Faith Baptist Church's Early Pastors

     I feel like a Muscovy duck that's been sitting on a nest. When they periodically get off the nest, the hen will scuttle around the yard, chirping/peeping, like its got a bee in its bonnet.
     I don't have a bee in in my bonnet, but I am bothered by an erroneous obituary that appeared in the News-Review. Far be it for me to be critical of the deceased or their families, but I feel obligated to set the record straight. Out of respect, I'm intentionally NOT mentioning the obituary of the deceased.
     Faith Baptist Church was formed in the mid-1970s. I still remember attending the organizational meetings held in the drama room at Sutherlin High School. My step-Uncle, Robert Minter, Jr., a retired missionary from Ireland and Brazil, was the church's first pastor.
     My semi-photographic memory recalls obscure details of the era. Pastor Minter fasted on Fridays. One of the big questions during the formation of the church, was what to call the new church. "Sutherlin Baptist Church" seemed a logical choice, but was rejected, because of concerns that people would confuse the name with "Southern Baptist Church." So, Faith Baptist Church was the decided name.
     After Minter departed, Darrell Ervin served as pastor into the early 1980s. When Ervin moved to Eugene to become associate pastor at Berean Baptist Church, Roy Kellar stepped into the role of interim pastor, while the congregation searched for a permanent replacement.
     I still remember returning from Brazil after spending a year there as a foreign exchange student in 1984. I had the pleasure of giving Kellar a copy of a Brazilian church bulletin, with a message written by the Brazilian pastor.
     I don't know if this information will survive the annals of history, but I feel better, now that I've had the opportunity to remember the first pastors who led the congregation during its early years.

Je Suis Charlie

I'm not a person who believes it's appropriate to ridicule religious beliefs,

but I am a person who staunchly believes in freedom of the press.

My compassion goes out to the families of the eight journalists, two police

officers, and two others who were gunned down at a Paris magazine.