Across the Nation, November 2016
FORT SCOTT — A half-size model of the tabernacle helped people learn about its role in the Old Testament.
The 15th and Crawford Church of Christ recently hosted Dorman Diller, minister for the Pagosa Springs Church of Christ in Colorado. Diller built the model in the 1980s and has used it many times at camps and Vacation Bible Schools.
“It drew a great deal of attention from the community,” 15th and Crawford minister Matt Jones said.
GEORGIA
FAYETTEVILLE — A hit-and-run driver under the influence of drugs struck and killed 16-year-old Caelyn Olds as she handed out literature from her church as part of a door-knocking campaign, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Olds and a fellow member of the Middle Fayette Church of Christ, Linda Long, were walking in a neighborhood on a Saturday when a pickup truck struck them without stopping, witnesses told police. Long, who was injured, said her husband chased the driver and alerted police, according to Channel 2 Action News. The driver, Marcia Annette Demarcus, 42, of Fayetteville, was arrested. Olds’ stepfather, Nicholas Adams, ministers for the Middle Fayette church.
Friends set up a YouCaring page to help the family with expenses. Search for “Caelyn Olds Memorial Fund” at youcaring.com.
MARYLAND
Lydia Holby is retiring after serving as a secretary for the University Park Church of Christ since 1970. HYATTSVILLE — After nearly 47 years of service as a secretary for the University Park Church of Christ, Lydia Holby is retiring. Holby began work with the church on Jan. 1, 1970.
“She has blessed the lives of so many … and we want to acknowledge her steadfast devotion and commitment to the body of Christ,” minister Dorn Muscar Jr. said. “It is so rare for someone to serve the Lord in a certain capacity for this long.”
Citing 1 Thessalonians 1:3, Muscar said the congregation is thankful for Holby’s “work produced by faith … labor prompted by love and … endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
TENNESSEE
Kenneth Head TUCKERS CROSSROADS — One Sunday in 1966, Kenneth and Linda Head hopped in their car and made the 37-mile drive from Nashville to this rural community.
That day, Head preached his first sermon at the Bethlehem Church of Christ. October marked his 50th anniversary as a minister to the congregation of 80 kindred souls.
“It’s one of the oldest congregations south of the Ohio River in our history and was started in 1823 when Barton W. Stone came through preaching,” said Head, 77, who in 2004 cut back to preaching every fourth Sunday.
Read an expanded profile of Head here.
TEXAS
WICHITA FALLS — A recent combined worship assembly of the predominantly white Faith Village Church of Christ and the predominantly black Welch Street Church of Christ drew a crowd of more than 350.
“We celebrated the unity we find in Jesus who breaks down every racial divide,” Faith Village preaching minister Jacob Hawk said. “We prayed for our country, our community and the church worldwide to promote unity in Christ.”
Welch Street preacher Rodney Smith led singing, while Hawk preached a sermon titled “Precious in His Sight.”
GARLAND — Members of two Garland, Texas, congregations — the predominantly black Eastside Church of Christ and the Spanish-speaking Castle Drive Church of Christ — gather for a group photo. At a recent joint assembly, Castle Drive minister Damian Matta preached at the Eastside church building.
“We had a wonderful time worshiping the Lord together in unity,” said Kenneth Rhodes, Eastside’s personal evangelism and outreach minister.
Psalm 133:1-3 and Revelation 7:9-17 served as the main Scriptural text for Matta’s sermon.
Black and Hispanic congregations in Garland, Texas, join together in Christian unity.
