Baptist church in Midlothian celebrates a member's life of service

More than 150 people came to a service this month at First Baptist Church of Midlothian celebrating the life and work of Dorothy Viney Turner. A longtime member of the church, Mrs. Turner has served as a Sunday school teacher, a pianist and organist and musical director of the children's choir and a founding member of the Christian Women United ministry.

In the community, she was also a strong supporter of Carver High School in Chester and served as president of the Parent Teacher Association when her children attended there. She also was active in the Independent Order of St. Luke, an African-American fraternal and insurance society, and eventually was elected as its executive director.

She worked for racial equality and social justice during the civil-rights movement and has been sought after as a speaker at churches in Chesterfield County and beyond. "We felt like we needed to do something for everything she's done," said Shirley L. Smith, a member of First Baptist's women's ministry, which sponsored the April 12 program.

Duke Divinity professor will offer four lectures on evangelists

Richard B. Hays, George Washington Ivey professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, is the speaker for the Sprunt Lecture Series at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education May 5-7.

Hays will speak on "Israel's Scripture Through the Eyes of the Gospel Writers," exploring how the New Testament evangelists interpreted the Scriptures of ancient Israel. In four lectures, he will provide an overview of his topic, then concentrate specifically on the gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John.

The lectures begin at 8 p.m. May 5 at Ginter Park Presbyterian Church, 3601 Seminary Ave. Events are held at the church and on the seminary campus at 3401 Brook Road. A full schedule of activities for the Sprunt Lectures is online at www.union-psce.edu. Click "Alumni and Friends." The lectures are free. Registration is requested.

Preachers for worship May 6 and 7, respectively, will be Michael Livingston, immediate past president of the National Council of Churches, and Nora Tubbs Tisdale, professor of homiletics at Yale Divinity School.

Notable alumnae will speak at a luncheon and banquet on May 6. Fairfax F. Fair, pastor of Highland Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Ky., will speak at 12:30 p.m. Gay Mothershed, executive presbyter for the Presbytery of West Virginia, will speak at 5:30. Both events will be held in Lingle Hall. Reunions of graduating classes ending in 3 or 8 are planned. Reunion classes will be recognized at the luncheon and banquet.

Also, the inauguration of Brian Blount as president of Union-PSCE, and as professor of New Testament in the Walter W. Moore and Charles E.S. Kraemer Presidential Chairs, will take place at the conclusion of the Sprunt Lectures on May 7, at 4 p.m. The inauguration will be held on the seminary quadrangle. To register for the inauguration ceremony, call (804) 278-4245.

Chester minister, wife are on two-week trip to Africa

The Rev. Johnnie Fleming Jr. of Second Baptist Church in Chester and his wife, Clementine, left Thursday for a two-week trip to Nigeria and Ghana. In Aba, Nigeria, Fleming will observe construction of a church for Christ is Lord Ministries, which has partnered with Second Baptist, and speak during revival services. He is also scheduled to speak in Accra, Ghana, where he has visited twice before.

Churches offer prayers for well-being of Richmond area

Several hundred Christian churches are praying weekly for the health of the Richmond metropolitan area. Metro Richmond at Prayer is a yearlong project in which churches commit to prayer on a particular topic each week. Here is the prayer for next week: "We pray for the churches and religious institutions of metropolitan Richmond: for a spirit of unity, mutuality, cooperation, reconciliation, reform and common ministry among the Christian community." For more information, go to: www.metrorichmondatprayer.org.