Vol. 2, # 8, Oct. 3, 2003

Fall Social Will Be on this Sabbath, October 5

The SSBSC will have the annual fall social this Sunday, beginning at 9:30 AM. You all know what you should bring. Everything will be the same, but there will be no alcoholic drinks out of respect for John the Baptist and George Davis, a strict interpreter of the church constitution and by-laws. The formal invitation is below:

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED

TO THE FALL 2003 SOCIAL

OF THE

SHEPHERD-SIMPSON BIBLE STUDY CLASS

A BRUNCH

IN THE COURTYARD (IF THE WEATHER IS GOOD)

OR

IN OUR CLASSROOM (IF THE WEATHER IS BAD)

SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 5TH,

FROM 9:30-10:45

TO SIGN UP AND FIND OUT WHAT TO BRING

CALL ANN SLEDGE AT 740-1335

Bess Price Is Our Newest Shepson

WELCOME NEW MEMBER - Bess Price, who became a member of the class on September 14.

Her e-mail address is laurabessprice@aol.com. It is great to have another twenty-nine year old with us.

October ISH Campaign Is Underway

The next ISH CAMPAIGN and last class ISH campaign of 2003 involves the winter coat collection. Warm winter coats and jackets for infants, children, and youth through age 17 are needed during October 1-31. According to SSBSC Missionaries Charlotte and Bill the best prices in town for nice, clean, like-new coats are: Fan-tastic Thrift on West Main Street and Goodwill at Horsepen and West Broad, and, probably, any other Goodwill store (especially on Tuesdays if you are a senior citizen: 30% discount). If you have your own out grown coats and they are in good condition, they will be just fine. If you can't shop, Charlotte and Bill Simpson (285-3185) will shop for you, but they need our money.

Prayer Rounds

This week's Spire contains a nice article on the life of Woody Hasty, our church's second pastor. We all have fond memories of Woody. When Woody first heard some of PH's "Can God Be Found in the Movies" he suggested the film "How Green Was My Valley." PH did watch the film and found much of God in the film. Woody seemed to enjoy the presentation. PH concluded the interpretation of this film with the following words:

"Throughout the film there are many themes of traditional family life with the father as the head of the household and the wife being at least publicly subservient. The film depicts the development of generational differences, class differences, the potential abuses of business owners and the need for unions, and many religious themes. There is sin, forgiveness and reconciliation, the power and rewards of faith, the suggestion of miracles, the meaning of prayer, the evils of judging others, the for better or worse of love, and the themes of communion and resurrection."

Woody no doubt preached and taught lessons on many of these themes throughout his life as a servant of God. We will all miss him.

Please remember in your prayers the Family of Woody Hasty, Julia Tyler and her parents, Philip and Shanna Davis, Dot and Cecil Sherman, John Oliver, Nancy Werner's nephew Doug Baumgardner, Dick Harwood, young Davis Summers, Kim Dodson, Chester's parents, Nancy Gayle Smith, the Manor Bible Study Class, the Church Staff, the Pastor's Search Committee and those only known to you

The Arts Festival Is Here

Throughout the next twelve days, all of us will be treated to the arts in many ways. Shepson Sue Hodder's presentation on Art and Christianity last Wednesday night was outstanding. PH would love to see and hear Emily King's fan tour this Sunday and will feel right at home watching "Nathan the Nervous" on October 15. On the afternoon of Tuesday, October 7, we can all learn about "Arts in Motion." PH wants to learn about tatting. What is tatting? Well, it is not tattooing. Webster's defines it as:

"a delicate handmade lace formed usually by looping and knotting with a single cotton thread and a small shuttle."

BTSR Intern Mack Dennis Will Climb the Seven Steps on October 12

BTSR Intern Mack Dennis preaches on Sunday, October 12. Mack aspires to be a pastor. We all should be inspired by hearing the word from a twenty something young man. PH hopes that the Pastor Search Committee will be present.

Post Isabel Birthdays

Isabel may have shut down PHA for two weeks, but Teacher Bob had a birthday on September 22 and Missionary Charlotte had one on September 30. Both were twenty-nine. Rob "Tillich" James will be twenty-nine on Sunday. Diane and Curt Lindeman celebrated twenty years of marriage on September 24.

Carl Freeman Reaches Thirty-five

Those who have been members of RRCB for thirty-five years may remember when the youthful Carl Freeman became our Minister of Music. The Spire has a nice article about Carl and the photo display in the hallway near the Fellowship Hall is worth studying. As a Chancel Choir spouse, PH can tell you that Carl is a genius when it comes to inspiring the best among a group of varied personalities. Carl's impact on RRCB cannot be measured and gratefully he gets better with age.

Reflections on Isabel

We were all warned. We all saw the predicted pathway of Isabel right into the heart of Virginia. Pat Robertson prayed that Isabel would blow out to sea. Poor Pat, doesn't he know the sin of self-serving prayers? Isabel was a natural terrorist. Like many of you PH heard the trees falling in the darkness of the howling wind. Ancient oaks came out of the ground and tall pines snapped like toothpicks. Dominion Virginia Power was terrorized along with various phone services, Internet services, and cable television. In a matter of a few hours most of us were involuntarily regressed to the nineteenth century. We were forced to live with the light of nature or use candles and flashlights. Neighbors got to know each other better. One of our neighbors cooked a freezer load of meat on a gas grill and invited the whole neighborhood. We couldn't see Shepson Gene Cox on the TV screen, but we heard a variety of other sounds in the aftermath. We heard chain saws and generators and we saw cranes, tree acrobats and finally lineman. And the lineman came from afar like industrial missionaries. They came from Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, southwest Virginia and other points north, west and south. Some preferred to blame others for the extent of this natural disaster and the aftermath, but most were patient and appreciative of the good will of others. Attached to this PHA is a photo of Isabel.

Shepsons Vonda and Don Thomson had one of the more unexpected experiences of this time period. Their story is recorded below as told by Bill Simpson.

"Angels were watching over Don and Vonda last weekend. They had a really scary time last Saturday afternoon. Don and Vonda live behind Tucker High School. About 2 PM an electric transformer on Tucker High School property exploded. The line leading to the transformer dropped down across the chain link fence in Vonda and Don's backyard, causing three successive explosions and sending 19,000 volts of current rushing into and along the fence, across a nearby gate, and around and into their house. Vonda and Don were inside their house at the time, but had no inkling of the extremely dangerous situation until their neighbors rushed to warn them and call the fire department. A neighbor who witnessed the explosions reported that the explosions lifted the roof off the house. The roof settled back down as sparks and blue smoke shot from the corners of the house. Don wanted to rush back into the house to turn off the power. Neighbors discouraged that, thankfully, for he could have been fatally injured in such an effort. Firemen and electric company inspectors explored the house to make certain there were no hot spots or live current remaining in it. Vonda was holding a pie in her hands and preparing to put it in the oven when the first explosion occurred and she ran out of the house to investigate. Fire and electric company personnel felt certain she would have been fatally burned if she had touched anything metal connected to the electric surge. There were definitely angels directing traffic and looking after Vonda and Don last Saturday afternoon."

The weather is turning colder. In a few weeks will be Halloween, then Thanksgiving and on December 6th, the annual SSBSC Christmas Social will be held at the home of Carolyn and George Thomas. Ho! Ho! Ho! PH

Poor Henry's Archives

September 12, 2003
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