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Vol. III, # 24, Jan. 21, 2005
Last Sunday we surprised Teacher Robert Shepherd
by recognizing his twenty-five years of teaching the Bible Study
Class, now the Shepherd - Simpson Bible Study Class. Many members
wrote letters to celebrate this event. Some of them are reprinted
below. PH thought that most readers would find them to be of interest.
Also, attached to this PHA is a photo of Bob
taken last Sunday with his "bushes" next to him.
 The
first letter is from Shelia and Terry Marsh and reads:
REPORT TO THE SHEPHERD-SIMPSON BIBLE STUDY CLASS
ON
PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF ROBERT E. SHEPHERD
As you know, Dr. Henry Holland has unilaterally
set SOL's for the Shepherd-Simpson Bible Study class. His most
recent SOL exam, given at the end of 2004, resulted in an average
SOL score of only 50%. This low score was very alarming to Bob
Dibble and Mike Clingenpeel. When they realized that Bob had been
teaching for 25 years they panicked at the thought of the damage
that might have been done. They immediately put the class on ACCREDITED
WITH WARNING status and launched an investigation of the quality
of Mr. Shepherd's teaching, beginning with a survey of all class
participants, which, we trust, you have all received.
Here are the results of an "exit poll"
based on early survey results (ours) from which we can extrapolate
the end results.
1. Are students able to retain what is taught
in class?
Sheila reports that she will never forget a class Bob taught ten
years ago, when we were very new to the class. It was just before
Christmas, and Bob went back to the first chapter of Matthew to
talk about the genealogy of Jesus. She was swept away by that
class, and everyone after it. If she can't spontaneously recall
all ten years worth of Bob's teaching, she can at least produce
most of it from her carefully kept notes.
2. Does the teacher inspire interest in the subject
matter?
Bob teaches not only the Bible text, but what to read about the
Bible. Ever since we got into his class, we both have become avid
students of the Bible. Terry attends his "Thumpers"
Bible study class every Wednesday. Bob lent Sheila his own books
so that she could prepare a lesson or two when Bob was unable
to teach. We soon began collecting our own small library based
on Bob's books and Sheila studies the Bible continuously outside
of class study using those books.
3. Does the teacher provide extra-curricular
activities?
Bob has told us about lots of extra-curricular activities, like
lectures by Marcus Borg and Amy Jill Levine. Most important, he
told us about a Washington and Lee day of study on religion and
the law. We both attended with Bob, and for Sheila it was a life-changing
event. Bob even sat with us throughout the day, despite our embarrassing
him by making blatantly conservative remarks in the midst of an
otherwise entirely liberal crowd.
4. Are students able to apply what they learn
in class to their everyday lives?
We aren't sure about this, but if we can't it is not Bob's fault.
As a result of a chain of events beginning with Bob's invitation
to the W&L panel on law and religion, Sheila won an award
related to legal work. It was a very small one indeed compared
to the large number of very significant awards that Bob has won
for his work in the law, but Bob – with typical generosity
- celebrated it as if she had won the Nobel Peace Prize. He certainly
encourages his students to apply their Bible study lessons in
their everyday lives.
5. Does the teacher serve as a role model?
Because of his extensive community service, Bob was our obvious
source when we were seeking involvement in the community. He directed
Sheila to people he knew in the juvenile court system, which led
us both to Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Bob then wrote recommendations
for both of us. (Who else would have?) Our participation in BBBS
has been tremendously important to both of us.
Without Bob, Terry probably would never have
gotten into criminal defense work. This provides him lots of opportunities
to work on applying his Bible lessons to everyday life.
Bob has also has supported projects we are interested
in through his work on the Missions Board as well as in class.
6. Does the teacher practice what he preaches?
We are sure that he tries to. We fear that Bob is sometimes confused
about how to apply his Bible lessons to current events and politics,
but we know his heart is in the right place. Even though he disagrees
with our own interpretations on this subject, he still claims
us as his sheep and forgives what he perceives as our transgressions
in this area.
7. Are the students better Christians than when
they started Sunday School?
We have to admit that we are. This may not say much for where
we were when we started, but at least we are going in the right
direction.
Other comments:
Come to think of it, Bob has been teacher, catalyst,
facilitator or participant in everything that has really mattered
to us since we have been in Richmond.
If other survey responses are similar, we are
hopeful that the Shepherd-Simpson Bible Study class will soon
be moved form WARNING status to FULLY ACCREDITED, and that Bob
will be able to retain his lucrative job as Sunday School teacher.
Terry and Sheila Marsh
January, 2005
PH: It should be explained that the SOL test referred
to above was given on the night of the New Year's Eve Social as
it is every year. Test takers were encouraged to cheat. Thus, some
test takers had alcohol as a catalyst and they could cheat, which
may explain the high score of 50% which is quite good for voluntary
Baptist Sunday School Classes.
The next letter is:
Dear Bob,
What an impressive teaching record - 25 years
with the Shepherd-Simpson class and 10 years with other classes
before that. And the number of lives you have touched is even
more impressive. I hope you know how appreciated you are for your
wonderful abilities and devotion. I regret that I did not join
your class earlier, but I am so glad that I finally have.
You have contributed so very much to the life of River Road Church.
May God bless you ever.
Sincerely,
Bess Price
And now another letter from:
January 16, 2005
Dear Bob,
Twenty-five years is a long time, but I'm going
to take you back to something that happened earlier than that,
because the seeds of a lot of the political and religious things
that have connected us ever since were right there, especially
in the maroon-covered book lying on the ground beside the flagpole
in front of Skipwith Elementary School.
The year was 1967, it was an election day, and
I was working the Skipwith poll. I believe I was trying get our
squad elected to the Henrico County Democratic Committee so that
we could get a majority rather than the old Byrd Machine Democrats.
I'd brought the book along to read in case there were some dead
moments.
You came by, in a station wagon, I think, probably
checking up on how we were doing at the various polling places.
There must have been some other election in progress, because
you or someone declared that our little effort to elect members
to the Henrico Democratic Committee was the hottest race around,
even though the other race was obviously for higher stakes.
And I come to the point. You spotted the book
lying there, you were very interested in it, picked it up, read
the big title on the paperback cover, and probably flipped through
it. It was John Macquarrie's Principles of Christian Theology,
a book I was using as a textbook in a course I was then teaching.
The thing that grabbed my attention, however,
was that you told me you were teaching a class on theologians.
I didn't know precisely what class, because I was at that time
a member of another church.
I thought to myself, "Now, here's someone
I'd like to know better. Here's maybe a friendship that would
really lead somewhere."
I was right. It did.
These 25 years of the Bible Study Class are huge.
What they mean to so many I couldn't begin to tell. But it's also
true that they're not the half of it. I'm grateful for every minute
of all those years.
To many more, Bob!
Rob James
And now a letter from a Shepson artist and a Shepson
TV personality:
Dear Henry: I put a message in a card which was
given to Bill. Don't' recall what I said. Something to the effect:
Bob: Congratulations for teaching twenty-five
years of Bible Study at RR..We have been members since the mid
80's visiting at the suggestion of Dr. Smart who greeted us in
the back hall. We were hooked the first time and have never wavered.
Gene has always enjoyed studying the Bible and indeed we have
both learned many things. Thank you for many fine, well researched
lessons.
With great admiration, Ellie and Gene Cox
PS Henry: I saw a piece of footage of the Australian
Open..Serena was playing..comment was made about how warm it was..lucky
Shepherds.. Eleanor Cox
And now a few words from the Shepsons who can measure
school supplies in miles.
If Bob has taught our class for 9,137 days since
January 27, 1980 (as he has), and if Charlotte and I have been
among his students for 7,463 of those days (as we have), we ought
to have a very special place in our hearts for Bob (and we do).
As our teacher, leader and inspiration, he has lifted us up for
twenty years, every single Sunday morning and a heck of a lot
of the days in between. How can one person have so many different
interests and how can he juggle them all so capably at the same
time (as he does)? We have spent all twenty of our years with
him trying to figure out the answer to that question and haven't
yet, but he does and the entire class is all the better for it.
Bill and Charlotte Simpson
And now a letter from an experienced pastor and
his dear spouse::
Dear Bob,
I have been sure for many years that God most
often reveals His-Her presence and blessing to us through others.
That has been confirmed through our experience in River Road Church.
We were welcomed by Jim Slatton and others soon
after we first attended the church. But "church" has
been experienced most intimately in the Shepherd-Simpson Bible
Study Class. Here in this class we have found genuine love and
friendship.
I believe that in any Christian fellowship the members and leaders
are engaged in helping each other become those who reveal His
love to the world.
Together the class has done this for me. The
class is what it is because God has used you, Bob. Your devotion
shown in your preparation "as a worker who is not ashamed
of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth."
[2 Tim. 2:15b GNB]. You not only teach correctly but you practice
it. You care about and for others. When I "was sick...you
visited me." [Matt. 25:35f] and prayed for me.
And it is obvious that you care deeply about
others too. That has been demonstrated in your concern for juvenile
justice and your sorrow that it is not put into practice here
in Virginia and elsewhere.
Thank you for being true to yourself. Margaret
and I are grateful for all you have done and are doing.
Sincerely, John Oliver
And another letter from a dear Baptist lady and
her pastor spouse:
January 16, 2005
Dear Bob,
As we honor you on your twenty-fifth anniversary
as teacher of our Sunday School class. Julian and I want to thank
you for your excellent teaching and for sharing with us from the
rich content you bring to it.
I have been in your class, I believe, most of
the twenty-five years and have many memories. Early on I remember
sharing the class with Erma Coldiron (her name then) as we sat
together each Sunday listening intently to your teaching. When
Frances Hudgens, a dear and close friend who joined the class
when she returned from the mission field, was asked to begin and
teach a new class I left with her to give support. At other times
I either taught or worked in one of the children's departments.
Otherwise I have been a member of this class and felt so fortunate
for the opportunity. When Julian was not preaching or serving
an interim he attended and we have always felt your teaching would
equal or surpass any we'd get in a seminary class.
When Bill and Charlotte volunteered to be spokes
persons for the class I had a small part through them in introducing
the class to a focus on mission involvement when we worked with
Hillside Baptist Center and Valerie Carter to provide for needs
there. We appreciate your support in making this mission focus
a regular ministry of our class.
After all these years we continue to be grateful
for all you share with us so graciously. As we thank you we pray
also that God will greatly bless you, and even as we call upon
Him to do so, we know in our hearts that He will.
With much love and gratitude,
Julian and Mary Pentecost
P.S Have a WONDERFUL time with your family in
Australia!
And the last letter that PH received:
January 16, 2005
Bob,
I think my first contact with you was at a fraternity
rush party at your house in the summer of 1958. You were a rising
senior or just entering law school and I was an entering freshman,
soon to wear my blue beanie, say "hello" to everyone
fifty feet away and avoid walking on the grass as well as conforming
to "conventional" dress. We had only one rule and that
was to be a gentleman. I remember meeting you during rush week
at the Lambda Chi House, a long walk from the campus.
Our next encounter was probably at River Road
Church. Brenda and I joined on May 8, 1965, two months after we
married. I was finishing my third year of medical school and Brenda
and I were not regular attenders at church until after I finished
my residency in 1970. At that time Brenda and I were members of
the Doubles Class. In that class Brenda and Julia became friends.
Because of Julia's suggestion Brenda got a part time job at the
Riverside School. I got involved around 1975 in teaching the senior
highs. Brenda continued to go to the Doubles Class, now Friendship
Class, as did Julia.
In the summer of 1993 Chester retired me from
teaching the senior highs and suddenly I had no Sunday School
Class that I could call home. I did not particularly want to rejoin
the Friendship Class because I had been around the youth for eighteen
years and all the Doubles were older (doubled in age). Thus, I
made a decision to give the Bible Study Class a chance. I went
to the little room under the chapel house and immediately felt
like I had found a new home. We were studying Matthew at the time
and I believe that you and the class had just completed the Sermon
on the Mount. Two years later we finished Matthew. Thus, I quickly
learned of the slow but thorough pace of our class. In a few months
you gave me the opportunity to be a substitute teacher in the
class.
Later in 1993 Brenda started attending the Bible
Study Class with me. We sat at the table to your immediate left
and still sit to your left each Sunday. I think our class exemplifies
the ideal of "arete," excellence in all that is good.
That accomplishment is largely due to your excellent teaching
and the missionary spirit of Charlotte and Bill. That is the reason
we are the Shepherd - Simpson Bible Study Class. For the last
two and one-half years I have been honored to record the events
of our class in PHA.
Your achievements both professionally and spiritually
are immeasurable. Brenda and I join with the rest of the class
in expressing congratulations and fond admiration in commemorating
your teaching our class for twenty-five years. We hope our lives
continue to be enriched with many more years of studying the Bible
under the educational leadership of Teacher Bob.
With loving respect,
Brenda and Henry
Don Retzer provides an update on his wife Diane:
Thanks so much for your prayers. Diane's surgery
was the morning of the 13th . The surgeon told me that there were
no surprises in the mastectomy procedure but that he did take
some muscle tissue. She was able to stay overnight and have her
pain managed in hospital until the next morning.
She has slept most of the time since the surgery
with bathroom breaks and mostly liquids since then. She backed
off the pain medication a little today, Monday, but the muscle
pain moved her back to medication. We go Thursday to hear the
pathology reports. No more surgery possible but we will hear whether
she starts with radiation before the chemotherapy.
I think she is wisely giving herself a couple
of weeks before she goes back to work full time.
We are blessed with an abundance of food and
flowers from U of R colleagues, church members, friends and neighbors.
It has been good to experience such a wonderful circle of friends.
Don Retzer
A request for prayers from Kathy Wade
Dear special friends,
I suppose when it comes to cancer you could say
I'm particularly rabid about prayers for healing. My dear ex brother
in law, Kirk, was just diagnosed with lung cancer Tuesday in California
and his two daughters, Dena and Kira, are devastated. It has already
spread to the lymph glands. They'll begin chemo first then operate
to remove the tumor. Pray that the chemo can arrest the spread
quickly and that those awful cells do not spread to a secondary
organ.
Pray for Kirk's recognition that he is in the
hands of God and that he will begin to know God through this life
threatening challenge. His wife, Jan, is a second year breast
cancer survivor (so she's obviously special to me) and needs an
extra dose of strength right now. Pray for my sister, Gennie,
his ex-wife who is happily married to her second husband but still
very close friends with Kirk.
Thank you all for praying,
Kathy
Remember in your prayers: Diane and Don Retzer,
Kathy Wade's former brother-in-law and his family, Tom Hicks and
his family, Rob and Donna Brown, Beth Wilson and her aunt's family,
the family of Dr. William Deyerle, Jackie Everett, the VCU BSU,
Ellen Gwathmey and her father, Shoney's employee Vivian Martin and
her husband Ray, Cecil and Dot Sherman, Peggy Harris and her family,
Kim Williams and her family, Rick and Linda Mears, Donald and Barbara
Deer, Audrey Thomson's sister Sharon Ruben and Sharon's family,
Jared Oliver, Julia Tyler and her parents, Mary and Julian Pentecost,
Kay and Bob Culpepper, John and Margaret Oliver, the Church clergy
and staff, our military and civilians in harm's way, those in peril
in Asia and those only known to you.
Hi, Joe and Cynthia,
We enjoyed your visit in the Shepherd-Simpson
Bible Study Class last Sunday morning and were happy to greet
you again after you came forward to become new members of River
Road Church.
 As
new members of the church, you will soon begin receiving copies
of "The Spire," the informative and helpful weekly church
newsletter.
Members of the Shepherd-Simpson Class are doubly
fortunate in having an equally informative and helpful weekly
class newsletter, edited by Dr. Henry Holland, which we thought
you might also enjoy receiving.
We have taken the liberty of asking Henry to
place your names on the list to receive PHA. It goes out to every
member of the class, every member of the church staff, the Board
of Missions, and friends from Virginia to California. For us,
it has become a weekly highlight which we eagerly await each Friday
morning when it arrives via e-mail.
Sincerely,
Bill and Charlotte Simpson
PH: Cynthia and Joe Womack were listed among the
donors for the dedication of office space in honor of Edna Frances
Dawkins yesterday at BTSR. Edna Frances Dawkins worked in Personnel
at the Foreign Mission Board (now the International Mission Board)
for over thirty years and is currently a resident at Lakewood Manor.
There were many other River Roaders and well known Baptists among
the list of donors.
 CENTRAL
VIRGINIA FOOD BANK CONTRIBUTIONS: as of last Sunday morning, members
of our class have contributed $1,240 to the January 2005 churchwide
campaign. That money will enable the Food Bank to purchase $17,360
of food for needy, low-income local families. If you would still
like to contribute, there is still time.
Super! Thanks, everyone!
 Teacher
Bob was getting to the "heart of David" last Sunday when
his lesson was interrupted by the bell and the time of special recognition
began. PH believes that Shepson Gene may start around First Samuel
16: 8, but one can never be sure.
 With
the real winter weather hitting us this week, CARITAS actually became
a life saving service to the homeless of our area. Our class was
responsible for CARITAS last night and PH hopes and prays that we
met the need while many in other places were celebratory and warm.
Julia Tyler is twenty-nine today and Carole Royall
is twenty-nine tomorrow. They both seem younger.
Hello Friends,
It is very frustrating to be in a country that
has 1996 Internet speed. It takes five or more minutes for a page
to load. I have been here for several weeks now and no one has
heard from me because there has been so much to do to get the
Unit Ministry Team set up in our area of operation. The night/early
am that I got here the insurgents hit the pipe line near by. My
Chaplain assistant actually had eyes on it at the time. We were
not sure at the time if they hit it with a mortar or  a
placed charge. It provided us with a nice glow on the horizon
at night. We get hit with mortars from time to time but we have
taken no wounded. The Iraqi people are so thankful we are here
and so many of them have risked there lives to help us. Several
barbers had their heads cut off, a manicurist had her hand cut
off and a massage therapist had her arm cut off for providing
services for us. I had the thrill of my life by going to a local
school on a humanitarian mission. The children are so poor and
they showed up to grab what ever we could give them. We had boxes
of toys, school supplies and candy. They wanted school supplies
because it looks as if there are no supplies for them. My greatest
thrill was to provide a little 3 year old girl her first Hersey
Kisses. She had seen them before in a magazine but had never had
them in her hands. She was stunned when I pulled them out of my
side pocket and I was able to stand back and take a picture of
her. The children were very thin and appeared to have enough to
eat in order to get by. One five year old boy grabbed a composition
notebook and backed up to a wall to protect it. I later was able
to move over to him and give him some pens. Pens, pencils and
paper were the hot items and one little boy had five toothbrushes
because he said that his family had never had them and he wanted
his family to have them. They put items in their pants and plastic
bags showed up and they hauled off as many things as their little
hands could carry. I have pictures of their intense facial expressions
as they fought to get one more box of crayons or notebooks.
I went to the local hospital to visit several
Iraqi National Guard that had been wounded and spoke my broken
Arabic to let them know I cared about them. The soldier smiled
and pointed at the cross on my helmet. He said "you are religion
man". I touched his shoulder and told him "May God be
with you." in Arabic. We should be up and running at a 100%
within the next week as a UMT and I am looking forward to sharing
the good news of Christ to these wonderful soldiers who sacrifice
so much. I will send pictures soon and share some moments that
will never be forgotten.
CH D. G. M
PH will not comment on the Inauguration except to
say that PH loves a parade. PH first appreciated parades when he
watched the  beginning
of the Tobacco Bowl Parade of 1950 from a fifth floor window of
the West Wing of MCV Hospital while PH was on a polio ward. PH has
dragged his family to many parades. Yesterday's inaugural parade
was a good one. The highlight of the parade for PH was the passing
in review of the VMI band and entire corps marching in a tight formation
with their red capes reflecting their precision. If one listened
closely, the band and bagpipes played "O' Shenandoah."
It was quite a proud moment for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Last Saturday was Martin Luther King's birthday.
The King Holiday was this past Monday. This PHA ends with a few
words from King's Testament of Hope.
In struggling for human dignity the oppressed
people of the world must not succumb to the temptation of becoming
bitter  or
indulging in hate campaigns. To retaliate with hate and bitterness
would do nothing but intensify the existence of hate in our world.
We have learned through the grim realities of life and history
that hate and violence serve nothing. They only serve to push
us deeper and deeper into the mire. Violence begets violence;
hate begets hate; and toughness begets a greater toughness. It
is all a descending spiral, and the end is destruction - for everybody.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Testament of Hope
PH
January
14, 2005
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