Mr. Barber was a member of FPC. I did not know him or his wife, but his absence was felt at Easter worship today.

He and Barber were both retired colonels – a “couple of old military guys,” he said.

“We’d walk down the hallway, and I’d say, ‘You know, Bob, we’re in step,'” he said, laughing. “Old habits die hard.”

Brown and Barber were both members of the Rotary Club of Charlotte, where Brown said Barber took minutes and compiled newsletters.

“This man had not missed a Rotary meeting in 15 years,” Brown said.

He said Barber was devoted to his church, First Presbyterian in uptown, his profession and his family.

At work, Barber had a reputation as a skilled professional who could easily connect with his co-workers.

“He would work 80 hours a week if it meant turning around a community hospital,” Brown said.

Outside of work, Barber had many interests, including muscle cars, motorcycles and genealogy, Brown said.

“I think I’ve only known a couple of people in my life I’d consider Renaissance men,” Brown said. “Bob was one of them.”

via Witness heard victim’s lament after shooting | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper.

I usually go to a Sunday School class that focuses on current news … it is called the Wired Word. This week’s topic was NASCAR, which is both a local and national news topic. ;) Kirk Hall opened with the question, “How do you/we define religion?” Very interesting question. From Kirk’s weekly e-mail …

NASCAR was born in the Bible Belt and has always welcomed pre-race invocations and religious symbols on cars. The biblical image of running a good race comes to life on the track, and many drivers become saints — especially after their deaths. Fans of the sport value tradition, as well as the risks involved. But has stock-car racing become a kind of civil religion, one that can lead Christians astray? So our next class will focus on the spirituality of NASCAR and how it both helps and hinders the practice of the Christian faith.

 

Thank you, Dr. Bill Wood!

First Presbyterian Church, end of an era, Dr. Bill Wood, followup:  Nice article in the local paper … but does show both sides of his legacy.

Members of First Presbyterian may have been saying goodbye to their spiritual leader of 27 years, but Charlotte was also witnessing the retirement of a minister who had long been a community leader.

Wood, 67, worked with business leaders – many of them Presbyterian – and other clergy to open centers for the city’s homeless. He filled his 2-block church campus with schools and programs for children. He commissioned a fresco of the Good Samaritan by artist Ben Long that has become an uptown landmark. And he chaired the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Library board when ImaginOn, the children’s library and theater, was built.

…

And in 2004, Wood made headlines with his quotable response to Mecklenburg County commissioner Bill James’ comment that urban blacks “live in a moral sewer.”

“There are a few moral sewers in south Charlotte as well,” Wood told the commissioners, referring to James’ district.

via Wood leaves legacy of growth, outreach at First Presbyterian – CharlotteObserver.com.

Thank you, Dr. Bill Wood, for 27 years.

FPC will miss you, the Teague family will miss you, and I will miss you.  Thank you, Dr. Bill Wood for 27 years.  You brought me into adulthood in the Presbyterian church and you baptised each of my children into the church (three of 800!)    I can’t wait to see what you will do next. (And it was a wonderful celebration).

The Session of First Presbyterian Church Charlotte, NC

cordially invites you to a celebration honoring

The Reverend Doctor William Pape Wood

for his twenty-seven years of leadership

at First Presbyterian Church and the community,

and forty years of ministry in the Presbyterian Church at large

on the occasion of his retirement

November 21, 2010

 

 

Bill Wood by the Numbers

Number of sermons 1,100

Number of baptisms 800

Number of weddings 800

Number of new members added 1,863

Number of Officer Training classes 28

Number of Stewardship seasons 27

Number of Capital campaigns 3

Number of mission trips participated in 3

Number of dollars raised for benevolences over $12 million

Number of Associate Ministers 16

Number of William P. Wood/First Presbyterian Scholars 5

Number of children enrolled infant-5th grade 736

Number of Youth enrolled 264

Number of children in Weekday School 255

Number of children in Child Development Center 101

Number of current TV viewers 39,000 homes

source: http://www.firstpres-charlotte.org/FirstNews/fn.20101121.pdf