Lawrenceville First says "Go with God" to Rev. Dr. Katie
Hays
It was a service of tears, hugs, gratitude and faith in God’s
will as a church’s life takes a new direction.
June 20 was an emotional Sunday service as First Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) of Lawrenceville bid farewell to the Rev.
Katie Hays and her family. She was pastor for five years encouraging
the small congregation to serve the Lord locally and even in India.
Hays will accompany her husband, the Rev. Lance Pape, who will
join the faculty at Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian
University in Fort Worth Texas as the Granville and Erline Walker
Assistant Professor of Homiletics.
They have two children, Lydia and Jack, who served as acolytes
Sunday.
Rev. Pape received his credentials as a Disciples minister on
June 6, 2010 at a ceremony at Lawrenceville Christian Church. He has
been finishing his doctorate at Candler School of Theology at Emory
University.
The couple has served as co-pastors in two Church of Christ
congregations. Both are ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ), and Rev. Hays also is working on a doctorate.
The Sunday included a farewell sermon on “The Miracle of We,” a
potluck supper and a communion service with the Rev. Hays and elder
Jimmy Peeples serving the congregation. After communion, each member
picked out a bead representing themselves from a selection and a
special necklace was made for Rev. Hays by women in the church.
(Photo below)
Copies of Rev. Hays sermons can be found on
http://www.lawrencevillefirstchristian.org/.
The Rev. Hays has encouraged the church on several fronts. Her
leadership was soon apparent after becoming pastor, as she
accompanied a group to help in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
No effort was more important than the growing issue of homelessness
in Gwinnett County, a suburb of Atlanta that has been affected by
the nation’s economic downturn.
The church rented for $1 a year a house on its property as a day
center for Family Promise of Gwinnett County – an
interdenominational group helping homeless children and families.
She joined others in the body of Christ in developing the SaltLight
Center, providing emergency housing for women and children in the
winter. Church members also help the Lazarus Project, which provides
meals for the needy, as well as the local food co-op.
The church has sent several people to India to help the Georgia
Region’s efforts at a hospital and school there.
Committees have been formed to find an interim pastor as well as a
part-time youth pastor. The Rev. Abby Conley, who had been youth
director, was recently ordained and will serve as interim minister
through August. See accompanying article for more information.
Rev. Hays is hoping to be called by a Fort Worth area congregation.
She serves on the Administrative Committee of the newly established
Center for Faith and Giving for the general church.
All photos above courtesy S. Lynn
Boren
Lawrenceville First Christian announces
interim ministers
The congregation of First Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) in Lawrenceville on June 27 approved a plan
for interim ministers to fill the position left by the
Rev. Katie Hays.
Hays family is moving to Fort Worth, Texas where
her husband, the Rev. Lance Pape
accepted a position at Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian
University.
The Rev. Abby Conley
will remain as interim minister through August under the plan for
interim ministry from the church's search committee. Conley was
youth/children coordinator since October 2007. She was ordained May
23 after completing her M.Div. at Candler School of Theology (Emory
University), and holds a B.A. in journalism from Milligan College in
Tennessee.
 The
Rev Landa Harris Simmons will assume the interim pastor role
for six to 18 months beginning in September. She will continue the
ministry of organizing People to People Pilgrimages to India where
volunteers have helped a hospital and school.
Simmons grew up in Disciples of Christ churches
across the Georgia region including Union Christian in Watkinsville,
Central in Augusta, and First Church in Albany and Waycross where
she was ordained.
She graduated from both the University of Georgia
and Vanderbilt Divinity School and also completed a year of
post-graduate work in faith development at Candler School of
Theology at Emory.
Along the way she served as a Navy Chaplain,
reaching the rank of Commander before leaving active duty for her
“parenting sabbatical”. Since returning to Atlanta she has
served churches in the metro area as both a volunteer and in
part-time status. She has taught both Sunday and weekday Bible
studies for more than 25 years most recently leading an adult Sunday
School class at Sandy Springs Christian Church and a Wednesday Bible
Study there as well.
Vice-President of the Board of Trustees the
Christian College of Georgia, she has taught the class on Mission
and Evangelism for its Institute for Christian Ministry.
In the fall of 2009 she completed training as a
Ministries and Mission Interpreter (MMI) for Global Ministries and
led her second People-to-People Pilgrimage to India in January 2010.
She is married to UPS pilot, Captain Cris Simmons
with whom she parents Harrison, a graduate student at UGA and Laura,
a junior at Auburn University. Annie and Dixie, toy fox terriers,
graciously allow Cris and Landa to share space on their sofa each
evening. To balance her life, she gardens, cans pickles and relish
and counts the days until college football season resumes.
Ordination of Mary Abigail (Abby) Conley
Lawrenceville First is pleased to announce the
ordination of Mary Abigail (Abby) Conley to ministry in the
Christian Church (DOC). Abby has just completed her M.Div. at
Candler School of Theology (Emory University), and holds a B.A. in
journalism from Milligan College in Tennessee. She has been serving
as the Minister for Youth and Children at Lawrenceville First since
October 2007. Her ordination was held on Pentecost, May 23, 2010.
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