Young Witnesses for Christ

All too often we hear much about the bad things (drugs, sex, pornography, crime, etc.) in which some young people of today's troubled society are involved. However, all you have to do is look around our community to see the many good things that our youth are doing. In fact, I think that the positive far outweighs the negative when it comes to youth involvement, especially here is Patrick County where some of the finest kids on the planet are being raised.

A prime example of what I am talking about is the Patrick County High School Praise and Worship Team and its work in our community. On Saturday evening May 2nd, PCHS Praise and Worship team members sang during a gospel singing and old-fashioned weiner roast at Concord United Methodist Church. (The following day, they were scheduled to appear at the Landmark Assisted Living Center in Stuart.) I was so moved by their Saturday night performance and their witness for Christ that I am inspired to publicly commend this group of young Christians on this blog page. This small country church was filled to near capacity for the performance and everyone there seemed to be as moved spiritually as I was. It is an inspiration to see and hear teenagers speaking out for Jesus in words and song. The members of the team are just as eloquent in expressing their love for God and the blessings they receive from their participation in this group as they are talented in singing His praises. These young witnesses for Christ serve as positive role models for other young people and adults alike. They certainly warmed my heart and reminded me of the myriad of daily blessings from God that we should all be thankful to receive.

The Patrick County High School Praise and Worship Team is comprised of about 45 students from different grade levels. In a society plagued by ongoing efforts to take God out of our schools, government buildings, and other public places, the PCHS Praise and Worship Team stands as a testament to the fact that young people can have this outlet for expression of their faith without disrupting their schooling or the education of other students. The team meets at 7 a.m. each Thursday morning during the school year in the high school auditorium before the school day begins. During that time, the team prepares for a series of scheduled public appearances at various churches during the school year including my church Peters Creek Baptist on Sunday, May 7 at 7 p.m. The team will hold its annual picnic including pin ceremony, senior recognition, and celebration on Saturday, May 9th at Dehart Park, and will take part in the PCHS Baccalaurate Service on Sunday, May 31st.

Our community is certainly blessed to have this youth organization that is devoted to serving Christ at a time in the lives of these youngsters when peer pressure to do wrong is intense. I commend the PCHS Praise and Worship Team...Robin Amos, who guides the team...and the Patrick County Public School Administration for its support of this wonderful Christian organization for Patrick County High School students. To God be the glory!

A Community Treasure

Patrick County is such a wonderful place in which to live because of caring, compassionate people who seek to serve others above themselves. Jesse Mae Vernon exemplifies these admirable qualities as well as anyone in the community. On Sunday afternoon, Apr. 26th, I was honored to be among the many citizens who attended a reception in the John D. Hooker Memorial Building at Rotary Field in Stuart in honor of Ms. Vernon, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, Apr. 23rd. Despite the fact that she has enjoyed 9 decades of life, Ms. Vernon has the energy and vitality of a much younger person. Apparently in relatively good health as she reaches this milestone in her life, Ms. Vernon is still highly active in her family, her church, and the community.

Ms. Vernon dedicated her life to serving the youth of the county during a 34-year career as one of Patrick County's most beloved and respected teachers. In her retirement, she has been kept quite busy, attending bible study and being involved in various church activities including serving the homemade ice cream for which her church, Concord United Methodist, is widely known, volunteering for the American Red Cross blood drives in Patrick County, being a member of the Patrick County Retired Teacher's Association, and assisting in various other community functions. According to her son Charles Vernon, Jesse Mae still cooks Sunday dinner for about 25 members of the family, does yard work (recently she spread two truck loads of mulch to keep her lawn beautiful), and is always there when anyone in the community is in need of assistance and prayer. Her focus is always on others, never on herself.

Asked about her secret to a long, successful life, Jesse Mae jokingly replied, "I inherated these good Ayers' genes." Actually, said Ms. Vernon, "being active" is the key to her happy and healthy life.

Speaking personally, Jesse Mae Vernon is an inspiration! She is an example of the kind of person that I aspire to be even thought I tend to fall far short of the standards of excellence in family, church, and community service that she has established. She is a wonderful role model for us all! You are truly a community treasure, Jesse Mae. Happy 90th birthday and many, many more!

Play Ball!

Some slightly aging and somewhat inactive muscles will be stretched to the limit this Friday night for a great cause in our community. Come out to the old ballpark at Rotary Field in Stuart this Friday evening, Apr. 24th, and help "Strike Out Cancer"! Yes, get involved in the war on cancer and have a fun evening with your family and friends. Attend a benefit softball game to raise funds in the Patrick County's American Cancer Society Relay for Life campaign.

The opening ceremony will involve Boy Scout Troop #65, Pastor David Freeman, and Rachel and Holly Williams. The ladies' game at 6:00 p.m. will pit "The Pink Panthers" team (inspector Clouseau would be so proud of Amy Fain, Sandra Heath, and their teammates) against "The Purple Power" team the purple pride of Patrick County. The men's game at 7:00 p.m. will be a hard-fought battle of Paul Bunyon-like ballplayers as "The Hardwoods" go against "The Tree Toppers". In the consolation game to follow, Wilbur Walker's Patrick Henry VA-Carolina Seniors will try to keep pace with the junior sluggers, playing one of the men's teams in the nightcap. The evening will bring some highly competitive softball action and undoubtedly lots of laughs as well. Admission is only $2...Food and drinks will be sold by the Hilltop Hustlers for a Cure Relay for Life Team. Great family entertainment at a bargain price! All proceeds will go to Patrick County's Relay for Life efforts to help find a cure for cancer and fund programs and survives for local cancer survivors and caregivers.

Thanks to the teams which will include several Patrick County High School alumni softball players and past Patrick County Recreation League players as well as many other avid softball enthusiasts in the community. For more information call Sandra Heath, Annette Freeman or Jessica Slate at 694-2707. Now "PLAY BALL"!

Other upcoming Relay for Life fund-raisers this weekend: The FCCLA Fighters from Patrick County High School will hold a bake sale Saturday, Apr. 25th, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wal-Mart in Stuart...Angels in the Outfield will serve a country breakfast Saturday from 7-10 a.m. at Ross Harbour UMC, Elamsville Road. Cost, $6 adults and $3 children. The Women of Faith will hold a yard Sale Friday and Saturday, Apr. 24 and 25th, beginning at 8 a.m. each day at New Hope UMC on Clark House Farm Rd. Breakfast and lunch will be available. Of course, the "purple potty" will continue to make its rounds in the community as a fund-raiser of Five Star Mountain Momories Relay for Life team. Thanks for your support of the fight against cancer in our community. For more information visit the website www.relayforlife.org/patrick or call 1-800-ACS-2345 or 694-6125. Let's stamp out cancer in our community!

A Day of Remembrance

Today, as an alumnus of Virginia Tech, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the 32 victims of the tragic massacre in Blacksburg two years ago on Apr. 16, 2007. Today, I seek to honor the memory of those who died in this tragedy in our own backyard that both shocked and changed the world.

On this somber anniversary, I am reminded that, in this troubled world, LIFE, in all its preciousness, can be taken away in an instant. Life's frailty demands that we place our lives in God's care and control completely, try to live each moment fully, and love and serve one another freely. God bless.

Richard

The Beauty of Easter!

Epitomizing spring, the season of rebirh and renewal, Easter is perhaps the most beautiful and refreshing time of the year. And this Easter day may be the most beautiful that I have ever seen. I started my day by rising early for a 6:45 a.m. Easter sunrise service at my church, delightfully becoming first acquainted with the glory of this day.

I can't imagine a day being more blessed with beauty than this one, Sunday, April 12, 2009, Easter Sunday! By the same token, I can not imagine anyone being more blessed than you and me to be able to behold and enjoy a day like this in all its natural splendor. The sky is the bluest I can remember seeing it with nary a cloud to block the brilliant sunshine that warms my soul as if it is proceeding directly from the smile of God :0). The grass is green and lush, just begging for bare feet and Easter eggs to be hidden beneath its verdant blades. A fresh breeze caresses the body, signaling us that God Himself is constantly near if we just take the time to experience Him. The birds are chirping the happiest of tunes, rejoicing in the peace that permeates this magnificent day. Under the Lord's precise climate control, the afternoon weather conditions are simply supurb in every way. The mountains are magnificant. God is the most masterful of artists! To step outside on a radiant and picturesque day like today is to be surrounded by irrefutable evidence of God's certain existence, His unconditional love, and His abiding grace.

Truly, as the beloved gospel song inspired by King David's words in Psalm 118 states, "This is the day that the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." Above all, let us rejoice in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Savior! Because Jesus paid our sin debt by shedding His precious blood while suffering on Calvary's cross and because He is risen, we, who are Christians, have atonement and freedom from the sins that once bound us and the hope of an eternity in our Lord's presence in paradise. We have the blessed assurance of eternal life in Heaven simply by our faith in Christ through God's grace. I certainly believe! This is the essence of Easter! Because Jesus lives, believers share in the victory of life over death that He achieved when truimphantly from the grave He arose. That, my friend, is the real beauty of Easter!

As we go forth from this indecribably beautiful Easter day, let's strive to allow this spirit of rebirth and renewal in Christ to engulf and bring us joy every day of our lives. Praise the Lord! To God be the glory! Hallelujah! Amen!

Happy Easter,
Richard

A Place Called Grace

I have just returned from an unforgettable journey to "A Place Called Grace." I was among approximately 30 "pilgrims" who participated in the Dan River Walk to Emmaus #46 this past weekend at a lakefront 4-H Center in Reidsville, NC. Themed "A Place Called Grace," the 7-hour sojourn...inspired by the Biblical walk by the Resurrected Jesus with two of His disciples along the Road to Emmaus...was one of the most powerful spiritual experiences of my life. Each of us pilgrims (first time participants in the Emmaus Walk) experienced the unconditional love and boundless grace of Jesus and got a little taste of what Heaven must certainly be like. I won't get into specifics so as not to spoil the experience for persons making the pilgrimage in the future. Just know that It was incredible and one that every Christian should consider making at some point. However, I will say that we laughed, cried (grown men can do it as well as babies, believe me), sang praises to God, shared our deepest burdens with each other, and heard 15 inspirational "talks" that focused on how we as Christians can more fully experience God's love and grace and share these blessings with our neighbors. Not only were we fed spiritually, but our physically bodies were stuffed as well with delicious, abundant meals and plenty of hearty snacks in between.

One of the most special things about the weekend was that throughout the 72-hour Emmaus Walk, countless people were engaged in around-the-clock prayer for each of us participants by name. Many other acts of "agape" or unconditional love like God's were shared with each of the pilgrims. I would like to thank the many Christians in our community and far beyond who prayed for me during my Walk to Emmaus and the many from whom I received cards, letters, and support. Many of these people I will never meet or know but I do know that they loved me as a fellow Christian and through their prayers positively impacted my life. Thanks too to my sponsor, my friend Will Walker, who is widely loved and respected in the Dan River Emmaus community as is his wife Genia and their daughter Amy.

The weekend was designed to allow each of us to focus our attention upon our relationship with Jesus without interference from the outside world. We gave up our watches, clocks, cellphones, computers, the Internet, and other distractions devoting our full attention to a relaxed examination of our personal relationships with Jesus and to our personal growth as Christians. After a weekend apart from the temporal world, I must say it was a challenge to return to the split-second timing required of a morning radio show host. It was so relaxing indeed, even surreal to give, up all those things of the world and just enjoy time spent in prayer, worship, study, self-examination, and fellowship with the Lord and fellow Christians.

I believe that my participation in the 46th Dan River Walk to Emmaus strengthened my Christian faith immensely and drew me much closer to Jesus. Please continue to pray for me as I seek to surrender control of my life to Christ and thereby allow Jesus to bear my burdens and fulfill His purpose for me. Although I have been a Christian for a long time, only after my Emmaus experience am I fully beginning to develop the intimate relationship wth Jesus for which my soul longs. I have found that there is a void in each of our lives that only Jesus can fill and unless we submit our tenacious human control to Him we can never truly attain the true happiness and joy that all Christians should rejoice in daily. After our incredible visit to "A Place Called Grace", now each of the Emmaus Walk participants must persevere on the "Fourh Day," which was defined as each and every day of our lives following the 3-day Emmaus Walk as we try to apply the Christian principles that we learned to our own lives in this modern material world and to share Jesus' love and grace with our neighbors, our communities, and a lost and dying world. Please continue to pray for me and other Emmaus pilgrims and our lay and clergy leadership team! I would like to invite comments from the many others in our community who have also shared in the life-changing Emmaus experience. God's grace be with you!

De Colores,
Richard

Hospital Administrator Resigns

Less than one month into the new management contract with Pioneer Health Services, the R.J. Reynolds Patrick County Memorial Hospital has lost the administrative officer who nursed the troubled medical facility through its darkest times. Janice Wilkins told me tonight that she submitted her resignation as hospital administrator today, Mon., Mar. 23, 2009. "It is time in my life for me to put my priorities in order, the Lord first, then my family and my community," said Wilkins. "I'm very proud of how we made it through some difficult times. It has been a tough 4 years," added Mrs. Wilkins of her tenure as administrator of the financially struggling local hospital. She said "a wonderful group of people kept the facility open," during its most difficult times. Mrs. Wilkins said she will announce her future plans in about two weeks. her resignation will become effective May 1, 2009.

I know Janice personally and how hard she has worked to keep the hospital open. I can't imagine anyone being more dedicated to a cause or as passionate about an institution as Janice is about our local hospital. Janice, I commend you and past and present members of your staff for your perseverence and dedication to keeping the hospital afloat on the stormy seas upon which it has sailed in recent years. I wish you much success in your future indeavors and look forward to continuing to work with you in service to our community as members of the Stuart Rotary Club.

I am hopeful that the new management team at the hospital will be able to rescue the hospital but the loss of Mrs. Wilkins as administrator is a real setback it seems to me. I urge everyone in the community to utilize the services that are still available at the hospital or will become available to the public in the future. Only through public support will the hospital be able to ultimately survive and become economically viable again no matter who runs it. Our local hospital has lost a very able administrator but we must continue on as a community to help keep the hospital that we so desperately need in Patrick County. Let's keep the hospital's new management in our prayers...as well as Mrs. Wilkins as she embarks upon a new phase of her life.

Proudly Patrick,
Richard