“You can’t stay away from the fire.” With these words, Rev. Dr.
Kenneth Locklear extolled the service of our deceased clergy at
the annual Memorial Service. He said they understood that their
entire lives were dedicated to ministry along with their spouses.
“They gave their lives to their calling,” he said.
Locklear preached a message of hope using Paul’s letters
to the Corinthians. Sharing of his inner turmoil following a
cancer diagnosis several years ago, Locklear shared that God
showed him that either way his treatments went, he could be at
peace. God reminded him that his grandmother, mother, and
father were there in Heaven. And that here on earth, he was with
his wife and son. “If I died, it was alright. If I lived, it was alright,” he
shared. “Only God – only God can give that kind of peace.”
Locklear remembered those clergy and clergy spouses who
have passed away since the last Annual Conference. “We pause
to remember our colleagues in ministry and their helpmates as
they journeyed in the faith to preach, to teach, and to pastor
churches. We remember fondly many stories…and the magnitude
of wisdom that they had,” said Locklear. “We thank God for the
colleagues whom we celebrate today for their work and their
ministry… [as] ministers of the Gospel to bring hope into a lost
and dying world.”
Clergy who have passed away since last Annual Conference:
Philip Sherman Brown
Eldrick Ray Davis
Marty Jeffrey Cauley
Bill James Locklear
Robert Gentry Harris, Jr.
Sidney Gene Hadden
Pearl Gooding West
Thomas Arnold Pope
Richard Leonhard
Jerry Milton Schronce
William Mac Jeffries, Sr.
John Edward Morrison
Willie Heber Frizzelle
Ronnie Lee Rivenbark
Robert Burton Storrs, Jr.
Margaret Cotton Foote
Eugene Ray Jenness
John Whitfield Hobbs
George Allen Jones
Richard Arnold Stanley, Jr.
Brian Glynn Gentle
James Carroll Lee
Margaret Anne Biddle
David Anthony Argo
Betty Bobbitt Willis
Michael Gordon Register
Clergy spouses who have died since last Annual Conference:
Martha Jane Williamson Moe
Pasquale Patrick DiGiuseppe
Christine O’Neal Wallace
Dilys R. Hale
Donald Champion
Doris D. Reynolds
Janet Karen Gallimore Argo
Winifred Browning
Jeanne Roberts Rouse
Helen Meredith Jones
Dolores M. Bowman
Loula Price Nicks
Margaret Louise McKita
Eugenia Shannon Stanley
Carol Turner Wenberg
Bernice G. Reynolds
Frances Bass White
Ethel Gaye Wall Mann