Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 5 · column 1 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
By APRIL HEDDLESTON
Rappahannock News Contributing Writer
Why did six men, two women and three children travel over 1,200 miles to hammer, saw, spackle and paint walls? They were on a mission, a church building project of the Washington Baptist Church Brotherhood.
The crew from Washington included organizers Rayner and Lois Snead and Rev. Darrell Bare, Kent Reeve, Sam Snead, Bill Welch, Jon and April Heddleston and their children Jonathan, Chad and Joy. Most of the group arrived Saturday, July 20 in order to attend church services at Lake Sunapee, N.H.
The 22-member congregation there has been meeting in a mobile chapel lent them by the Baptist Home Mission Board. In October, 1990 they voted to build a new church building. They made a “step in faith” when they decided to build without financing actually in hand, but as Rev. Albert Perry says, they “trusted God to provide all they needed.”
Willing workers, as well as donations, soon were forthcoming. A grant from the Cecil B. Day Foundation (of Days Inn fame) paid 50 percent of the remaining mortgage on their land and helped with funds for .building materials.
However, the $50,000 invested in building would have needed to be at least tripled to cover costs if the labor had not been volunteered.
The Brotherhood from Washington Baptist, whose president is Garry Charles, was one of four working teams that responded after Rev. Perry let the Baptist coordinator of summer mission trips know they were ready to build.
The Washington crew spent a week doing drywall, painting and finish carpentry. Mixed in with hard work they had fellowship times of cookouts and a special treat, a trip for Wednesday night services to sister church, Washington Baptist of Washington, Vt.
There, in a prayer meeting,, familiar names were listed; each week the congregation of the Vermont church prays for members of Washington Baptist of Virginia.
Working alongside the Washington group was part-time pastor A1 Perry, who used vacation time from his mechanical engineering job. Two members of his congregation, Dave Ellis and Tom Prieskines, and Walter and Bobby Warden from Kissimmee, Fla., also worked.
After the Washington group left the Wardens, members of a Campers on Mission team stayed on to work for another week.
Several groups had proceeded the Washington team. In May, a group called “Carpenters for Christ ’ from Alabama constructed the church’s shell. Next came eight adults and 14 teenagers from Woodbridge, who worked on insulation and sheetrock. They led Vacation Bible School as well.
A congregation from North Carolina donated pews, and a small local Baptist church made a donation because they were so excited “to have a new Baptist Church in [the] area.
Following the Washington team will be a sister-church group from Harrisonburg, scheduled to arrive on Aug. 6 to paint and hold revival services.
94.3%