Church In Baltimore

It stands stalwart among the golden cornfields and verdant pastures in the horse country of northern Baltimore County, a church steeped in history and gazing toward the future. St. James Episcopal Church has survived the birth of the nation, the turmoil of the Civil War and the poor fortunes of an outpost chapel. Revolutionary War soldiers are said to be buried in the church cemetery. And George Washington is thought to have gazed at the pastoral sanctuary while eating breakfast at a hostelry across the road.

The Rev. Theodore M. Heyburn, a retired Redemptorist priest who led churches in Baltimore and Annapolis, died Nov. 12 of complications from diabetes at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. He was 77. Father Heyburn, the son of a longshoreman and a homemaker, was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was in the eighth grade when he began religious studies at St. Mary's Seminary in North East, Pa., and then entered the Redemptorist novitiate at Ilchester. He professed his vows in 1955 and made his final profession in 1958.

On December 15, 2008, JOSEPH C. THOMPSON, SR., born October 4, 1962 in Washington, DC, son of the late Parris and Geraldine Thompson. Services were held on December 22, 2008 at Christ Deliverance Church in Baltimore, MD.

The Rev. Gilbert Preston Glascoe Sr., the assistant pastor of the Leadenhall Baptist Church, a computer analyst and mathematics teacher, died of cancer Dec. 23 at the Northwest Hospital Center. The Woodlawn resident was 71. Born in Baltimore and raised on Archer Street, he attended Diggs-Johnson School and was a 1956 graduate of George Washington Carver Vocational-Technical High School. "He was ambitious, even as a young child," said his church secretary, Tanya Dawson of Woodlawn.

On Friday, November 25, 2005 BARBARA ANN DIGGS; devoted mother of Kevin Thomas Irvin. She is also survived by her brother, Melvin Diggs and her sister Beverly Diggs and a host of other relatives and friends. Services will be held at St. Benedict's Catholic Church in Baltimore on Sunday, December 11, 2005 at 2 PM.

The Rev. Joseph M. Brown Sr., founder and pastor of Manna Bible Baptist Church in Baltimore's Pimlico neighborhood, died of cancer Thursday at Sinai Hospital. The Northwest Baltimore resident was 81. Mr. Brown was born and raised in Philadelphia. During World War II, he served in the Army with the military police in Europe, attaining the rank of sergeant. After the war, he returned to Philadelphia and worked for the post office for a decade while studying theology at Manna Bible Institute.

Lisabeth S. Miller, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Mark J. Miller of Clifton, New Jersey, and Peter E. Auchincloss, son of Barbara J. Auchincloss of Baltimore, Maryland were married on July 16, 2007 at 5:00 o'clock p.m. at Dickey Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland. The wedding ceremony was followed by a reception at The Johns Hopkins Club. After a honeymoon in Key West the couple will reside in Baltimore.

On Saturday, December 27, 2003, JUNE STEVENS, 80. Born in Baltimore, she moved to FL 16 years ago from Baltimore County. A homemaker, she was a member of Christ Methodist Church in Baltimore County. Her family includes her husband of 62 years, Richard E.J. Stevens; children, Richard S. Stevens and Sharon Louise Latner; four grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; two nieces; and two nephews. Services will be at a later date at Christ Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.

HERENIA M. WALDHAUSER, 94, of Baltimore, MD, died on Friday, April 30, 2004. Loving aunt to Anna May Ellinger and Josephine Mc Neal. A memorial mass will be held at Shrine of the Little Flower Catholic Church in Baltimore, MD on Saturday, May 8, 2004 at 11 AM. Arrangements provided by Fellows, Helfenbein and Newman Funeral Home, P.A. Chester, MD. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Queen Anne's County, Inc. 300 Del Rhodes...

As the Rev. John Richard Bryant danced down the aisle of a Towson church last night, he wore a smile that said, "Wow, look at all this." Bryant had ample reason to beam: He was entering a hall packed with singing and swaying people eager to honor his ministerial sons and daughters. Yesterday Bryant, now a bishop in Los Angeles, returned to Baltimore to honor the 20th anniversary of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church's Class of 1981, eight men and women who became prominent ministers.

The stained glass windows of St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church in Fells Point are hard to see. The floral designs are shrouded by discolored plexiglass, but they are the clear focus of a dispute between developers who want to replace them with plain glass and the Polish congregants who don't want them touched. Developers who want to convert the church into a commercial or residential property say that without natural light, the building is useless. Members of the Polish community, though, say that the windows of their former church are an important legacy of their faith and history.

The Rev. Montague J. Brackett, who pastored West Baltimore's Central Baptist Church for nearly 50 years, died from pneumonia Tuesday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. He was 94. Dr. Brackett was born in Manakan, Va., the son of farmers. When he was in his teens, he moved to Baltimore, and graduated in 1933 from Frederick Douglass High School. He earned bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in theology from what became Virginia Seminary and College in Lynchburg, and is now Virginia University of Lynchburg.

The Rev. Wilburn S. Watson, whose career as pastor of Olivet Baptist Church spanned nearly 50 years, died Feb. 24 of complications from diabetes at Northwest Hospital Center. He was 80. Mr. Watson was born and raised in Baltimore and graduated in 1943 from Douglass High School. He earned his divinity degree from Morris College in Sumter, S.C. Mr. Watson was 17 when he began preaching. A self-taught pianist, he began incorporating piano and singing into his sermons at Canaan Baptist Church in Baltimore.

On December 15, 2008, JOSEPH C. THOMPSON, SR., born October 4, 1962 in Washington, DC, son of the late Parris and Geraldine Thompson. Services were held on December 22, 2008 at Christ Deliverance Church in Baltimore, MD.

The Rev. Paul James Lewis, a retired stationary engineer and founder of two churches, died of colon cancer Dec. 10 at a daughter-in-law's Northeast Baltimore home. He was 80. Born and raised in Orlando, Fla., Mr. Lewis, the son of sharecroppers, was educated in Orlando and Kissimmee, Fla., public schools. In the late 1940s, he moved to Philadelphia with his family. Mr. Lewis enlisted in the Army and served as an infantryman with the 45th Division in Korea. His decorations, family members said, included three Bronze Stars and the Korean Service Ribbon.

One of Baltimore's fastest-growing churches is renewing its bid to build a home of its own four months after city zoning officials shot it down, proposing a scaled-down plan that would use shuttle buses to ease a parking shortage. Empowerment Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church, whose 5,000 members meet in the auditorium of Walbrook High Uniform Services Academy in West Baltimore, wants to open a 1,700-seat church at 4221 Primrose Ave. in Northwest Baltimore. There would be 55 on-site parking spaces, but the church would supplement that with lots leased from area businesses.