the church business meeting on Sunday, July 20, the deacons recommended that the congregation name Cecil Yeatts to the position of “Life Deacon.” The congregation unanimously approved the motion, recognizing Cecil’s longtime service to the church and to the community. Since 1984, Cecil has been regularly serving as a deacon, first at Crewe Baptist Church and now at Farmville Baptist Church. Cecil and Phyllis tirelessly visit our sick and homebound members, bringing them fresh vegetables and fruit grown from their garden and orchard during the summer months. Farmville Baptist is truly blessed to have members like Cecil–and Phyllis–in our midst!
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Ethel Shockley Southall 2/7/1928 — 3/21/2008
Posted on March 26th, 2008
Yesterday, we held a funeral service for Ethel Southall, one of our beloved members who unexpected passed away last week. Ethel was active not only at our church, but also at New Life Assembly of God, where she fixed hot dogs for their school every Wednesday, and at Heritage Baptist Church, where she participated in their Friday morning quilting group.
Ethel was the “momma hen” of her big family clan, and the whole sanctuary was packed with family, friends, and former students. During the service, we played Ethel’s moving testimony of her faith in Christ that she gave at one of our Lenten services last year. Her testimony can be heard here.
Ethel will be greatly missed by our church and by our community, but we know that she has entered into her eternal reward and is now reunited with her parents, her husband Walter, her younger brother Everett, and older brother Bill–a former Minister of Education here at Farmville Baptist who also recently passed away on March 7.
The picture above of Ethel with her oldest daughter Jayne was taken in March of 2006. Our hearts and prayers extend to Ethel’s family during this time of loss.
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Sarah Eldred Terry 10/14/1948–12/1/2007
Posted on December 3rd, 2007
Today, we held a funeral service for our beloved sister in Christ, Sarah Terry. Sarah was such a gift not only to her family and to Farmville Baptist, but to our community and the Commonwealth. A former Executive Director of the Farmville Chamber of Commerce and a Legislative Aide to Congressman Virgil Goode of the Fifth District of Virginia, Sarah served her Lord through serving the people of the Commonwealth.
Because of the many boards and leadership positions she served throughout the state, our sanctuary was packed with family, friends and well wishers who were blessed by Sarah’s life. Amanda and I were privileged to lead in the service. I gave a eulogy called “A Life Worthy of God’s Calling” based on Ephesians 4:1 and Colossians 1:10-12.
The picture above of Sarah and her husband Parker was taken on August 27, 2006. Sarah will greatly be missed in our church and in our community. Memorials may be made to the Farmville Baptist Church, the Southside Family YMCA or to the Virginia Uninsured Medical Catastrophe Fund.
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Emma Lee Patteson 7/1/1920–5/20/2007
Posted on May 24th, 2007
Yesterday we had a memorial service for Emma Lee Patteson, one of our life deacons and a matriarch of Farmville Baptist for many, many years. At the 11 a.m. service, the sanctuary was full of people paying their last respects. The Rev. Dr. William Klein, former pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Roanoke assisted in the service and voiced a beautiful pastoral prayer. Dr. David Klein, Bill’s son and Emma Lee’s son-in-law offered an eloquent eulogy. There was a lot of love and thanksgiving there in the sanctuary that morning–both for Emma Lee and for the God that she loved and served.
While I did not know her during her more active years, she blessed me so much just with her kinds words and warm smile. I’ve heard so many stories about her legendary hospitality and her active ministry in the life of this church. She will be greatly missed.
The above picture was taken after the Hanging of the Greens service November 3, 2006. It shows Emma Lee (center) with her son-in-law David and her daughter Beverley Anne at either side. Our hearts and our prayers are extended to Emma Lee’s family during this time.
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